Afropop Worldwide

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Afropop worldwide is your source for music and stories from the African planet. We explore the the world through sound, from the ancient past to the cutting edge present, combining music, history, and culture. Distributed by PRI.

5 DAYS AGO

Nairobi Roars

The Kenyan capital is roaring into the 2020s. On this program singer/songwriter/producer Eric Wainaina introduces us to a rising cadre of artists rocking the Nairobi scene. From hip-hop and dancehall to r&b and Gengetone, the city’s cultural melting pot is coming to a boil at a time of political change when artists are finding their voices to speak out against government corruption and champion social justice movements. We meet artists on the front line--Juliani, Karun and Blinky Bill—and take a side trip to Kakuma, one of Africa’s largest refugee camps where music, including hop-hop, is literaliy a matter of survival. APWW #831

59 min
5 NOV

Planet Afropop: Sia Tolno And Afro Dead

Sia Tolno escaped war-torn Sierra Leone to become a popular singer in Guinea. As her career blossomed, she shifted to Afrobeat, with deep grooves and strong political messages. But festivals and her record company discouraged her new, big band direction, and she set out on her own. That’s when Sia met American guitarist/bandleader Aaron Feder, leader of Alma Afrobeat Ensemble out of Barcelona. When Aaron set upon the idea of creating a collective of musicians to interpret Grateful Dead songs in African styles, Sia was intrigued, and the rest is history... This podcast tells the long, strange story of Sia Tolno and the Afro-Dead Collective. Produced by Banning Eyre.

55 min
31 OCT

Africa in Melbourne

Known as Australia’s music and cultural capital, Melbourne is a hub of creativity boasting a diverse arts scene. The African community in Melbourne has been growing with Africans from all parts of the continent bringing their fashion, food and music to the city. In this episode we’ll explore African musicians and music curators who are making their mark in Melbourne. Expect to hear a blend of traditional African instruments by the Melbourne African Traditional Ensemble (MATE); funky jazz fusion by Black Jesus Experience; South-Sudanese modern rock by Ajak Kwai, and hip-hop from IJALE and Sampa the Great. We’ll also meet the presenter of the longest running African radio program in Australia, Stani Goma. Guiding us through our journey of Melbourne’s African music scene will be DJ Kix, bringing to light some of the nuances of migration, identity and life in Melbourne. Produced by DJ Kix. APWW #836

59 min
24 OCT

Soul to Soul: Ghana's Legendary Music Festival

On March 6, 1971, a group of some of the top musicians from the United States – Ike & Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, The Staples Singers, Santana, and more – boarded a plane bound for Ghana to perform in a musical celebration that was dubbed the “Soul to Soul Festival”. Thousands of audience members filled Accra’s Black Star Square for a continuous 15 hours of music. The festival was planned in part for the annual celebration of Ghana’s independence, but also an invitation for a “homecoming” for these noted African-American artists to return to Africa. This episode revisits the famed music festival and explores the longstanding legacy of cultural exchange with African diasporans originally set forth in the 1950s by Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana. Tune in for interviews with noted musicologist John Collins, poet and scholar Tsitsi Ella Jaji, concert goers and more. Produced by Brandi Howell. APWW #829

59 min
21 OCT

Planet Afropop: Yamé: From the Paris Underground to the World Stage

Yamé is a French artist of Cameroonian descent who artfully merges R&B, hip-hop, and jazz in his music. On the strength of his breakout single “Bécane,” with a video shot in Cameroon, this young artist held firm at #1 on the Global Spotify Viral charts, accumulating over 68-million streams to date, and winning the attention of the producer Timbaland. Like Stromei before him, Yamé has made the unlikely journey from Paris’s underground jam-band scene to global fame in record time. In this episode, producer Elodie Maillot recounts the journey in conversation with the man himself, and we hear from another boundary-crossing Paris cosmopolitan, Lebanese trumpet maestro Ibrahim Maalouf.

53 min
17 OCT

Sam Mangwana - Le Pigeon Voyager

They call Sam Mangwana "Le Pigeon Voyageur" - a roaming pigeon. He could also be called a rolling stone because wherever he lays his microphone is his home. In this episode, we behold the amazing return of rumba's living legend - Sam Mangwana. Produced by Georges Collinet. APWW #863

59 min
10 OCT

The Cumbia Diaspora: From Colombia to the World

The Cumbia Diaspora: From Colombia to the World by Afropop Worldwide

59 min
8 OCT

Planet Afropop: Mokoomba in the House

When Zimbabwe’s dynamic roots band Mokoomba had a chance meeting with a house music producer and an American kamelengoni (Malian pentatonic harp) player, the sparks flew. A few weeks later, they all gathered for two days to write and record a song aimed at the lucrative Afro-House, DJ remix market. In this Zimbabwe-focused episode, we hear new mbira music from Mary Anibal and Othnell Mangoma Moyo, and go inside the creation of a future Mokoomba dancefloor sensation. Produced by Banning Eyre.

48 min

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Afropop worldwide is your source for music and stories from the African planet. We explore the the world through sound, from the ancient past to the cutting edge present, combining music, history, and culture. Distributed by PRI.