Fox of FoxOnTheRun drops a post about a twenty-year old memory and a changing neighbourhood:

“The jerseys represent a who's who of international soccer and national colors. as dusk settles in - the social scene moves to the parking lot. ghana has made it through the group stage. the spirit is lively. an african summer party in the central ohio suburbs -where only the upper can afford to live. the alien music from the canal st kiosks re-appears. all the current sounds in african rap, dance hall, and reggae are represented. man this city has changed.”

thursdayborn of The Hiplife Complex writes about HipLife videos on youtube.com. Discussing a classic cut by group VIP, “Ahomka Womu”:

“VIP's classic cut, “Ahomka Womu,” one which you should definitely know about. The song combines old school highlife in a really tasteful way, making it one of the biggest tracks in the last few years. The first couple verses of rhymes are dead-on with catchy phrasing. A relatively interesting video, especially near the end when the trio of rappers/singers have a 70s flashback moment complete with matching suits and afros.

The majority of music video directors in Ghana stay away from ironic or conceptual themes. There are some notable exceptions, though.”

Stella Noir of Through the Dawn of the soul talks on the Cape Verde artist Sara Tavares, listing her current tour schedule:

“She is of Cape Verdian Descent but lives in Lisbon, her music is a fusion of her African/Portuguese roots she'll be coming to Toronto 11th of July and i'll be sure to check her out!!!”

After searching for and listening to a few tracks I agree with Stella. Great music. Stella has provided a link to an online interview and music video.

thursdayborn posting on Awesome Tapes from Africa reviews an Ali Farka Touré tape, dropping three mp3s from it.

“Ali Farka Touré was perhaps the most influential and widely celebrated African musician in history. He adapted his ancestral music to the 6-string guitar. The results are brilliant. I won't say much more, there's been more than enough written on Ali in the last while. I'm too lazy to link most of it here, but you can get a good start with NPR's tribute piece and Banning Eyre's Village Voice obit.”

As stated in the quote NPR and Banning Eyre have online audio tributes of the great man so fire up your audio players. RIP, Ali.

Matilda Egere-Cooper of Harowo writes about a recent London concert by Somalian Hip Hop/Soul Artist K'Naan and explores his history:

“Backstage at Cargo, a club in east London, K'Naan is having a reflective moment. “There's a lot of Somalians who've been out and introduced to the world, but not in the right way,” he frowns. “Whenever a piece is written about Somalia or a struggle within Somalia is shown on film, television, news or papers, it is struggle minus dignity. They don't know how to attach dignity to our struggle, but we do.

And so I think, ‘if no one is going to do this, I'm going to do this'.” In a few moments he'll back up those words, using hip-hop to articulate his experiences to a mixed crowd of English rap fans and Somalian kinfolk, many of whom jump around and dance with pride as they sing along to traditional Somali folk songs, bass-heavy party-starters and, finally, the electric anthem ‘Soobax'.”

I have seen K'Naan perform and he is a very engaging artist. She goes on to talk more on his campaign and his views on the World. Engaging read.

Dacks of The Abstract Index talks on a DVD of Ethiopian legend Mahmoud Ahmed:

“He's sounding as good as ever, over 40 years into his career and still with silky smooth phrasing and good breath control. The band is pretty game, too. There's no acid rock guitarist of course, and the mix is pretty hands-off, but there's a pretty tight horn section and the drummer gets nice and insistent about half way into the set. Ahmed has tons of charisma - in a gentle, mature way - to get the crowd going by the third song. With such a strong Ethiopian and Eritrean community in Toronto, moving the crowd is no big deal for this seasoned performer.”

Dacks, in another post makes a case for Seattle's Sublime Frequencies label:

“The usual arguments against much of the Sublime Frequencies oeuvre are that artists are never credited, much less paid, when compiled and edited in this way, and that the collages purport to present “authentic” cultural experiences when in fact they are simply different world music constructs than say, big-budget international recordings by the likes of Cheb Khaled, Salif Keita and many others. Furthermore, the mixes themselves are liable to further exoticize the elements it draws from.

I don't really buy into the authenticity argument - I keep going back to Manu Dibango's point of view in his autobiography “Three Kilos Of Coffee” where he discusses audience expectations of African music ‘what do (audiences) want from us? Palm trees on stage?'.”

Don't agree? Get involved.

Frank Chimney of track of the day honors father and son Hugh and Paul Tracey by posting an mp3, from the Luba people of Congo:

“Last night I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Tracey, son of Hugh Tracey the first person to record traditional African music in the 1920s. Hugh Tracey made countless field recordings, released hundreds of albums as part of his “Music of Africa” and “Sound of Africa” collections, and founded the International Library of African Music. Paul is a musician himself and was gracious enough to demonstrate a set of his new African horns as well as the log drum. So today I am re-ruling this gem in honor of him and his father.”

Derek Bermel of inspirations talks on his travels in the north west of Ghana and discovering the music and instruments:

“The Daghati people are split between three countries: Ghana, Burkina-Faso and Côte-d'Ivoire. Their main instrument, the ‘gyil’, is an ancestor of the Western marimba, and is ubiquitous in the society; it is played inside and outside, at festivals, funerals, ceremonies, and church services. Several times during my stay Baaru traveled on foot to a nearby river; there he gathered materials, which he later hand-crafted into xylophones with his nephews Kuulinsu and Maanibe.”

Obi of soul on ice writes about a recent london tour by the Senegalese group Daara J:

“The house was hyped by the time Daara J came on. They launched straight into their material with the tune “Bopp Sa Bopp”. Heavy bounce tune and in no time we were jumping. They brought everything to the stage and Fadda Freddy was soon belting out the soulful backing. and boy could he sing! and strum a mean guitar string which he did for an acoustic version of Marley “No Woman no cry”. Definitely a strong reggae/dancehall influnce on the Senegalese scene.”

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Yesterday dj earball of Sound Roots posted an mp3, “Take Out the Fences”, from Togolese singer/musician Yawo to inspire the Togolese football team, Les Eperviers (Sparrow Hawks).

“Up With People” veteran Yawo started his music career in his native Togo, studying flute, electric bass, and classical guitar. The title of this album might refer to his musical influences as much as the world harmony he so clearly desires. Yawo's feel-good Afropop music straddles the walls between African, pop, jazz, and reggae. Singing in a mix of English and African languages, he calls for freedom, justice, and more bodies on the dance floor.”

“Take Out the Fences” is from the album of the same name and is on general release.

Wen, a guest blogger on the excellent music blog Benn loxo du tacu, drops a post on Ghanaian Hip Life:

“Ghanaian Hip Life is a hybrid of Afro-American hip-hop and West African highlife. It is characterised by rapping over a 4/4 beat, however it differs from most traditional hip-hop with its melodic lead vocals. The rap is mostly in the local languages Twi, Fanti, Ga and Ewe, but also in the lingua franca of the Muslim minority, Hausa. The official language in Ghana is English, though due to migrant relations with the neighbouring countries French is also used. In these songs we hear a more pidginised form of English which contains old expressions from colonial times that are still used today.”

The post highlights the Hip Life group VIP and provides mp3s to the songs “Ahomka Wo Mu”, “Ni Ne Naki” and “Adoley”. Enjoy.

soul on ice blogs about the Ghanaian Hip Hop profiling the artists Wanlov and Ambassadoz:

“Ghana's music heritage is very rich with HighLife and more recently HipLife. You only have to go to a Ghanaian party to know what i'm on about. The HipLife genre is really hot with the likes of Reggie Roxstone tearing up the airwaves. More recently the hip hop scene has grown strong. Two of the heavyweights on the scene are Ambassadoz and Wanlov”

mp3s are provided for the two artists featured. Wanlov's “In Ghana” is definitely an anthem as it mentions the black stars of Ghana scoring goals. Hip Hop Braggadocio and appropriate.

Arafat of arafat.blogspot.com talks on a panel discussion, hosted by (Arts & Ideas), on varieties of human migration. Arafat's analyses this discussion quoting extensively from Listening to Music by Yale lecturer Craig Wright:

“The blues…were greatly influenced by the experiences of African Americans in the rural South and reflect African musical practices. In fact, almost all forms of twentieth-century American popular music — blues, ragtime, jazz, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n' roll, funk, rap, and hip-hope — show, in one way or another, ties to African music. Most of the slaves arriving in the United States came from the western part of Sub-Saharan Africa — from the western part of the continent below the Sahara Desert. Today the countries of Sub-Saharan West Africa have names such as Senegal, Guinea, Ghana, Benin, and Ivory Coast, though in fact the boundaries of most of these nations are more or less artificial lines drawn by nineteenth-century European rulers.”

Arafat concludes his analysis and in his own words:

“The history and evolution of African song and music in America is partly an evidence of admirable human courage: of that elusive phenomenon of resistance even in the most horrible of circumstances. It becomes a story of survival in the face of the worst of injustices imposed by the powerful against the powerless.”

Nikhil P. Yerawadekar of oh word collection talks about his first tour with Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble at the Joshua Tree Music festival in California:

“We got a lot of props from the hippies at the Joshua Tree Music Festival. Hippies like that are really generous and nice and I have to say I enjoyed the time I spent in their company. But as much as I appreciated the kindness, I found myself hating on hippie taste pretty much non-stop during the festival. They put the band up in a classy ranch house a few miles removed from the festival and we spent a lot of time there playing music, relaxing and getting nice. As a result, I only got to see four acts (I missed Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited, which was probably the only show better than Akoya), and of the four, I only enjoyed the at-times gimmicky but overall very impressive solo guitarist Kaki King.”

Nikhil gives the festival a thorough review and talks on the state of music. Good read.

Ian Russell of living with mr. flea writes about orchestra baobab of Senegal:

“Orchestra Baobab originates from Senegal, West Africa and was once the house band in a VIP club in Dakar – Club Baobab – hence the name. However, the band members are not all Senegalese, and have brought with them the flavours from their own musical roots to create a delicious blend of African traditional beats to mix with Latin rhythms popular in Dakar clubs in the early 70s. there followed a period where their style fell out of favour and they all went off to find other work but then people got tired of the new pop and so interest in baobab reignited and they all had to give up the real world to play music together - the lead guitarist, Barthélemy Attisso, was working as a successful barrister (that's english for lawyer!) in the interim so not an easy choice for some. when these guys get going they rock! I defy anyone hearing them not to want to get up and get down.”

Ian has also drawn and posted a “Portrait of the artist as african noble listening to orchestra baobab on a boom box”. You have to see this one. Really digging this blog.

Cold Sweat of Lock it down looks at what artists could be featured on a future compilation of African Music:

“After two great compilations on African music focussing on the nowadays vibes instead of looking back, both African Rebel and Lagos Stori Plenti were good for a very positive shout-out on this blog, we figured it's also time for Lock it Down to look ahead. So instead of reviewing an album already released, we now bring you an update of artists that should fit perfectly well on a future comp. Trust us, if these tracks were to be released on a compilation, it would be a killer.”

Cold Sweat goes on to profile the artists Fafadi, Ahlou Bi, Meta & The corner stone, Gokh-bi, As Malick and Wa Flash, all Senegalese artists. Each profile is a short bio on the artist with a link to their myspace.com page to showcase their sound. Yup, sounds like a solid compilation for the future.

Count Reeshard of no condition is permanent writes on the Lijadu Sisters

“There is much to love about the Lijadu Sisters, identical twins of entirely self-determined nature who sing like birds, albeit carnivorous birds with roomy lungs. The sisters raised a brood of four kids, none of whom allegedly knew which Lijadu sister, either Kehinde or Taiwo, was their respective mom. The Lijadu Sisters seemed to be well in control of their professional destiny and critical of the colonial mentality that pervaded Nigerian record companies. They also had little patience for the male chauvinism that was seemingly part of the furniture in their native Nigeria.”

Count Reeshard provides downloads of a number of their songs. Definitely worth the download for the sheer quality of their music. Enjoy.

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Matt of Benn loxo du taccu keeps it football blogging live and direct from the media center at the World Cup in Berlin. He talks about the War Child “Help” albums and their importance:

“10 years later the Help compilations are still great and still raising money for a good cause. Originally Help was brought-out by War Child to raise money for war-town Bosnia-Herzegovina. It’s amazing that the Bosnia conflict was only 10 years ago, especially when you consider that some of the countries involved are now vying for EU membership.”

Matt goes on to mention Tinariwen, a Tuareg band featured in the latest album, Help: a day in the life, and provides an mp3. He will be dropping posts on African teams in the World Cup so look out for that.

Generation Nubia answers requests to post pictures of 2Face Idibia, winner of Best African Act at the MTV Music Awards 2005.

“This are pictures from the Mtv music awards last year so why are we posting them,two reasons actually :We didnt see to many full lenght decent pictures of him at the event and secondly this is probablly the only picture that shows him with his ‘baby mama'..so this is one for the history books.”

Generation Nubian also blogs about the recent black eyed peas tour of South Africa to support their aid foundation. Pictures of the Peas and Nelson Mandela are also posted.

Steve Ntwiga Mugiri links mp3s from the artists Les Wanyika and Orchestra Les Mangelepa. Really good songs worth checking out. He also provides links to other artists and musical sites. For the soccer mad he's dropped a seriously cool link to Nike's latest Joga Bonito (portugese for “play it beautifully”) video:

“To the soccer mad among you: Adrain, Mental, Sokari et. al.The world longest soccer video at Nike Soccer’s Joga Bonito. Very bandwidth intensive so avoid the link if you are on dial up. 2 BTW’s, first, does anyone know what that serious background music is? Next, Mental, a google ad came up on your site when I was checking out your soccer posts: Check it out all the way at the bottom: find lasting peace in Jesus no matter who wins. Very appropriate in my humble opinion.”

The first “BTW” i'm also curious about as the video soundtrack is heavy, heavy, heavy. The second “BTW” relates to something very funny but you'ld have to figure for yourself. Hint: Jesus and the World Cup. Google ads eh?

Hans Riemer of Rock the Vote blog talks about the role of rap in West African politics focussing on Senegal:

“Rap has made inroads into a country renowned as one of the centers of West Africa's vibrant music scene, where the Mbalax style of dance music derived from traditional beats and popularized by N'Dour is a favorite genre. In the early '90s, bands like Daara J and Positive Black Soul recorded hip-hop albums in Wolof, the most widely spoken African language in the former French colony, where many unemployed youth take to rap with dreams of hitting the big time.”

Hans goes on to explain:

“Quickly becoming the voice of a generation eager for jobs and education but frustrated by corruption, inefficiency and a lack of opportunities, they built up a loyal following.”

He reflects on a time hip hop and rap in the US had a strong political undertone and wishes for a revival.

sucka for life blogs about the Nigerian born, neo-soul guitarist Keziah Jones:

“I first checked for Keziah Jones in Paris at this spot named Le Triptique. The acoustic soul underground (if you will) there was holding a party for him. Celia from Les Nubians who is a fan of his dragged me there making it mandatory that I check him. While there, he made it known he had checked me a couple of years back in London at the Jazz Cafe with BFE.”

sucka for life puts up a clip from a New York show. For those interested in listening to his music check out this radio.blog link. This guy is incredible.

Morgan in Africa living in Rwanda talks about Congolese music:

“… due to my proximity to Congo, radio stations are dominated by Congolese news and music. Congolese music is variant, but it’s always fast and lively. Some types place more emphasis on traditional instruments, but the types of songs that are most popular on the big radio stations are called “salsa,” “rumba,” and “cha-cha”; in other words, it’s Latin American-style music, but sung in Lingala or Swahili. After a conversation with some colleagues today, I discovered that they thought that this music was uniquely Congolese!”

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Anandkumar Arumugasamy of My XPerience as me blog talks on the inclusion of music in computer games and highlights an in-game song, “Baba Yetu” (The Lord's Prayer in Swahili), featured in the game Civilization 4:

“The first track, “Baba yetu”, is like THE perfect song and made quite an impression the first time I heard it. It's an awesome intro song for an awesome game. The song itself is in Swahili (an African tongue) and features bold drums, a great voice and a soothing chorus. You wouldn't understand a word of it of course, but if you care to know, the song's supposed to be a famous christian prayer called ‘The Lord's Prayer'”

The song was recorded by the Standford University music group Talisman A Cappella specifically for the game. Anandkumar goes on to list the top in-game songs from other popular games. An mp3 file of the song “Baba Yetu” can be downloaded here. Amen.

FAOAfrican drops a short post highlighting the ban of misogynistic songs by the Central African Republic government:

“Central African Republic has ordered radio and television stations to stop broadcasting songs which encourage men to dump their wives, saying such music is a hindrance to the country’s development.”

More details of this ban can be found on the bbc website. Rightly so as music should uplift and not encourage discrimination in any form. Well done.

Mentalacrobatics blogs on an interview on the bbc about the lack of access to the UK market by African Artists.

“I was listening to an interview on the radio a while ago on the BBC where an African music promoter was complaining about the lack of access African artists and African promoters have to the UK. He complained that governments and venues would fall over each other to host concerts like Live8 where they are raising money for us, but those same governments and venues will never assist African promoters in generating wealth for Africa through bringing African artist to the perform in the west.”

Mentalacrobatics goes on to throw open questions on the intentions of the Live8 organisers. Contentious issue.

Fly blog highlights the website africanhiphopradio.com:

“It’s still early days but the site is slick and full of information. The most recent programme was put out in Feb 2006 and features interviews with emcees and discussions focusing on issues facing African hip hop and of course music from all over the continent - all the compass points are covered.”

africanhiphopradio.com, run by the hardworking J4, has hours upon hours of quality African hiphop and informative commentary. Shows are by regions with everything from Egyptian to hip hop by the way of Cape Verde. A sister site, africanhiphop.com, also exists and complements the radio site with very active forums and news articles. Essential bookmark.

dj earball of SoundRoots posts an interesting review of the album “Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda.“

“The rich liner notes give a great background to the 600-strong community of people near Mbale in eastern Uganda who are practicing Jews, keeping kosher, celebrating Jewish holidays, praying in Hebrew. The community was founded by Semei Kakugulu, whose literal reading of the Bible eventually led him, and his followers, to Judaism.”

earball provides links for further information. Talk about cultural juxtapositions!

Matt of matsuli music blog posts on “The Franco of East Africa”, talking about a popular sixties group The Morogoro Jazz band:

“The Morogoro Hotel, Tanzania, early evening some time in the late sixties. The open-air make-shift band-stand hosts a new band born in the spirit of independence and African authenticity. Hired to keep the punters drinking and honing their skills from dusk til the early hours. The band is known as the Morogoro Jazz band and amongst its members are Mbaraka Mwinshehe and Salim Abdallah, both of whom were to go on to become legendary musical figures in seventies East Africa.”

Matt talks about Mbaraka and provides some mp3s to showcase his sound.

afrogasm blogs on Yoruba music, providing information on the rare album “The Yoruba/Dahomean Collection - Orishas Across the Ocean“:

“The music is compiled from Library of Congress archives and comprises recordings made by several researchers between 1939 and 1957 in Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, and Trinidad; Mickey Hart is one of the producers and editors. This time, I'm going to take the time to read the whole booklet ‘cuz there's some fascinating historical and cultural information there; but first, I'm just going to listen because the music is really wonderful.”

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John Buckman of magnatune blog gives a reason for the lack of African music on magnatune

“I received two great African music CDs recently. These are musicians from Africa, recording in London. However, I can't accept that CD for Magnatune, because the recording is totally owned by a producer in London, who would then receive all the sales royalties, and none would go to the actual performers. This situation, where the recording company or producer owns all the rights to an album, is the norm in world music.”

A very moral and importance stance. The artist must have ownership of his material.

Cold sweat of Lock it down reviews the record “Lagos Stori Plenty“

“While we're still at home enjoying “African Rebel” as, without doubt, THE best reggae compilation cd to see the light of day this year, the busy Germanz of Out|Here records went back to Africa to cook up a fine new release: Lagos Stori Plenti. A comp with the finest hip hop Nigeria has to offer today. An yet again, it's killing.”

looking forward to listening to this cd and sampling what Nigeria's finest have to offer.

Akii Bua Denise of Late Nights in Kampala talks about Monday nights in the capital city of Uganda.

“For starters, most people are nursing their hangovers from all the parting they did from Friday night. Some just got married and are still promising their undying love for each other…
Me, well I have to work on the radio so I do not have the space to exercise the above pleasures! But yesterday was different. Apparently while most are hanging out, proposing or honeymooning, there is a group who sit together at the National theatre and try out their luck on the microphone. They sing, they recite poems, someone plays the drum”

Akii displays a picture of Bee Cool, one of Uganda's most prominent reggae artists.

Too Me To Blog reviews an LP, “Expressions”, by Nigeria group Styl-Plus.

“Already familiar with the inner workings of the styl-plus machine, given that I oscillated between fan and hater during the Olufunmi era (for all those that missed it-It was a surreal period in Nigerian history when every Nigerian had this one song stuck in their head), it was good to note that nothing had changed. Production credits still go to the Styl-plus in-house production duo of Sunky and Mekoyo.”

Kaysha posts pictures of his current tour of South Africa. Kaysha is a Congolese born artist currently living in West Indies and has put out four albums.

“Sending a lot of love from Sandton, South Africa… It’s a bit cold, it’s winter here, but I really enjoy the country…
I’ll post photos of my shows in Pretoria, Joburg tonight, Mozambique very soon. I also been in great clubs, thanx to Chivas, like Palms, Taboo, etc…”

Kaysha also has an extensive collection of photos detailing his tours and music activities.

Muki Garang wades into the definition of African Hip Hop:

“In Africa it is not clear at all from my research as to what the definition or the characteristic of Hiphop is. Some view it as musical genre, others term is as them, in that, they as individuals are Hiphop and thus form the culture while others do not have an idea at all so they do not bother or most mimic to fall victim to the contemporary bandwagon of ardent trend keepers.My definition of hiphop is based on two schools of thoughts;a) The Evolution b) The imposition.”

Muki Garang goes onto explain and discuss his definition. Good read. Muki has uploaded a few of his videos on vsocial.com for us to enjoy.

Sampsa Daily provides a really good link to a website called Afromix:

“The most extensive discographic database on African and Carribean music. Nearly 2000 artists and more than 5000 albums referenced, organized by musical styles, country, instruments, labels and years. Many links towards artists, labels, festivals sites…”

Afromix is a portal of African and Carribean music and features an extensive discographic database profiling over 2000 artists and referencing 5000 records. Impressive and very informative. Essential bookmark.

John K of J's Theater writes about the African Rap festival that took place in Conakry, Guinea back in April:

“I'm not familiar with many of the groups (well, none other than Neg' Marrons [see below]), but I would love to see and hear how hiphop is developing and transforming as a musical form and practice in sub-Saharan Africa, especially now that hiphop and rap have become a vital mode of cultural, political and social production across the globe.”

John is interested in more information about the artists and access to their audio/video stuff. Do comment and tell us if you are better informed. More information is available on the festival's website.

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Found a really cool online African music show, African Beat, hosted by David Vandy and Executive Producer Matthew Lavoie (Voice of America). I really dig Vandy's presenting energy with a beautiful selection of music streaming out of my computer's speakers. What did one do before the internet? Great show (available in various media formats). Soundtrack to this roundup. Enjoy.

First massive big up to MsaniiXL for winning the Kenyaunlimited Best entertainment blog award 2006 (the kaybees). MsaniiXL, in addition to an appreciation post, writes about poet and rapper Muki Garang:

“If “ya'll” havent heard about Muki Garang, he is an emcee that has been doing his thing for minute, he also does poetry(I know one of KBW fam posted something about this but it escapes me who, apologies are in order)”

The post provides a video stream to one of Muki's music videos and some great links to other artists. Muki is a Nairobi based Sudanese rap artiste.

Still on the topic of Sudanese rap artistes Street Knowledge reviews the album, “ceasefire”, by Sudanese rapper, Emmanuel Jal:

“You may have heard the story behind this more than the music, but definitely don’t sleep on the sound, which is deep no doubt. Jal’s garnered much press as a rapper who was conscripted as a child into the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in the war that has torn up Sudan the last few years.”

Emmanuel has an excellent website with loads of media for your enjoyment. Good stuff.

Lock it down reviews a number of records and talks on album “Various Artists: African Rebel Music” (Out|Here Records)

“Presenting hits from 10 countries ‘African Rebel Music – Roots reggae and dancehall’ gives a first insight into the new reggae dancehall movement in Africa (including a very informative 24 page booklet).”

Dj earball of SoundRoots celebrates another year in the life of artist Hugh Masekela.

“When you think of Masekela, you have to think not only of his music, but his role as something of an ambassador-at-large for South Africa (and specificically, black South Africa). The stories he tells in his songs capture snapshots of life, past and present, for ordinary South Africans.”

In another post dj earball mourns the sad loss of a friend and honours his memory with a song, “the soul” , from South African poet/musician Mzwakhe Mbuli. Rest in peace.

sungoddess of Blogcritics.org writes an excellent post on the popular hip hop crew, Orishas, from Cuba.

“Solid percussion and full throated singing features as much as rapping and scratching, and the flow is impeccable. There is a true base Cuban son and merengue base built upon with hip hop back beats, beutiful melodies and a real mix of grittiness and silkiness… it's a fascinating blend. The music is sophisticated, while blending African rhythms in with a very modern hip hop sensibility.”

From the comments you can tell how great these guys are. A Lo Cubano!!

Functional Nomad, writing on dub peotry, blogs about the launch a new/first book of dub poems:

“I was at the launch of d'bi young's new/first book of poems last night at the Lula Lounge. I had expected the event to be a love-in, but instead was greeted with a snapshot of a community in action — Toronto's dub poetry, or dubpoetry as Klyde Broox insists, community. Hailing from the Jamaican dance hall and reggae traditions, dub poetry has kept its roots firmly planted in the musical tradition, but with an obvious acceleration of the textual dynamics.”

Reflecting on the event he writes:

“What I realized last night, however, courtesy of d'bi young's outspoken comments on the issue, was that I was witnessing a working-class literary tradition. It brought to mind images of Joe Wallace reading to crowds of thousands of workers, or Dorothy Livesay and Milton Acorn and Earl Birney contributing to social justice and communist causes through their poetry. The connection between the dub performers and their issues/ideas/politics and their audience was perfect and indelible.”

Dub poetry is a very interesting genre and the main champions of the scene are Benjamin Zephaniah and Linton Kwesi Johnson. Informative post.

Nkem Ifejika of African Shirts writes about the unstoppable UK, Ghanaian born rapper Sway:

“UK hip-hop doesn't get enough airplay or exposure, which is why selling a mere 20,000 copies of an album is considered successful. Shame that, because there are some very good artists out there, and Derek “Sway” Safo is one of the very best. He won a MOBO last year, and was one of several Africans (he's Ghanaian) who did well in an awards show traditionally dominated by winners of Caribbean origin.”

He provides a YouTube video of Sway's latest single “Little Derek”. Sway dropped a brilliant album recently and the skits between songs are hilarious. In one he mimics a young Koffi Anan. Top 10.

I have had a few serious queries on what's good and hip on African Hip Hop. Everything I say so on that note I'll sign off by pointing you in the direction of two of my online music spaces where you can stream and listen to good African hip hop and other African music flavours. The African Hip Hop Project (name says it all) and Africa, the center of the world (traditional and contemporary stuff). Enjoy and see you next roundup.

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“The Coupe-Decale created by Doucoure during the militaro-political crisis in Cote d'Ivoire,reflects the aspirations of the Ivorian youth. Coupe-Decale is a very melodious and percussive African samples, deep bases, rythmic and very well accommodated. It is a unique style. Coupe-Decale is about happiness,expresses the day life of the Ivorian society, and also gave an insight into the political situation of the country. The prominent artists of Coupe-Decale are Sagacite (Doucoure), DJ Brico, DJ Arsenal, Papa Ministre with his famous tune “Coupe-Decale Chinois”, and many others talented Ivorian artists.”

I did a quick blog search which turned up loads of results but all in French!! The frustration I feel sometimes. It's one thing not understanding the language to the lyrics of a song (not a big issue because the music vibe plays a big part) and another not being saavy to a huge musical movement because of language barriers. Like the French say C'est la vie. Summer language classes calls beckons. Welcome to the African music Round up.

Hans of Powershot drops a good review of the recent WOMAD festival which took place in Adelaide, Australia in March. His review mentioned a lot of African acts that performed at the festival:

“Cape Verdean singer Lura's second show, in the rain on Sunday, was a revelation. Her sensual dancing and vocal style seemed to fit with the later timeslot, showing the various musical styles of Cape Verde, ranging from slow blues to vivacious funk.”

he goes on to write:

“Kanda Bongo Man's Congolese Soukous dance music was a prelude to the glorious Cuban-influenced swing of the legendary Orchestra Baobab from Senegal who kept a mellow, inviting and happy groove. Their version of Coumba, from the classic Pirates' Choice CD, sang with delight.”

Got a link to Steve Ntwiga Mugiri's blog (thanks Sokari) and his latest entry provides an mp3 link to Samba Mapangala's song Marina (Listening as I type). Steve blogs on Kenya, Africa, music and “the world we live in”. He's also taking taking requests for mp3s to link on his blog so visit and join in the party.

Soul on Ice reflects on the recent death of Nelly, founding member of the Tanzanian hiphop crew X Plastaz.

“I read of the passing of Faza with great sorrow. I discovered the X Plastaz sound through africanhiphop.com and it introduced me to that East African slice of hiphop also known as Bongo Flava. The idea of Masai warriors putting their feelings and inner city plight to wax initially sounded gimicky but when I saw a few videos and heard a few tunes i was impressed. I saw what they were about and read up on the crew.”

Please visit their website and sign the condolence book. Rest In Peace.

Red Ruin has compiled a mp3 list of hiphop songs from across the world featuring an X Plastaz song, “Nini dhambi kwa mwenye dhiki“:

“In recent years the X Plastaz have become known for being the first hiphop crew to use Maasai music and culture in their performance. Maasai singer Yamat (also known as Merege) is now a full member of the group who has joined on tour and in the recording studio.”

Soi Disantra provides an interesting take on African music classification:

“The second thing I discovered: “African music” as I generally imagined it at least, doesn’t really exist. By that I don’t mean that there isn’t a ton of music from Africa; anything but. Nor am I trying to say that “African” can’t be a fair and accurate descriptor – “Afropop,” I think, is a pretty all right broad classification. What I mean is that to take a continent that’s churned out so much rich, amazing and – dare I say – diverse music, and just sorta imagine that it’s all the same was pretty damn naïve. Soukous is not mbalax is not afro-funk is not rumba is not Ethio-jazz is not Afrobeat is most certainly not one of the myriad traditional/tribal musics. Fer example: while they’re both Western forms of music, and pretty closely related ones at that, metal ain’t Merseybeat.”

Lovely Amphibian talks on Ugandan Artist Ragga Dee winning the Pearl of Africa Music Award for best Ragga artiste of the year 2005:

“To give an indication of how monotonous the event is becoming, the man himself, while accepting the award, said the organisers should scrape the raga artiste of the year category, or better still rename it, the Ragga Dee Award.”

Moistworks reviews a few albums by the late South African Jazz musician Johnny Dyani. On the song “Song for Biko” he writes:

“You know the way that on most CDs the so-called bonus track is not worth listening to - an alternate take that was ditched for quite obvious and audible reasons? Well, in this case the bonus track was the best track: the long, two-part “Lonely Flower in the Village.” It starts with Dyani's amazing bass. You only need to hear a couple of notes to hear that he is a great bass player.”

Mosistworks goes on to “Witchdoctor's Son” and “Good News from Africa“. He's also provided mp3 links to the songs reviewed. Excellent stuff.

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The we mourn the sad passing of Ali Farka Touré of Mali aged 67. Ali has a left a huge legacy for generations to get to know and enjoy.

Matt of Benn loxo du taccu remembers and salutes “grand Touré”

“Way, way before I ever even thought of moving to West Africa - or even out of Canada - I was into Touré’s albums Talking Timbuktu, Radio Mali and Niafunké. They were a gateway into the rich world of contemporary African rock and blues, and ultimately helped shape my musical taste for the region.”

To remember him Matt has left two mp3 audio links for us to enjoy and listen to the voice of the Blues man from Mali.

Supa Sista leaves us a simple message with a link to Ali Farka Touré's Discography.

“Thank you for blessing us with your music.”

SoundRoots also remembers the great man:

“Sometimes called the “African John Lee Hooker,” Toure won a Grammy award recently for his duet album with Toumani Diabate, called In the Heart of the Moon. It was his second Grammy, following one in 1994 for Talking Timbuktu, his collaboration with Ry Cooder.

Toure died in the capitol, Bamako, but will be buried in his hometown of Niafunke. He was elected mayor of Niafunke in 2004.”

SoundRoots waxes lyrical on the South African Movie “Tsotsi” that recently won an Oscar.

“I don't think of the Academy Awards as a great promoter of world music and culture. But their selection last night of the South African film Tsotsi as Best Foreign Language Film is certain to gain attention for the soundtrack, which is dominated by kwaito. Sometimes called “South African Hip Hop,” kwaito (the term translates as “anger”) seems to run the gamut from cheezy knockoffs of western hip hop to amazing blends of modern beats with roots drumming and choral singing.”

Afrobeat Trainspotter announces the Lake of Stars Festival 1ST - 3RD September 2006 @ Chintheche Inn, Norther Malawi.

“This year the word has spread throughout Africa with artists and festiver-goers alike coming from Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Zambia. Headlining and hosting the event will be BBC 1Xtra's Ras Kwame http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/ras/ , Chibuku residents the Beat Monkeys, Phat Phil Cooper, Maverick Mitchell and Malawi stars Tikhu Vibrations, the Black Missionaries and Wambali.”

Afrobeat Trainspotter talks about Mpho Skeef linking an interview:

“South African born Mpho Skeef seems to be cutting a path through the music inustry. Heard ‘booty la la' track by Bugz in the Attic? Thats Mpho on vocals.”

Soul On Ice has provided a link to an mp3 playlist (london cosmic junction on webjay.org) with the “booty la la” track. listen and enjoy.

Rizoh's Rapup profiles another South African born Artist, the rapper Jean Grae:

“Since she kicked in the door about 10 years ago, Jean Grae (Tsidi Ibrahim)has captured rap in a choke hold and she’s not letting go. Born in Capetown, South Africa to a jazz pianist father and a vocalist mother, the former LaGuardia High scholar is no stranger to music or the controversies that come along with it. Her parents fled to New York when she was a toddler in order to escape the blooming apartheid in South Africa at the time. Rapping about struggles, joy, pain, and sometimes simply kicking knowledge Nasir Jones style, Jean Grae is everything an average female rapper’s not. She’s the exact antithesis of Foxy Brown and Lil’ Kim.”

Doug Paterson guest hosts the Best Ambiance online show to drop sweet African music from across the Continent. Something for all listeners.

ASID blog (anti slackness intellecutal development) drops a reggae style podcast from badgals-radio.com to support the “save daffur coalition rally to stop genocide Apr 30 2006″ presented by Mama Asid.

“Also we ask that you Take a Moment and send a copy to your favorite email lists and your closest email friends. ask them to circulate this plea as humanitarians to end the killing in Darfur. Remember that Darfur Today could be Detroit or Dayton Tomorrow..”

Please support this campaign and listen to the Podcast.

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Another French/African (Cameroon) classic is the neo-soul album “Princesses Nubiennes” by the group Les Nubians. breath of life blog waxes lyrical on the remix of their hit song “tabou”.

“the feature track—an alternate version of Les Nubians’ French-language cover of Sade’s “Sweetest Taboo”—is subtitled ‘Roots Remix,’ but it is actually a remake. The original version appears on the album; for the new version, Les Nubians enlisted the The Roots band to provide all-new and all-live instrumentation.”

It's a brilliant remix of the original and the Roots crew live backing is incredible. breath of life blog goes on to talk about their output to date:

“the first Les Nubians album is best experienced all at once, as an album. “Saravah” is from their 2003 release, One Step Forward, a collection that is both more scattered and more ambitious than its predecessor. It also happens to be blessed with one of my all-time favorite cover photos.”

Jon Kertzer of The Best Ambiance blog has posted his usual cracking show blessing us with some of the best music out of Africa. Any radio show that opens with Miriam Makeba's world wide hit Pata Pata (2000) gets three thumbs up.

“A real varied mix of African music on the program this week, including music from Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Gabon, Angola, Congo, South Africa, Togo, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Guinea , Zambia, and Gambia.”

As usual The Best Ambiance provides a playlisting of all the artists played.

Soul on ice brings us a very special documentary. BBC music dj and UK emcee Rodney P travelled to Sierra Leone to see how hip hop was playing a part in rebuilding a war torn society and the result is a riveting documentary.

Soul on ice has provided a link to Rodney's website and you can listen to the interview and read his travel journal.

jazz-not-jazz blog posts an interview with one of South Africa's leading jazz artist Andile Yenana.

“Andile Yenana’s album Who’s Got The Map? is already one of my favourite jazz albums this year. If you want to discover South Africa’s jazz music of today, I guess there couldn’t be a better start.”

jazz-not-jazz blog also provides an indepth review of Who's Got The Map? With the artists such as Hugh Masakela South African has a very rich jazz tradition which is worth the exploration.

Talking of interviews, Naija Jams recently dropped a post on an interview with Nigeria's hottest talent Mode 9. Mode 9's is also popular for one of his hip hop songs “419 state of mind part II“. The song is a cautionary tale to the would-be advance fee fraud victim told over a beautiful, bouncy beat.

“You know that feeling you get when you discover something special, something rare or extraordinary? It’s the feeling of finding a sealed 1985 Dele Abiodun album in a dusty San Francisco record store. And it’s the feeling I got early last year when I first heard the music of Mode 9.”

Naija Jams has provided a few mp3s showcasing Mode 9's work. Get sampling as they don't last long.

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The Hiplife Complex, who spent a year in Ghana making a documentary on the genre, blogs on the thoughts of everyday people on hiplife and it's effects on Ghanaian youth.

“This guy is worried about profanity in hiplife lyrics and its effect on Ghanaian youth. He gives us a laundry list of hiplife's good and bad contributions to society, making many of the statments I heard repeatedly from a variety of players in the industry.”

The Hiplife Complex concludes his post with a link to Maximus Ojah's entertaining and thoughtful insights on Hiplife in Ghana

One of hip hop's best and prolific producers JayDee a.k.a JDilla passed away two days ago. This is a great loss and his extensive talent will be missed. rest in peace my brother JayDee. toddkelley.net pays tribute to the great man on his blog and drops a dope selection of his work on radio.blog. I couldn't say it any better.

mixtapeshow.net makes a departure from his usual music blog format to present an audio interview Kareem Edouard. Kareem has made an impressive and educative documentary called Bling: Consequences and Repercussions which explores the deadly trade of conflict diamonds.

“What does this have to do with you? Well, if you’ve watched a rap video in the past 7 years, you’ve probably seen someone that is (probably unbeknownst to them) helping to fuel the conflict diamond trade. If you’ve already seen the documentary, this should provide some more information and background on what the production and whatnot are all about.”

mixtapeshow.net also provides a link to a free 11 minutes download of the documentary.

Negro Please waxes lyrical about Red Hot + Riot, a cd dedicated to the music of Afrobeat founder Fela Kuti, the Nigerian legend who died from AIDS-related complications in 1997:

“As this album plays, it's funk and jazz blended with traditional Nigerian root music and these contemporary artists singing or rapping above it, I know, without a doubt, that I am both African and American. I feel this music at my core.”

Naija Jams highlights one of the songs off the Red Hot + Riot album, a remake of Fela's hit “Zombie” by Bugz in the Attic and Singer Wunmi. He gives an interesting background to the song:

“In 1976, the planning of the Second World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC77) was underway and Fela was invited to part of the Organizing Committee.
He soon realized that many of the involved were interested only in lining their own pockets & pulled out, staging a protest performance at The Shrine running concurrently with FESTAC77. It was here that Zombie made its public debut.”

Naija Jams has removed a link to the remake but the song can still be heard on aurgasm's music blog.

Continuing on the afrobeat theme SoundRoots did a roundup of the current players on the afrobeat scene.

“Anyone with an inkling of musical curiosity has at least heard of Afrobeat. It's the funk-drenched, politically charged Nigerian music pioneered by Fela Kuti. For some reason, lots of this anti-establishment music tends to be available for free download around the internet.”

SoundRoots has provided links to free downloads on Afrobeats acts like Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Akoya Afrobeat

I'll sign out by linking to the sternsmusic.com's African music top 25 chart for feburary ‘06. enjoy the week.

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Complicated Fun posts on Kenyan hip hop and Afrofuturism and talks on the Kenyatta Day ‘05 celebrations in Minneapolis (October 10).

“While Kenyatta Day offers a glimpse of Africa's future in hip hop and cinema (see below), the local exhibit, discussion, and events surrounding Afrofuturism at the Soap Factory (near St. Anthony Main) peer forward into the future of the African Diaspora, and use the sci-fi imagination to satirize the past”

Complicated Fun goes on to talk about the local premiere of a documentary called Hip Hop Colony by Kenyan director Mike Wanguhu.

Bob's blog talks on Senegalese hip hop crew Daara J:

“If Africa is in the midst of a hip-hop renaissance, the Senegalese trio Daara J could be the movement's foremost statesmen. Earning accolades worldwide for their vibrant 2004 record Boomerang (Wrasse Records), the Dakar-based MCs Faada Freddy, N'Dongo D and Aladji are keen to explore the links between worlds old and new, and their music lies at the crux of what they call an emerging “hip-hop civilization.”

Bob's blog provides a link to an interview with Faada Freddy and a link to some of their music (kexp seattle).

The African Cup of Nations is on and Naija Jams reminds us of Nigeria's failure to qualify for the world cup. On the eve of their opening match against Ghana words of encouragement come from US-based musician and self-acclaimed soccer nut, Pa-J:

“When it comes to Nations Cup,
Ghana Go Hear Wien…
Na den, them go sabi what’s up
Ghana Go Hear Wien…
Shebi na 3-0 dem go chop
Ghana Go Hear Wien…
When the green white green enter the green grass
Show time, make we skata anything dey waka pass”

Naija Jams look forward to some excellent football and provide an mp3 link to Pa-J's song, Ghana go hear wein.

The Best Ambiance blog introduces us to:

“New music tonight from Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Mahotella Queens from South Africa, as well as music from Brazil, Madagascar, Angola, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Senegal, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and much more.”

The Best Ambiance blog has posted a link to the online radio show (kexp seattle) and provides a playlist for the music. You can also find links to archived shows in the blog. I find the Real Audio links work the best. Excellent music.

BluePie Artists blog posts an interesting interview with Thomas Turino, a professor of musicology and anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana.

After conducting extensive field work in Zimbabwe during the 1990s, he published
“Nationalists, Cosmopolitans, and Popular Music in Zimbabwe” (University of Chicago Press, 2000). A complex work examining the role of music in Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and establishment of statehood, Turino’s book provides an excellent account of the social, political, and historical circumstances in which Thomas Mapfumo rose as a composer, singer, and bandleader.

Thomas Mapfumo was and is still very popular for his musical stance against the then Rhodesian government. In the interview Professor Turino talks on his research work and time in Zimbabwe.

WFMU's Beware of the blog highlights a very interesting music project by DJ Doug Schulkind's called Culture Shock.

“Dont pass up this amazing collection of jaw-dropping, mind jarring cross-cultural music hybrids. Eighty minutes of melodious map-melters that set the world on its ears”

Culture Shock features music from a number of African (Ali Farka Toure, Babba Maal), Indian and Chinese artists. Doug has provided all the mp3s free for download with information about each song as a gift to his listeners. He also hosts an online music show called Give the Drummer Some . Past shows are archived on his page.

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“Like many big-name West African musicians, lately Keita has been sticking more to his acoustic roots and less to the casio synth. While the album still may be overproduced in my opinion there are still some great tracks that highlight much that is great about contemporary West African acoustic guitar music, particularly that coming out of Mali.”

The really cool thing about Matt’s blog are the mp3 links and the special feature where you can listen to a song right there on the site. Salif’s song “Yambo” is posted and he’s also included a link to an interesting interview.

Msanii_XL, blogging out of Kenya, is the one stop for all things African hip hop. He current post profiles a new emcee called blitz. blitz is in the mould of the rap group Dead Prez and focusses on conscious, political, uplifting material. Msanii also gives an interesting run down of his top ten rap albums of 2005.
he talks on rap duo Zion I:

“True & Livin‘….Amp live the beatmaker behind the group completely changed up his entire production and what he came up with is one of the better albums i have heard this year, with Zion I the emcee of the group spitting some realness, minus the thug poser-ism. This Bay area crew dropped some hotness, with varied guest spots “Nerd-rap” fav Aesop rock , Talib, Gift of Gab among others. Fav joints ‘Poems 4 Post Modern Decay’, ‘So tall’, ‘Birds Eyeview’(took a page from commons i used to love her), ‘What u hear’.”

Msanii also posts a podcast featuring Kenyan/African and American rappers (includes “2000 seasons” by Reflection Eternal. heavy)

SoundRoots reviews the “Sierra Leone & The Refugee All Stars” album. This project was recorded by six Sierra Leone musicians living in refugee camps in neighbouring Guinea.

“The album Living Like a Refugee includes one disc of raw field recordings from the refugee camps in Guinea, and one disc of studio recordings done in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The music — African folk/pop with a strong reggae influence — includes heartbreaking messages of peace and forgiveness, despite what the refugees have been through. A film on the band recently won “Best Documentary” award at the American Film Institute’s International Film Festival. Information on future film screenings and other band news is available at the Refugee Allstars site.

SoundRoots have also posted a song, “Mental Slavery“, off the album for download. Listen and support.

Naija Jams hails 2Face for winning MTV’s African Artist of the year 2005:

“Earlier this month, 2 Face Idibia (formerly of the Plantashun Boiz) was awarded African Artist of the year at the 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s nice to see one of the so-called “local boys” getting international recognition!”

Naija Jams goes on to talk about how hard it is to get hold of information and music by 2Face and features a 2Face photo gallery:

“The one place I was able to did find 2Face’s Face 2 Face, sent me a poorly packaged bootleg CD-R that was so badly reproduced (copied) that it was completely unplayable… and for $8 (1000 Naira) no less. Complete with a smeared, inkjet-printed, paper adhesive cd-label of an off-center color copy of the original CD. The other films/music cds purchased from the site were more of the same.”

Island of Spice blogs on the richness of South African music and it’s lack of world exposure:

“South African jazz–and the many genres that influence it, like marabi, kwela, isicathamiya and mbaqanga–is amazing, especially when you see live performances and feel the energy the artists bring to the audience. The South African music tradition is as profound and varied and extraordinary as African American music–it just hasn’t had the same international exposure.”

He details an interesting parallel between South African music and African American music:

“But beyond the sad story of “Mbube,” there are great sparks of creativity in the parallel history of South African and American music. The seeds were sown when migrants from rural South Africa brought their indigenous rhythms and musical traditions to the big cities, where they blended new hybrid styles heavily influenced by American jazz and big band sounds.”

BadGals-radio highlights the upcoming Bob Marley celebrations, “Africa Unite“, kicking off Feb 1-6th.

ALTHOUGH THE second annual ‘Africa Unite’ two-concert series is slated for Ghana, Africa, in early February, Rita Marley made it clear on Tuesday evening that the celebrations of Bob Marley’s 61st birthday are not restricted to one continent. Or, in fact, one race.

When we say ‘Africa Unite’ we mean black people anywhere you are. It is not really black by skin, but black by heart,” she told those gathered in the rear courtyard at 56 Hope Road, St. Andrew, on Thursday evening.

I’ll sign off by pointing readers in the direction of africanhiphopradio which is an excellent online radio station operating out of Amsterdam. It covers hip hop from all over Africa presented by famous regional djs and includes interviews and interesting studio banter.

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