What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be a Working Stand-Up Comedian and Satirist in Kenya
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be a Working Stand-Up Comedian and Satirist in Kenya

Justine Wanda reflects on turning discomfort into punchlines, surviving burnout, and why jokes still matter when everything feels bleak.

What It’s Like To … Be An International Model From Nigeria
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be An International Model From Nigeria

Ama Okolo discusses the journey and difficulties of breaking into the international modeling industry from Nigeria.

What It’s Like To … Fight for Migrant Rights in Libya
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Fight for Migrant Rights in Libya

Libya has nearly 100,000 registered migrants and asylum seekers, but no mechanisms to welcome and support them. Tariq Lamloum tells OkayAfrica about his fight for migrants’ rights and what that means for his own life.

What It’s like To … Work as a Tour Guide in the Grand Egyptian Museum
What It's Like To...

What It’s like To … Work as a Tour Guide in the Grand Egyptian Museum

Ahead of the official opening of the world’s biggest archeological museum complex dedicated to one civilization, Ibrahim Morgan tells OkayAfrica about the wonders awaiting the world in Giza’s Grand Egyptian Museum.

What It’s Like To … Build and Run a Pan-African Bookstore in Nairobi
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Build and Run a Pan-African Bookstore in Nairobi

Kenya’s Muthoni Muiruri on co-founding Soma Nami, Nairobi’s only female-owned Pan-African bookstore, and creating space for African literature to thrive.

What It's Like To ... Be A Travel Creator from The Gambia
Travel

What It's Like To ... Be A Travel Creator from The Gambia

Ibrahim Gano documents his travels without the gloss and pomp of typical travel vlogging, all from a Gambian perspective.

What It’s Like To … Build a National Skateboarding Movement in Kenya
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Build a National Skateboarding Movement in Kenya

Against a backdrop of limited resources and official recognition, Kenya's skateboarding community finds creative ways to build an inclusive scene with Olympic aspirations.

Group of young Sudanese men sharing a communal meal from a large pot, serving food into plastic bags in an outdoor community setting.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be a First Responder in the Sudan War

The Emergency Response Rooms are getting international recognition for being a truly grassroots movement of humanitarian aid.

A picture of Similola Adegoke (L) and Ayomide Oriowo (R), co-founders of TurnTable Charts, speaking at a panel.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Run Nigeria’s Longest-Running Music Chart Publication

Similoluwa Adegoke and Ayomide Oriowo launched TurnTable Charts in 2020, and it has evolved into the authority on what’s popular in Nigerian music.

Wakisha Wazome repotting a striped plant on a balcony.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be A Plant Consultant in Kenya

Wakisha Wazome, a plant whisperer, has turned her passion for plants into Kejani Kibichi, a thriving consultancy helping Kenyans create and care for green spaces in their homes.

Three parkour athletes pose for a photo on a podium, holding certificates and wearing medals.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To … Be a Parkour Athlete in Algeria

Nait Bachir Abdelaziz believes parkour represents a sense of freedom, a connection to our immense physical potential, and a mindset of perseverance.

Nafkot Gebeyehu and Zion Yaynu, co-founders of Studio 11, standing together in front of colorful artwork at their gallery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To…Run an Art Gallery in Addis Ababa

What began as a small creative space for two Ethiopians has grown to become a gallery that champions emerging artists and empowers women.

Fikile Shiba Makhalemele poses for the camera wearing shades.
Profiles & Interviews

What It’s Like To…Be A Reggae Promoter In South Africa

Fikile Shiba Makhalemele of Lioness Productions lets us in on the dynamics of sustaining and expanding the reggae movement in South Africa through vibrant events.

King Lekan says the role of a music director is to ensure the live music experience is seamless and flaws, even when real-time wrinkles happen.
Music

What It’s Like To… Be the Musical Director for Afrobeats’ Biggest Stars

King Lekan — who has worked with Tems, Asake, Davido and many more — details the essential role of a musical director in translating an artist’s vision into a great live performance.

Traditional healer Vuyiswa Xekatwane in trance.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To…Be a Sangoma in a Digital World

Vuyiswa Xekatwane, a sangoma (traditional healer), says the core of her work is to align people with their ancestors.

A photo of Nikiama Kisun Sira Fatimata in her salon braiding a client’s hair, and wearing a black blouse with white Polka Dot sleeves.
USA

What It’s Like To…Run an African Hair Salon in New York City

The major U.S. city is known for attracting a myriad of cultures from across the world, offering aspirational immigrants a chance to serve their communities.

Musicians performing on stage at Benghazi Summer Festival to a big crowd.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To…Organize Libya’s Inaugural Benghazi Summer Festival

A fortnight of extravaganza and star-studded concerts of unprecedented scale has been unfolding on Libya’s Mediterranean coast.

Audu Maikori of Chocolate City Music.
What It's Like To...

What It’s Like To…Start One of the Biggest Music Labels in Nigeria

Lawyer Audu Maikori founded Chocolate City in 2005, a label that ushered in pivotal musical eras on the Nigerian music scene and continues to churn out culture-shaping stars.

OkayAfrica is the premiere digital platform bringing the worlds of African music, art, culture, style, sports and politics to a global audience. Founded in 2010 as an extension of Okayplayer, OkayAfrica serves as a cultural bridge to foster deeper understanding of the continent, while also building meaningful connections with its diaspora.

OkayAfrica is the premiere digital platform bringing the worlds of African music, art, culture, style, sports and politics to a global audience. Founded in 2010 as an extension of Okayplayer, OkayAfrica serves as a cultural bridge to foster deeper understanding of the continent, while also building meaningful connections with its diaspora.

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