Made In Bénin RadioMade In Bénin Radio

The station went on air in the first days of December 2020 with one rule and no exceptions to it: every record played has to be by a Beninese artist. That covers more ground than it sounds — the seventies Cotonou dance orchestras at one end, this decade's crop of afropop singers and rappers at the other — and the people running it describe the result as a shop window for a culture rather than a music service. It is online only, with an app that was built alongside the stream at launch.

Bénin Passions turns the catalogue into a daily blind test through the songs everyone is meant to know. Le Hit MIB and Le Top MIB count the week down, Rap du Bled takes the rap end, and Fresh From Koutonou reports on how the business works — who owns what between artist, producer and beatmaker. Dedications come in and get answered in French and Fon.