ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the hopes, desires, and possibilities that intersect in what I call the ‘landscapes of aspiration’ in Guangzhou’s African music scene. I draw from Arjun Appadurai (2004) to argue that aspirations can be thought of as ‘navigational devices’ that not only move and motivate people but that help them navigate through, and make sense of, their transnational journeys. I contend that the overarching trading narrative about the nature of African presence in Guangzhou leaves little space for issues of agency, emotion, and aspiration to be considered in their own right. This chapter provides an ethnographic account into the lives and aspirations of certain Africans in the city.
