Tilda, the second film from Shorties, a gal-dem series of short films by POC filmmakers is a nearly 7min film that sees what starts off as an online cam show transform into a meet-cute. When asked who he’d want to fuck alongside the cam-girl, the client responds “old white chick [who]…played a mother to a little evil ass kid.” The cam-girl, whilst gracefully swaying to the music, deciphers this vague description to be of Tilda Swinton from We Need to Talk About Kevin.

At the bedrock of any party scene lies DJs. You’ve got club managers, event promoters, party goers but really, it’s a great DJ that threads all of these units together for a great event. Over the years, a turning tide has seen more and more women DJs in the world on event lineups, and the Kenyan party scene has been a part of this domino effect has. DJ Miss Ray, DJ Shishi and DJ Niks, made their debuts about a decade ago, about 5 years ago, and last year respectively. That’s a combined almost two decades worth of time and effort spent carving out their own lanes in the industry.

Talia Hibbert is growing bolder in her love for romance. “I take so much pride in telling these stories,” she earnestly shares towards the end of the interview, before adding, “and because of the support of readers who have told me what these books mean to them, I have become much more open about the things that I really care about.” The young romance author is steadily building her own romcom universe of sexy and diverse novels, featuring often misunderstood, passionate and unwittingly funny characters of colour. We caught up with her to discuss her writing journey, character building and the spicy sex scenes that have become a staple of her work.

In Tomi Oyemakinde’s The Changing Man fear is to be conquered as much as it is to be embraced. The novel follows a precocious and lonely teenager, Ife Adebola, as she navigates settling into new boarding school Nithercott, and the adventures that follow her investigation of the school’s elusive urban legend. This debut offering joins the ever growing canon of YA speculative thrillers that combine a horror-esque pace, and the levity familiar to the young adult fantasy genre- although it is arguably at its best when the focus is on the latter. In The Changing Man, this explorative prose in anchored by a protagonist whose Nigerian roots form not only the casing for her character, but also for the novel’s motivations.

An instant decision made at the entrance of an exam room changed the course of Crayon’s life. He decided not to write the paper and instead pursue music full time.”At the time it was the craziest decision to make,” he admits. But a residency at the Don Jazzy founded Mavin Records, two projects under his belt, and many collaborations later, the young afrobeats star is far from regretful.

In 2015, when Bongo Flava was still mostly a melting pot of Tanzanian hip hop, dansi, taarab with influences from American hip hop, RnB and reggae, ‘Alternative Nights’ sought to introduce Dar natives to a new sound. The live music and poetry event featured a generation of young, independent artists, who were often gracing the stage for the very first time. Turunesh, one of those artists, speaks fondly of a 16-year-old version of herself getting her start at the event. “That was the first time I felt like a gig worthy musician and that I was important and had something to share,” she reveals, “and five years later there is more of a scene for alternative music.”

Donae’o: pronounced Donay-o to mean ‘gift from God.’ An apt stage name for a spiritual Ian Greenidge who always knew he was going to be an artist. It couldn’t have been anything else, he tells me early in our conversation, “God let me know from early that ‘this is what you are gonna do for the rest of your life’.” The spirituality that is the bedrock of his certainty is one he takes pride in cultivating himself. He mentions that he has always had a strong connection with God and the universe. So naturally, he considers his engagement with music an extension of that spirituality, that connection to God.

In the second release from the Small Axe compilation, Lovers Rock, McQueen abandons a heavily plot-driven production and instead leans into the slice-of-life sensibilities to create a stunning evocation of a Saturday Blues Night. Set almost entirely at a party for the duration of a night, Lovers Rock weaves together the multiple themes and stories of West Indians in London, as told by a vibrant house party.

Amaarae’s new release Fountain Baby explores the full spectrum of desire. The world she builds through the record is that of a woman who takes pleasure and playfulness very seriously, whilst being aware that overindulgence comes at a cost. Fountain Baby is erotic, bitter, cocky, and divine all at once. She wants and wants some more, but not without recognising that it’s the excess that could be her undoing.