CULTURE
CAMEROON: The literary CENE sets up the sponsorship of literary cafes
The Cameroonian lawyer, Flore Agnès Nda Zoa, founder of the association, the literary CENE will revolutionize things within literary CENE. Now, through their website, people who wish to sponsor Literary Cafés on the continent will be able to do so. An opportunity for volunteers to participate in the popularization of literary culture across the continent. His message through this video below.
Hello, my name is Flora Agnès, I am a lawyer in Switzerland and I am the founder of the association, the literary CENE. What is the literary CENE? It is an association whose goal is the promotion of African and Afro-descendant literature. It is an association of readers, it is not an association of writers, it is an association of readers.
The literary CENE is a literary prize that has been served for five years now regularly every year which is called the “Literary Prize of Africa”. The literary CENE is a literary residence in Cameroon. We welcome writers to come and draw their inspiration from mother earth. The literary CENE is also the literary cafes that I particularly want to talk to you about today. So we have developed within our association, a concept that we call the “Literary cafes of the literary CENE”, what is it?
It is a four-phase concept. The first phase is that we buy several copies of about 20, 30 or 40 of a particular book, it is often the book of the winner of our price Les Afriques or other books which we follow the promotion within our association. So we buy several copies of this book in the second phase, we offer these copies to students, to high school students or even to groups within a literary circle. The third phase, we give them three or four weeks to read the book and when they are finished, we organize the fourth phase which is the phase of giving back what they have read. It is a cultural event that we organize and during which they actually come to tell us how they feel about what they have read and, above all, they come to confront their ideas about the book they have read. This is the concept behind our literary cafes in a nutshell.
So you obviously want to ask me what the goal is? There are actually several goals. The first goal of course is to try to stimulate or even sometimes to arouse interest in reading, interest in the confrontation of ideas. The second goal is to promote our literary prize, the person, the writer to whom we award the literary prize, to promote his book and above all to try to sell the copies of books that we have produced of this book on the continent. African. So this is the goal of our Literary Prize, it is in fact to buy the rights to the winning book, to have it produced in Africa, and to try to obtain its copies. The third goal, of course, is to try to participate in the creation or even the strengthening of cultural life in the case of the countries in which we are trying to establish ourselves or we are trying to exist. The fourth goal, which is also one of the most important for our association, is to create workplaces because of course the young people we send into the field to organize these literary cafes, these cultural animators are in fact employees of our association and we allow them to have a place of work so these are the main goals of our Literary Cafés.
You obviously want to ask me the question to know if it works? Yes, it works like a thunder fire as the young people say. It’s been going very well for three years now we organize these literary cafes. You can go to our website, our facebook page, which I will tell you later on under the video, you will see that we have organized dozens of them. We haven’t all put on the site yet and the kids are very interested and it’s going very well. The question that you obviously now want to ask me is to know, if things are going well at the level of the literary CENE and it manages to do that, all alone like a grown-up, why come and ask us? We are asking you for a simple reason, which is that we have seen in the field that young people read less and less and obviously it is a problem of general interest for our countries because who says young people who read less and less means that more intellectual stimuli, more educational stimuli, more cultural stimuli and if there is no more stimuli for all these things, that obviously leaves a dream place for mediocrity but nobody wants to see mediocrity settles in his country, in his town, in his village, in his town, so it is a problem of general interest and which says problem of general interest says collective response. We must find a collective answer to this problem. The literary CENE thinks it has found an answer with the organization of these literary cafes, so they invite you in fact to participate if you want to this solution.
How to do what is planned on our website, if you go there, you will see that we are going to organize a small platform, we are going to set up a paypal account that will allow you who want to accompany us in this action to sponsor literary cafes that we are organizing. That is to say that we have already organized Literary Cafés in the countries where we are currently, we are in Cameroon we are in Senegal, we are in Benin we aim to go to Congo, Burkina Faso and Mali . You buy, we buy the books, we organize the literary cafes, we distribute the books and we put on our website the literary cafes that we have already organized and it is up to you now to buy them up to 100 euros for example which will allow us to fill the financial vacuum that we have created in our fund by organizing these literary cafes. This means that our actions will be much more so we are not asking you to organize Literary Cafés, we are asking you to come and contribute to the organization of the Literary Cafés that we do. It is a problem of general interest. It is a problem that concerns us all. It does not only concern the literary CENE. It concerns everyone who is for a time little interested in the development of their country, the development of these young people by how things are happening around the world with regard to education and culture. This is what I wanted to tell you. Come to our website, come support us, and you will see we will do the work together when you have accompanied a Literary Café. Obviously we will give you back how it went. We will put these young people, if you want, in contact with you who offered them literary coffee.
We will explain on our website, on all our platforms on the net that it is you who helped us to organize it so there will not be at all, how to say, we will not forget you when we will share the information on what we’re going to do. It is a beautiful project that we have been carrying for a while, it would be good if you came with us. Thank you very much and see you very soon bye.
Almost all of us discovered Kadeux on TikTok in 2023 with “Ayé han”. We had fallen under the spell of this young Chadian rapper. Yet he is only twenty-one years old. Despite this age – often associated with youthful carelessness – his words, imbued with humility, always hit the mark. Indeed, it resonates a sharp flow, especially when he begins to describe the difficult condition of life of the left-behind. But not only: he also puts in his music a sincerity and modesty that go straight to the heart. From her box on TikTok, the artist continues to gain in thickness. Kadeux, viral phenomenon or the dynamics of sharing
Kadeux, a viral phenomenon
In the musical universe of Chad, a name stands out today as a luminescent dust, with brightness: Kadeux. Those who thought that its notoriety, propelled by the internet and social networks, was not going to last, were mistaken. The enthusiasm has not faded and its fanbase is only expanding. Born in 2003 in Koundoul, Chad, Kadeux, whose real name is Kamal Borgoto, has succeeded in bringing Chadian rap to the international music scene. Through a skilful blend of local sounds – using Chadian dialects – and contemporary music, he has created a unique and authentic style that resonates far beyond the borders of his native country. Although his career really started in 2023, Kadeux took the time to learn from groups like “Sexion d’Assaut” and several international artists. Her first single “Ayé han” is a hit, with over 100,000 views on YouTube and 27 million views on TikTok. A record for a Chadian artist. He follows with “Biney”, a song against easy money and society’s excesses. This song quickly hits the 200,000 YouTube views mark. Then comes “SAME SAME”, a hymn to resilience and hope that reflects the combative and optimistic mindset of Chadian youth.
Kadeux, an artist rooted in authenticity
Kadeux is distinguished by his use of Chadian dialects, which he handles with great ease. Also, this gives his texts an emotional power and a rare authenticity that make him an original artist. His committed musical style, tinged with sarcasm, is a dive in apnea from the first notes, into the swamp of the ills of society. His social analyses of an unprecedented finesse immediately catch the public’s attention. Kadeux is one of the artists to be invited at major musical events, both in Chad and in the sub-region. Indeed, he knows how to set fire to the stage, to heat up the audience. Among his outstanding performances in the last two years, we can mention the “fête de la musique à N’Djamena” (June 2023), the “festival Afrobeat International au Burkina Faso”, a performance in Côte d’Ivoire, at “FEMUCO”, a series of concerts alongside the Ivorian rapper Didi B in N’Djamena and a tour in Cameroon (Yaoundé, Douala, Ngaoundéré, Dschang…)
Chadian Pride
Despite his young age and still fledgling career, Kadeux, who already accumulates multiple awards both in Chad and internationally, does not intend to stop on such a good path. To his musical ambitions, he grafted two dreams: launching his own clothing brand and creating a production studio. In 2024, at the microphone of RFI, the artist confides: “I want my music to be a bridge between generations, a voice for those who do not have one, and a source of inspiration for Chadian youth.” With his charisma, authenticity and raw talent, there is a chance that Kadeux’s wish will come true: to bring Chadian culture to the international stage and make the voice of those left behind heard.
On 15 February 2025, during the ‘Nuit du Mandé’, Nana Menthe Kouyaté gave a powerful show at the Pan Pipper in Paris, organized by Afrik’Consult and Doums Production, it was an opportunity for this Mandingo music diva to present her new album ‘‘Karan’’ (2024) to the public.
An intense show
It is under the army of lights-fluorescent that Nana, in a red mermaid lace evening dress, makes her entrance on stage. The bassist is higher than the musicians who hold the guitars and the tam-tams and the n’goni. A dance dressed up like an 80’s disco singer waits for Nana to give it away. The setting is sublime. There’s more than just the show. Sol-re-do! Nana, the one we call “the rare bird”. In turn, Nana visits her repertoire, from N’Toutadon to Karan, her latest album, and she had with her renowned artists such as Adja Soumano, Pedro Kouyaté, Liberté Kanté, Amadou Sodia and many other guest artists.
Nana, the voice of the mandingo
Daughter of the kora virtuoso Batrou Sékou Kouyaté, Nana Kouyaté, as her name suggests, is a cherry. Born in Abidjan in 1988, she grew up in Bamako. Although she was a Griotte, her father had a problem with her daughter’s music. However, with the help of her mother, she defies this ban and already at a young age, with her voice of light contralto, is a little bit carried towards the dramatic mezzo-soprano like Oumou Sangaré or Coumba Gawlo or even Fanta Damba, Nana rivals, by voice, with the mandingo divas. In 2005, she embarked for Paris and settled there. Later, she will collaborate with legends like Salif Keita, Papa Wemba, Oumou Sangaré and Amadou et Mariam. Now she makes her voice heard through music. In 2024, she released a new album called ‘Karan’.
Karan, or the benefits of education
Karan, meaning “education” in Bambara, is a 11-track album that resonates as a manifesto for the transmission of values and the perpetuation of traditions. Nana Menthe addresses universal themes such as love, peace, African unity and the fight against violence against women, in a subtle fusion between traditional sounds and contemporary influences.
Karan, some selected pieces
With these eleven songs, evocative and committed, Nana explores the deep realities of society where each piece is a sound fresco. While “Acapelle” lifts the veil on the tumult of marriage, revealing the expectations and disillusions that accompany it. “Denmbalou”, in collaboration with Alune Wade, Guimba Kouyaté and Paco Sery, tells, pat contre, with emotion the challenges of motherhood and the anguish of a mother facing the education of her child. Then, the vibrant tribute to Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba celebrates the spiritual heritage of a great Sufi. And then there is the flagship title: “Karan”, the album’s flagship title, extols the virtues of education as a pillar of personal empowerment and national development. “Nothing is above education,” says the artist, highlighting her central role even in migration paths where she becomes a passport to integration. Meanwhile, the public is preparing fervently for Nana’s next performance, scheduled for March 25, 2025 in Orléans.
When Alune Wade puts his fingers on his bass guitar, it’s a legacy that resonates. On March 14, 2025, this groove virtuoso released “Boogie & Juju”, a new title from his upcoming album “New African Orleans” on streaming platforms, expected on May 2. Through this work, the Senegalese jazzman takes us on a transatlantic jam session, between the chalouped syncopes of New Orleans and the vibrant polyrhythms of Nigeria.
A journey in blue note
With “New African Orleans”, Alune Wade not only revisits the standards of jazz, he reinvents them by breathing new life into them, where Africa and America respond to each other in a timeless musical dialogue. In each album, he concocts a cottony groove cushioned by a warm voice that shines like a midday sun. This former accomplice of Aziz Sahmaoui and disciple of Ismaël Lô recorded his album between Lagos, Saint-Louis of Senegal and New Orleans. In this way, he reconnects with the very essence of jazz: a music of exchange and mixing. “Boogie & Juju” is a burning jam where Louisiana boogie-woogie, Nigerian juju music and Cameroon Assiko rhythms meet. A hypnotic riff, percussions that swing with disconcerting ease and a bass line that slaps like a beating heart. In this song, everything evokes the trance of a smoky club where we improvise until dawn.
Congo Square in the background
As a nod to this musical memory, “New African Orleans” refers to Congo Square, the emblematic place where freed and captive slaves once gathered to play, sing and dance. I imagine the ecstasy. In this album, it will be the celebration of the unbreakable ties between the two sides of the Atlantic. Indeed, Wade sings the universality of culinary traditions (Same Foufou), the hospitality of peoples (Three Baobabs) and the harshness of travel (Taxi Driver). And as if that wasn’t enough, he pays tribute to one of the godfathers of Louisiana blues, the late Dr. John, by taking up “Grey-Grey Gumbo Ya Ya” in a hypnotic afrobeat version.
A bebop and afrobeat setlist
Alune Wade is a master of improvisation and hybridization. On this sixth album, he uses his voice on revisited standards with a rare audacity: a sung version in Wolof of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”, a “Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti slowed down like a poisonous blues, and a fiery tribute to Herbie Hancock with a Watermelon Man in jazz-hop mode. Having been on the scene all over the world and a companion of legends such as Salif Keita, Oumou Sangaré, Joe Zawinul or Marcus Miller, Wade continues to trace his own path, between tradition and avant-garde. A kind of 21st century Duke Ellington who navigates without complex between afrobeat, highlife and modal jazz.
On stage, a big band-like live
For live fans, Alune Wade is not just an outstanding studio musician: he’s a showman with contagious energy. Its jazz-fusion, tinged with afro-groove and funk, promises hot concerts where the public is carried away in a frenzied jam session. Several dates are announced in a series of concerts that begin on April 1 at the Rocher de Palmer, in Cenon and end on July 11 in Marseille at the Jazz des Cinq Continents. With this new album, Alune Wade creates a vibrant work, a bridge between two continents, where jazz continues to reinvent its language. This album, with its warm breath of the bayou and its perfume of African nights, will mark the spirits.
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