“The first show I did in Palermo, people were looking at me like, what are you doing?” he added. “Even the first four to five shows, people were looking at you. But later on, they will start getting used to the song and when you start singing, they start singing along, they start dancing along.”

A Ghanaian-owned beauty salon in Palermo
A Ghanaian-owned beauty salon in Palermo
Image: Joe Penney

Social media has given a platform to musicians who can reach a wide audience without institutional support. Artists like RayJeezy, Brenex Baba, and Thug Money who are based in Palermo want their music videos will gain traction internationally.

Brenex Baba’s video for “Thank God” shows the different struggles that African migrants face in Italy, while showcasing room for some highlights of life in Palermo and declaring in the chorus, “I thank God for my life oo.”

Hundreds of thousands of migrants from Africa and Asia passed through Palermo on their way to other destinations in Europe in the past decade. The European Union cracked down on boat crossings from Libya in 2016, and fewer Africans arrive now, but thousands are still in migrant “campos” set up by the government while they await asylum decisions.

Although other cities in Italy are known to be less welcoming to Africans, Palermo is home one of the most pro-migrant mayors in Europe, who has defied multiple governments to maintain a sanctuary city.

When the far-right Italian politician Matteo Salvini came to the Sicilian capital in early February, he tried to go to the Ballaró neighborhood but was stopped by anti-fascist protestors supported by the mayor.

“Whoever lives in Palermo is a Palermitan,” said mayor Leoluca Orlando. “The migrants have changed our minds. Mobility normally comes from abroad. But even cultural change comes from abroad.”

Mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando in his office in City Hall
Mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando in his office in City Hall
Image: Joe Penney

For now, Palermo’s music scene is mostly marketed to the Africans living in the city, who are mainly Gambians, Nigerians, Ghanaians and Senegalese. Their success in building a local scene has opened opportunities to tour other European cities. In Palermo, some Italians come to the shows, but the music hasn’t caught on in the Italian public.

“They are not civilized yet to listen to our music,” said a Nigerian musician from Surulere, Lagos named Mohamed.

Support for this reporting was made possible by funding from Columbia University’s President’s Global Innovation Fund.

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