Johnnie Walker, an award-winning scotch whisky label, promotes advancement and forward thinking with the tagline: Keep Walking.
This statement appears on billboards and bottles worldwide, but few live by it. Johnnie Walker and Trace Africa deliberately sought out these Africans, taking bold moves for a big reason for the Keep Walking: Africa Top 30 list. The Top 30 are next-generation creatives who disrupt the existing quo and open new possibilities. Through music, fashion, art, film, and media, these Top 30 are introducing Africa to the world. Welcome to Africa’s Top 30 courageous walkers.
Junior Orina, a Kenyan fashion designer, started a sustainable clothes business to address fast fashion waste. Nairobi Apparel District produces streetwear using up-cycled sustainable textiles, promoting environmental action and African fashion. Junior says, “A couple of years ago, streetwear stalls opened around the city with clothing from Europe and China. None of these stores sold Kenyan clothes. There are few Kenyan-owned streetwear firms, therefore we share a love for streetwear and sustainability. We did it for the culture to see if we could establish a community-based Kenyan fashion approach.” Junior’s curiosity led to an initial transformation and then excellence.
Nearby, another fashion designer is traveling in Zambia. Artist Mainga Sanderson captivates the world with his African spirit. According to him, Vitenge Ni Vatu is more than just a fashion brand; it represents the essence of a young African daydreamer who sees the world through African print, capturing and preserving the core of his identity. I want to encourage the best in as many people as possible through Vitenge Ni Vatu. VNV reminds us to dream daily.”
Mainga brilliantly demonstrated that dreaming changes everything. From Zambia to New York and London Fashion Weeks, Mainga is impacting and inspiring others.
Inspiration only goes so far; support and teamwork can go further. Rwandan musician Ish Kevin holds this belief. Ish says collaboration strengthens his Trappish II manufacturing values. “In Rwanda, a producer can produce a song for you but doesn’t want other producers to touch it,” he says. But when we came, we said, ‘Yo, why can’t three, four, or five producers work on one song and make a hit?’ Each song on my latest EP, Trappish II, features three or four producers.” Collaboration expands reach and encourages new approaches.
Pongo, an Angolan musician, took a new path. After a difficult start, Pongo fled her home nation with a broken leg to Portugal. Pongo would get down at Queluz train station, a diverse neighborhood with many African immigrants, to obtain leg physiotherapy in Portugal. There, she witnessed Denon Squad perform kuduro on the street. She danced and rapped with the group after her injury healed. This encouraged Pongo to recreate herself as a solo artist in Lisbon. With frenzied African rhythms, techno beats, and rapping, her music celebrates conquering obstacles. Pongo’s life is always changing, yet she takes it one stride at a time, showing Africa’s and Africans’ unshakable character.
