Recently, South African artist Petite Noir, real name Yannick Ilunga, accused Damon Albarn’s Africa Express project of exploiting artists.
Africa Express organises musical collaborations between Western and African artists. A recent showcase hosted the likes of Nabihah Iqbal, Ghetts, Nick Zinner, Petite Noir, Sibot, Spoek Mathambo, Infamous Boys, Remi Kabaka, Dominowe, Jakinda and Otim Alpha.
In a now-deleted post, Ilunga shared an image of a contract he received from Africa Express after the showcase. The contract stated that the project will pay artists £1 for their contributions, and for all rights of any material and footage. Producer and regular NTS host Nabihah Iqbal has now also shared an image of her contract today (5 February) and released a statement online.
Her statement reads: “I got the chance to collaborate with local artists, making lots of music, and it was so inspiring. The project was also a very eye-opening experience for me and it made me realise how things really work.”
“The terms state that in exchange for a nominal £1 fee, Africa Express gets all the rights to all of the music we made, forever. Regarding royalties, they’re essentially saying ‘we’ll pay you if we feel like it’. How is this ‘committed to supporting music in Africa’? I have contacted the organizers of Africa Express stating that I cannot sign this contract until it has been amended so that the terms are more egalitarian. I have told them that I don’t just want them to amend my contract, but to amend ALL the artists’ contracts.”
She adds, “I felt obliged to share this contract because I believe it is in the public interest. People need to know what is really behind the façade of this ‘charity’. As a POC, I know the playing field is not level. It never has been. But unless we take the risk to speak out about these injustices, things will never change.”
We’ve reached out to a representative of Africa Express for comment. Read Iqbal’s full post below.
