Afropunk: Solange Knowles comes to South Africa

The singer will join fellow American Andersoon.Paak, South Africa’s Nakhane and others on the festival’s first event on African soil, which takes place on 30 and 31 December. First held in Brooklyn, USA over a decade ago, the festival has hosted editions in Paris and London. It showcases a roster of artists comprising the newcomer to the established.

Speaking to Quartz about the decision to host an event in South Africa, one of the events co-founders Jocelyn Cooper said, “We’ve wanted to be on the continent, we love the culture in South Africa and we have a lot of contributors to our site who are there.”

Cooper, a former staff of Universal Music who was involved in the careers of such acts as Raphael Saadiq, D’Angelo and Drake, has also spoken about helping South African concerns, saying, “As Afropunk, we support over 250 businesses in the food world. That’s important to us. It’s important to take the culture of South Africa and spread it across the world.”

To host the event, the festival has tapped South African presenter Nandi Madida. “Africa is the cradle of so many things that are bold, fierce and alternative, from artists, to the people coming to watch, to the legacy Afropunk has created,” she said.

“I honestly feel like I'm home, and I can't wait to interact with my people. It's going to be epic! I am beyond humbled to be a part of the very first Afropunk in South Africa as an MC.”

Tickets for Afropunk Festival are available here