U.S. superstar singer Beyonce announced that she will be touring the world to promote her album Renaissance but only dates for North America and Europe have been released on her website so far.
African fans were disappointed, but no doubt not surprised - Africa is almost always excluded from major world tours organized by global record labels. To be clear, it's not just Beyonce, writes James Chikomborero Paradza for The Conversation.
What further confounds many African fans is that it seems such a natural fit for Beyonce to revisit the continent. Her love for Africa is evident. Her visual album, Black Is King, is a testament to this. She explores and celebrates her African heritage through it. At the same time, it highlights the diverse tapestry of culture and tradition on the continent and across the diaspora. Various musical, visual, language and wardrobe elements from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa are fused in it.
The last time Beyonce was in Africa for a world tour was in 2009 with her I Am... album when she visited Egypt and Ethiopia. In 2018, she headlined the Global Citizen concert in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In popular culture, Africa has traditionally been cast as a backward continent plagued by famine, poverty, and war. This shapes how the continent is viewed when assessing its capabilities to generate profits. The management teams and record labels of global pop musicians could see Africa as a high-risk, low-reward destination. They would rather travel to destinations where profitability is guaranteed based on infrastructure and previous experiences.