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Episode details

World Service,11 Jul 2026,35 mins

Gemma Griffiths

This Is Africa

Available for over a year

Gemma Griffiths has become a much-loved star in her native Zimbabwe, and has collaborated with many of the country’s most successful artists, including reggae dancehall musician Winky D. She grabbed the attention of music fans with her soulful cover of his song Musarova, leading to their collaboration on Mu Garden, which broke Zimbabwean records by reaching 1 million views on YouTube in just 13 days. A formally trained jazz musician, Gemma Griffiths draws on a wide variety of influences to inform her Afro-fusion sound. She released her debut album, Gemma, in 2025. It was ten years in the making. In this interview DJ Edu and Gemma discuss how being a white musician in Zimbabwe has affected her career, trade favourite songs, and have fun with the Shona language. DJ Edu's 10in10 tracklisting: Mil Ano - Tarrafal & Ruben Teixeira (Cabo Verde) Pass Katouts (Anguii) - Helix Dynasty, Bombo & So'Fresh (Mauritius) Mamá Epet - Fistong Boy (Equatorial Guinea) Mad Over Me - Lali X Lola & Rappidd (Ghana) Mi Corazon ft. Alva, King Luca & Yvuti - Elisha k X JZyNo (Cameroon) My Sweetie - Salone Cool J (Sierra Leone) WARDA ft. Manal - Inkonnu (Morocco) YBTM - Joeboy (Nigeria) !Nō - Kalux (Namibia) Bendeka ft. Nutty O & Saint Realest - Onesimus (Malawi) Presenter: DJ Edu Producer: Catherine Fellows

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