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Kenyan singer, Maya Amolo, named first-ever Fresh Finds Africa artist by Spotify

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23-year-old Kenyan alternative R&B artist, Maya Amolo, has been announced as the first-ever Fresh Finds Africa artist by audio and media streaming provider, Spotify, as part of its programme tailored to specifically spotlight and develop emerging independent artists from across the continent of Africa.

The Swedish company, in a statement on Wednesday while making the announcement, said the programme is centered on its Fresh Find playlist, and “focuses on helping emerging artists to learn and grow by giving them the tools for long-term and sustained career success.

“The Fresh Finds playlist serves as a launchpad for up-and-coming artists to get exposure, while also catering to fans and industry tastemakers who want to discover fresh new talent,” the streaming company said.

The Nairobi-born Maya, cut her musical teeth on SoundCloud while collaborating with Internet producers to create ‘Sad Boi’ tunes including ‘U Wanna’ and ‘Where Tornados Flew,’ which propelled her to top of her career and an artist to be reckoned with in Africa.

Her powerful vocals quickly and soft harmonies quickly amassed her a dedicated listenership and grabbed the attention of local producers and musicians, according to her citation on the Spotify platform.

Speaking on making Maya the first Fresh Finds artist from Africa, Spotify’s head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa, Phiona Okumu said:

“Spotify has always been committed to connecting fans to up-and-coming artists and the music they love. The Fresh Finds programme is an enhanced version of that.

“For an upcoming artist like Maya, these figures promise an increased audience and opens her up to new opportunities which might not have been possible without Fresh Finds.

“Fresh Finds Africa will be a monthly programme, with a new artist selected every month by the Spotify music team, and forms part of Spotify’s continued commitment to support the African music industry, through initiatives such as Equal and Radar,” Okumu said.

Maya’s first body of work, Leave Me At The Pregame, which was released in mid-2020, takes the listener through a melodious journey of self-acceptance and healing.

She has gone on to establish herself as one to watch, having been covered by NPR, The Native Mag, Okay Africa and Tangaza Magazine.

She is set to release the first single from her forthcoming project on March 31.

Culture

Trevor Noah set for ‘Off the Record’ world tour

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South African comedian and talk show host, Trevor Noah, has announced a date for his “Off The Record” global tour where he hopes to spread humour and bring his social commentary to audiences across the globe.

The former host of “The Daily Show”, who made the disclosure on his social media pages, said he would kick off his tour on July 29 in Europe.

The multi-award winning comedian known for his insightful commentary, took to his social media platforms on Thursday to share the news of his upcoming international tour.

“Love that we were able to add some US & Canada shows for 2024! See… there’s still a chance for us CA, NJ, CT & Ontario!” he wrote.

According to the itinerary he put up, the tour is set to kick off in countries like Monaco in France, Germany, the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia, bringing his captivating comedic style to audiences across the country.

Noah’s announcement of the “Off the Record” tour was met with enthusiastic responses from his devoted followers, who took to social media to express their joy and anticipation.

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UNESCO removes Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from list of World Heritage sites in danger

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The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has removed
Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park from the list of World Heritage sites in Danger after citing positive results achieved by the West African country and its formal commitment to reappraise plans to the development of the property.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which took the decision during its meeting in New Delhi, India, made the announcement on Wednesday July 24, saying it was satisfied with measures taken by the country to allocate considerable resources to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning.

The park, which is located in a lush area along the banks of the Gambia River, was included in the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2007 as poaching, basalt mining and other human activities were becoming growing threats.

The gallery forests and savannahs of Niokolo-Koba are home to a rich wildlife, including the world’s largest antelopes.

According to UNESCO, since then, monitoring of emblematic species has been stepped up and considerable resources have been allocated to the surveillance of the park in order to combat poaching and illegal gold panning, as well as to better organize the transhumance of livestock.

The body also commended the setting up of a mine pollution control system, and hailed Senegal for work that has been carried out to improve the fight against the invasive species Mimosa pigra.

The World Heritage Committee called on Senegal to continue its efforts in the coming years in so as to improve the National Park which became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

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