Africa´s influence on Western music

African music has had a history of influencing Western music. The influence from Africa on the Americas in history is well known. But it is also common that many artists today are influenced by Africa.
One such example is Vampire Weekend. Here you can find an article on Pitchfork where a person of African descent discusses Vampire Weekends borrowing from African music, including aspects of influences, appropriation etc.

Beyoncé has been influenced by African music and culture on numerous occassions. She recently also performed in a concert in South Africa to honour Nelson Mandela.

The most well known example of African influence is of course Paul Simon´s album "Graceland" where he travelled to South Africa to record music.

An iconic African film

When most people think of film, Africa might not be the first that comes to mind in a westernern´s general view of the world. But there are of course a lot of movies from the continent that deserve more recognition.

Recently the Senegalese movie "Touki Bouki" was included in BBC´s list of the 100 greatest foreign language movies of all time. The film, directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty, is about  Mory and Anta who dream of a new life in France. The movie has also been noticed by Beyoncé and Jay Z, who made a reference to the film during their tour.

The famous American director Martin Scorcese is an admirer of "Touki Bouki".