Kendrick Lamar Headlines Kigali Concert To Boost Concert Circuit In Africa

Kendrick Lamar headlines Move Afrika's Kingali show as part of an initiative to boost concert tours in Africa.

Kendrick Lamar has officially conducted his highly anticipated concert in Africa. The show, produced by Move Afrika in partnership with Global Citizen, took place at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, and is set to be the first of many performances by renowned artists in the continent.

Move Afrika, led by Nelson Mandela’s grandson Kweku, is a five-year initiative to boost an annual concert tour across Africa, as reported by The Guardian. The concert extends a legacy first curated by the senior Mandela, who once hosted high-profile concerts in Africa to raise awareness for HIV. His grandson’s inaugural show, headlined by Lamar, is meant to encourage other big-name artists to tour around the continent. Additional Afrobeats artists who performed include Tanzanian singer Zuchu and Bruce Melodie, a native of the country.

“If you look at some of the largest touring artists in the world, oftentimes their world tours are missing the African continent altogether, or in certain cases, they come and do one-off shows,” said Mandela. “We feel there is a great need for us to bring a robust touring circuit to the continent.”

Mandela hopes to spark job and economic growth by incorporating local professionals and artists to take part in the production of the performance. As Afrobeats gains international popularity, the quest to ensure shows occur in the genre’s origin countries has become a high priority for Mandela through Move Afrika, starting with Lamar’s participation in the global campaign. Global Citizen is spearheading these efforts, recognizing that the continent is overdue for venue development and renovations, with concert tours being an inevitable necessity in the music sphere.

“For too long, Western media giants have based the world’s biggest entertainment properties on African culture but have not invested in its local entertainment and creative economy,” said the co-founder of Global Citizen, Hugh Evans. “Over the next few years, Move Afrika will pave the way for a world-class entertainment industry that will drive local investment and economic opportunity and open up a path for more artists to tour Africa.”