‘The Scramble for Africa’ refers to the period during which Africa was invaded and divided between seven Western European countries. Africa was a pie, and each of these countries took a piece for themselves.

While we’re many years removed from that particular scramble, it seems like the commodification of Africa, and particularly ‘African culture’, continues on into the 21st century. However, alarmingly, new players seem to have entered the game and it’s those you would think would be more inclined to protect rather than exploit – members of the African diaspora in the UK and US, and African Americans. 

In recent years, there’s been a noticeable shift. A move by black people in Western countries to ‘embrace’ their African roots more loudly and proudly. Afrobeats is more popular than ever, and afrobeats artists are seeing more success globally than ever before, when previously, playing more than the one afrobeats song we all deemed acceptable would’ve elicited groans and eyerolls in the dancery.

We enthusiastically tune in to Nollywood productions, with Netflix aiding accessibility to more films and TV from the continent. We fondly look back on the Nollywood films of our youth, even adopting the ‘Nollywood babe’ aesthetic in our fashion, and more of us can name more Nollywood stars than ever before.