Dynamic Africa

STYLE ICON: King Sunny Adé

All hail King Sunny Adé (born Sunday Adeniyi on September 22, 1946 in Ondo) - Nigerian king of Yoruba juju music, an Omoba of the Yoruba people, and part-time bubu wearer.

STYLE ICON: Dobet Gnahoré

Grammy Award-winning and World Music-nominated Ivorian musician and singer Dobet Gnahoré’s style is beyond your wildest Afro-punk dreams.

With a band consisting of her percussionist father Boni Ngahoré, as well as several French and Tunisian acts, both the 29-year-old singer’s musical sounds and aesthetic mirror various elements of Pan-Africanism that can often be seen in the jewelry she wears and the infusion of Bété, Baoulé, reggae, rumba and Manding influences in her music.

STYLE ICON: Somi

American-born Rwandan-Ugandan singer-songwriter and “new African jazz” artist Somi is a worldly woman with an incredibly romantic and color-filled wardrobe that mirrors both her personality and vocal style. 

Born in Champaign, Illinois in 1979, at the age of three Somi moved to Ndola, Zambia with her family but returned to her birth state in the 80s where she would spend the rest of her childhood. After graduating high school, Somi went on to earn undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and African Studies from the University of Illinois, and now holds a Masters degree in Performance Arts from New York University’s Tisch School of the  Arts. 

Signing a record deal with an independent label in 2009, Somi released her debut album If the Rain Comes First that same year which debuted at #2 on Billboard Magazine’s World Music Chart. She has since toured with the likes of legendary South Africa jazz artist Hugh Masakela (who’s featured on her debut album) and Afropop sensations Freshlyground. 

In 2011, Somi was named a TED Global Fellow and an inaugural Association of Performing Arts Presenters Fellow. She is also the founder of the award-winning non-profit organization New Africa Live that “aims to carve out a cultural space of belonging for contemporary African artists”. 

She currently lives between Lagos, Nigeria and New York City.

STYLE ICON: Oumou Sangaré

Mali is home to a number of incredibly talented musicians that have gone on to garner fame and success worldwide.

Referred to as “The Songbird of Wassoulou”, Sangaré began sing around the age of 5 with her mother in order to support their family as her father had abandoned them. At the age of 16 she went on tour with the percussion group Djoliba and by the age of 21, Sangaré had recorded her debut album Moussoulou (women), which sold over 200, 000 copies, and signed to the music label World Circuit.

Since then, she’s released four follow-up albums and won several awards including a IMC-UNESCO International Music Prize in 2001 and a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals with Herbie Hancock.

Throughout her flourishing career, Sangaré can almost always be seen with her statement jewelry and flawless make up - no matter what she’s wearing.

STYLE ICON: Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou

The sometimes coordinated and almost always immaculately dressed men of iconic Benin Afrobeat supergroup Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou provide endless inspiration for anyone wanting to channel some of that West African 70s traditional-influenced funk styles.

STYLE ICON: Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt and Iran

Now 91-years-old and currently residing in Alexandria, Egypt, Princess Fuad was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Having remarried  Colonel Ismail Shirin Bey in 1949, she is also known as Fawzia Shirin.

Although her royal titles are no longer recognized by the Egyptian government after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 international protocol dictates that former monarchs and members of former ruling royal families still retain titles obtained whilst a member of a reigning monarchy.

She is the oldest member of the deposed Muhammad Ali Dynasty residing in Egypt.

Yesterday, we featured his wife as our style icon. After glancing through various photos of the former Ghanaian leader, it seemed only right to make him the next style icon on Dynamic Africa.

Whether in army uniform or camouflage, traditional western attire (aka a suit) or draped in various Ghanaian nwentoma (kente) - depending on the occasion, of course, former Ghanaian president Jerry John Rawlings is dapper personified.

There’s just something about the way Rawlings carries himself that gives him the aura of a natural born leader, at least as far as photographs are concerned.

Perhaps it’s because he narrowly escaped death or help form the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) that conducted a ‘housecleaning exercise’ that aimed to retrieve large sums of stolen government money and stabilize inflation.

Either way, to deny that this man is consistently sartorially dashing (and handsome, might I add) would be a more than serious lie. I’m not saying his two-term presidency was perfect, I’m just saying that his style is.

Former Ghanaian first lady Dr. Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings could potentially be Ghana’s first ever woman president.

After announcing, on Saturday, that she had split from the ruling party that her husband - former president Jerry Rawlings - founded, she also stated that she would be running for president in Ghana’s next elections.

She’s also our latest featured style icon.

P.S. I’m pretty sure the Rawlings are Africa’s cutest couple.

STYLE ICON: Fatoumata Diawara

Breathtaking and talented with an eclectic style all her own, Ivorian-born Malian singer-songwriter Fatoumata Diawara is an undeniable beauty and a woman of many trades.

Not only does she sing and play the guitar, Diawara has appeared in several films including Cheick Oumar Sissoko’s 1999 feature film La Genèse, Dani Kouyate’s Sia, le rêve du python, and the musical Kirikou et Karaba in which she played the lead role.

Watch her World Sessions live feature here.

STYLE ICON: Umm Kulthum

Affectionately known as the “Star of the East”, Egyptian singer, songwriter, and actress Umm Kulthum was born in the village of Tamay ez-Zahayra in the northeastern city of El Senbellawein. Her real date of birth is unknown but is speculated to be between December 30, 1898 and December 31, 1904.

She began singing at a young age after her father, an Imam, taught her how to recite the Qur’an and, at the age of 12, disguised her as a young boy to form a part of a performance group he directed.

Umm Kulthum later moved to Cairo where, through meeting various composers, singers and songwriters, her fame grew considerably throughout the span of her career.

Kulthum passed away on February 3, 1975 and to this day is still regarded as one of the greatest singers in North Africa & Arabic music history.

STYLE ICONS: Inspector Tahar & his assistant

Inspector Tahar, played by Algerian actor Hadj Abderrahmane, and his shorter sidekick, played by Yahia Ben Mabrouk, were a hilarious and dynamic duo who starred in a number of comedy films in the 1960s and 1970s, directed by Moussa Haddad, as part of the Adventures of Inspector Tahar film series.

STYLE ICONS: BLK JKS

Amongst the diverse and eclectic music makers that South Africa has produced over the past few years, this Johannesburg-based quartet have managed to make a name for themselves both in their home country and in other parts of the world, all whilst fashioning a style - both musically and aesthetically - all their own.

Formed in 2000, it wouldn’t be until almost nine years later that Lindani Buthelez, Mpumi Mcata, Molefi Makananise and Tshepang Ramoba would receive international attention with the release of their debut Mystery EP, followed by the release of their debut album After Robots that featured songs such as ‘Lakeside’ and ‘Molalatladi’.

Since then, they’ve graced and been featured in magazines both abroad and at home, to which we’re incredibly grateful for as we can’t get enough of their individual styles and collective look.

STYLE ICON: Oroma Elewa

With the ever-increasing popularity of ankara fabrics, over the past few years we’ve seen an overwhelming amount of interest from the world of mainstream fashion in the stylistic talents that African designers have to offer, a curiosity that was cemented with the publication of Helen Jennings’ book New African Fashion. However, no one captures the diversity and behind-the-scenes culture of African creatives across the globe quite like Oroma Elewa.

As editor-in-chief and creative director of Pop’Africana - the quintessential bible on global African fashion and the culture behind it - Nigerian-born Elewa casts a much needed and refreshing lens on the diversity and complexities of the individuals and talents who, globally, are re-defining and re-shaping the constructs of various African identities.

Fittingly, this highly talented diaspora darling is just as diverse aesthetically as her originally biannual, soon-to-be digital, publication.

Oroma Elewa is not just a stunning personality with a wardrobe to match, but a creative force to be reckoned with.