SWP: AY, D'Banj And Other African Musicians In The White House Ready For The U.S.A

Heads of state of most African countries will be in Washington, D.C. Aug. 4-6 for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and so will some of Africa’s top musicians, who plan to entertain with a message.

The ONE Campaign launched the “Do Agric” campaign in January to support the 2014 African Union Year of Agriculture. Growth in agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa today is estimated to be 11 times more powerful at reducing poverty than growth in other sectors such as mining and utilities,

The continent-wide ONE Campaign urged African leaders to adopt better agricultural policies that will help tackle youth unemployment, boost the productivity of African small holder farmers, and help lift millions of Africans out of extreme poverty.

AY and D'Banj

Artists, including DRC’s Fally Ipupa, Nigeria’s Femi Kuti and D’Banj and South Africa’s Judith Sephuma will travel with Manchester City soccer star Yaya Touré to Washington D.C. with The ONE Campaign to be part of the conversation about the U.S.-Africa relationship,

Other artists who will be in D.C. for the event include A.Y. (Tanzania), Buffalo Souljah (Zimbabwe), Omawumi (Nigeria), Victoria Kimani (Kenya) and Wax Dey (Cameroon).

The artists will hold advocacy meetings with U.S. officials, Washington Fellows from the Obama administration’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and Members of Congress. They will also perform Aug. 4 during an event at the Newseum, including the song “Cocoa Na Chocolate.”

These artists represent a larger group, led by D’banj, that gathered earlier this year during the official African Union Year of Agriculture to record the number the hit song in support of ONE’s pro-agriculture campaign in Africa, “Do Agric, It Pays.”

“These amazing artists and soccer star Yaya Toure represent a new era of hope, where Africans take responsibility for their own destiny,” said Dr. Sipho S. Moyo, Africa Director for ONE. “They joined ONE across the continent to play a major role in ensuring a positive outcome for agriculture in Malabo and they will be in Washington D.C. with us this week to remind African leaders about the need to implement their commitments. And we at ONE, along with our CSO partners, will continue to work with policy makers to ensure this continent wide promise is implemented country by country.”