Five African Music Highlights at Coachella 2024

This past weekend, Coachella returned to Empire Polo Club for the first weekend of its festivities. The three-day festival regularly features an eclectic lineup of artists from the U.S. and across the globe, and this year was no different. Headlined by Lana Del Rey, Tyler, the Creator and Doja Cat, the expansive setlist featured Bronx hit-maker Ice Spice, Colombian reggaeton maestro J Balvin, U.K. Afrobeat collective Kokoroko, and many more.

Tems, Spinall, Mdou Moctar and Tyla were confirmed earlier in the year as performers. However, Grammy-winning Tyla pulled out of her slot as part of her canceled tour and live performance plans due to an injury. Below, we go through the highlights that made the weekend — Sunday mostly — standout for these performers.

Doja Cat’s headlining set gets flavored by Isicathamiya, thanks to South Africa's The Joy

Photo by Valerie Macon/AFP.

Doja Cat and The Joy perform during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, on 14 April 2024.

Not much has been said about Doja Cat’s South African heritage by the artist herself but, last night, she showed that she might be in better touch with it than we thought. In the opening segment of her exciting set, marked by delightfully weird visuals and fashion choices, Doja Cat was joined by The Joy, a five-man acapella group who harmonized in neo-classic Isicathamiya fashion. Crescendoing with a performance of “Shutcho,” Doja Cat was surrounded by the group who wore an all-white outfit, herself clad in a white, fur two-piece, as they eased the swaggering slap out into a spirit-filled moment of assertion.

Tems’ set is graced by a pair of high-profile superstars

Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Coachella.

Tems performs onstage in the Mojave tent at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 14, 2024 in Indio, California.

With her highly anticipated debut album Born In the Wild coming in May this year, according to her latest Instagram post, Tems continues to manifest her striking superstar powers. Inside the Mojave tent on Sunday evening, Tems held the crowd in the palm of her hands with those captivating, smoky vocals, performing her versatile range of soulful and catchy songs. As is customary of such a big festival, she pulled out “Essence” to get everyone singing along. Seemingly to her surprise, Nigerian superstar Wizkid joined her onstage, and he was followed shortly after by Justin Bieber, who hopped on the remix. Even in the midst of her two uber-popular colleagues, Tems was very much the magnetic center of that moment.

SPINALL’s historic moment for Afrobeats DJs

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella.

SPINALL performs at the Sahara Stage at the 2024 Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival weekend 1 day 3 at Empire Polo Club on April 14, 2024 in Indio, California.

In recent years, SPINALL has been raising the ceiling for Afrobeats’ DJs and curators. On Sunday, he became the first Afrobeats DJ to perform a dedicated set at Coachella, after Uncle Waffles set the tone as the first amapiano DJ to play at the festival. The CAP, as he’s fondly called, was in total control all through his 45-minute run in the Sahara tent on Sunday afternoon, spinning some of the biggest and most fun songs in African pop right now, with a constant smile on his face. Popular Nigerian artists Teni and Fireboy DML also came onstage for brief cameos during the set, adding to the star power and overall fun of SPINALL’s set.

Mdou Moctar takes desert blues to California desert

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Coachella.

Mdou Moctar performs at the Gobi Tent during the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 14, 2024 in Indio, California.

Mdou Moctar has been one of the most exciting rock bands for the past decade, and they got to strut their stuff on Sunday afternoon on the stage of the lightly packed Gobi tent. The Nigerien band, which features American bassist Mikey Coltun, is gearing up to release its new album, Funeral for Justice, and it premiered some songs off the album in the California desert. While most, if not everyone, in the crowd didn’t understand the lyrics sung in Tamasheq, there was no denying the bewitching attributes of the head-banging grooves and electrifying guitar solos. Even in the relatively more quiet moments, the music held the hundreds in attendance spellbound.