I met Mbira player Mary Anibal on the 12th April, on our way to the 13th edition of the Market for Abidjan Performing Arts (Masa) which ran from April 16 to 18 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. To be honest with you, I had not even heard of her, but we spoke briefly on Ethiopian Airways initially headed for Addis Ababa. She told me that she was going to do a performance with her band in Ivory Coast. I told her that we were heading the same way. My thinking was that I would interview her after her performance in Ivory Coast, but we missed each other as I was trying to capture as many bands as possible during this short period. It was one of her band members who looked like Jah Prayzah without locks who recognised me. He informed me that they were under the mentorship of Mokoomba’s lead guitarist, Trust Cement. We all had hassles with immigration when we reached the airport in Abidjan so could not find time to talk. By the time I reached the festival venue, at Pelais De La Culture on 18th April, I was given the programme of the day by the promoters. It was all in French. My French is very limited as I can only delve into the most common words such as bonjour (a general greeting meaning “hello” or “good morning”), au revoir: (goodbye.) Oui:( yes). Merci:( (thank you.) and merci beaucoup: (thank you very much). There were thousands of people gathered at this festival and amid this confusion, Mary Anibal and her band performance took place before I arrived.
However, I managed to watch other groups which showed me the diversity of African music throughout the continent. It looks like African music is divided between two Anglophone and Francophone Africans. This probably explains why Afrobeats and Amapiano only enter the Grammy Awards ceremonies at the expense of music from Francophone Africa.
I also attended the pre-opening gala dinner held on Friday12th April in Abidjan.
Hosted by RAM and attended by the Ivorian Minister of Culture and Francophonie, representatives from the Moroccan Embassy in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as several Ivorian and Moroccan officials, the regional representative of RAM in Côte d’Ivoire, Mohamed Babou, spotlighted the longstanding partnership between RAM and the major cultural festival.
RAM’s “collaboration with MASA goes beyond mere sponsorship,” he said. “It symbolises the philosophy of RAM as a deeply African company.”
For many years, Babou said, RAM supported major continental events such as the Ouagadougou African Film Festival, the Dakar Biennale, Lagos Biennale, Bamako Photography Biennale, and the prestigious Marrakech International Film Festival.
The Ivory Coast Minister of Culture and Francophonie, Françoise Remarck, praised the partnership between RAM and MASA, stating that it contributes to the “sustainability and promotion” of the festival, as well as the encouragement of young African talents.
It was at this festival that I also bumped into members of the International Music Council who included Zimbabwean entrepreneur, Eddie Hatitye (based in Johannesburg and representing South Africa) whom I had heard of but had never met before. He was giving a paper on music management on the sidelines of the festival. I found him to be exciting and knowledgeable in his craft. I put myself out to know more about this guy.
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With a profound understanding of the African music industry, Eddie has received invitations to deliver keynote addresses and presentations at prestigious music platforms worldwide. Notable events include MIDEM (France), WOMEX (UK), Music Exchange (South Africa), Moshito (South Africa), Musikmesse (Germany), Canadian Music Week (Canada), and the Pan-African Creative Exchange conference.
Hatitye is the executive director of the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF), a non-profit pan-African initiative that he has led since its establishment in 2011. Headquartered in Johannesburg, MIAF stands as one of the most active cultural organisations in Africa. Over the course of more than a decade, Hatitye has actively engaged in the culture and creative sector, making significant contributions to the establishment of crucial structures across the continent.
With an MBA degree and an honours degree in music and musicology, Eddie has played a pivotal role in the conception and implementation of numerous continental arts programs. These initiatives encompass a diverse range of areas, including media, artist mobility, continental funding programmes, business development programs for social enterprises, talent discovery, concerts, conferences, festivals, and research programmes, among others.
Prior to his instrumental role in MIAF, Hatitye held the position of senior project manager at the Goethe-Institut in Johannesburg. He also served as the head of content and editor at Music Industry Online, South Africa’s leading online music industry portal during that time. Furthermore, Eddie has shared his expertise on notable music-related projects in South Africa, successfully launching Pro-Systems, a distinguished print publication catering to the live event, audio-visual, and broadcast industries.
Complementing his role in the music industry, Eddie is an accomplished music producer and forms one half of the music production duo Epic Minds. Under Epic Minds, Eddie produced tracks with renowned African artists such as Skales (Nigeria), 2023 BET nominee Camidoh (Ghana), and S’Villa (South Africa).
Hatitye has played a pivotal role in the conception and implementation of numerous continental arts programmes. These initiatives encompass a diverse range of areas, including media, artist mobility, continental funding programmes, business development programmes for social enterprises, talent discovery, concerts, conferences, festivals, and research programmes, among others.
If African music is to expand at all throughout the world, it is the work of people like Eddie Hatitye which needs to be supported. At the moment, Unesco is supporting Francophone African music maybe because its head quarters are in France. The African Music Council which was created in July, 2007 has been made aware of this need and through the efforts of people like Eddie, Hatitye, we hope this will come to fruition.
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