Fan sings at the inaugural Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
Alexia Fodere
for The Miami Herald
The flags were everywhere.
Haiti. Uganda. Nigeria. Jamaica. South Africa. Bahamas. Ghana.
“Get your flags up,” the Nigeria-born Wizkid shouted during the closing set of Afro Nation. “We here for the culture right now.”
Billed as “the world’s biggest Afrobeats festival,” Afro Nation represented a unification of the African Diaspora. Over Afrobeats. Over Amapiano. Over dancehall.
“When I listen to Afrobeats music, it makes me feel alive,” said Crissy Tookes, a South Florida resident who attended the festival. “Living in American is already hard enough as a Black woman. It just makes me feel whole again.”
Below is a collection of photos taken over the two-day festival. They range from revelers enjoying the festivities to Grammy Award-winning Burna Boy donning a Haitian flag during his performance.
Fans sing along at the inaugural Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Alexia Fodere for The Miami Herald
Burna Boy dons a Haitian flag as he performs at Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Andre Dawson Special to the Miami Herald
Fans sing along at the inaugural Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Alexia Fodere for The Miami Herald
Afrobeats fans rep their country at Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Andre Dawson Special to the Miami Herald
Murietta Durrant and Melessa Durrant at the inaugural Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Alexia Fodere for The Miami Herald
Uncle Waffles performs at Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Andre Dawson Special to the Miami Herald
Amapiano fans rep their country at Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Andre Dawson Special to the Miami Herald
Mavado performs at Afro Nation Miami at loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida on Saturday, May 27, 2023. Andre Dawson Special to the Miami Herald
C. Isaiah Smalls II is a sports and culture writer who covers the Miami Dolphins. In his previous capacity at the Miami Herald, he was the race and culture reporter who created The 44 Percent, a newsletter dedicated to the Black men who voted to incorporate the city of Miami. A graduate of both Morehouse College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, Smalls previously worked for ESPN’s Andscape.
