With the rise of a focus on African themed content such as Black Panther, and talent with Senegalese and Nigerian background such as Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji and Luvvie Ajayi at the forefront of the entertainment industry, the shift of representation for African culture is loud and proud.
It should come as no surprise that brands are leaning into more of the African experience across various consumer touch points. Spotify has a dedicated African playlist and Orji and Ajayi’s Jesus and Jollof podcast is gaining more popularity amongst the black millennial crowd, with the duo recently hosting a live show during the Apollo Theater’s Africa Now! Festival, which celebrates Africa’s influence and impact on all facets of culture.
Next up, Netflix joins the wave of tapping into the African influence with their latest collaboration with Triggerfish Animation, an award-winning South African studio and production company CAKE. The series follows four teenage girls living in a futuristic version of Lusaka, Zambia, who are recruited by a retired secret agent to save the world. It was created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, who in 2015 was one of eight winners of the Triggerfish Story Lab, a pan-African talent search backed by the Cape Town-based animation studio and The Walt Disney Co.
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