Afropop Worldwide Afropop Worldwide

Part 2 of our Hip Deep in Ethiopia series features insights from Professor Kay Shelemay of Harvard University, author most recently of Sing and Sing On: Sentinal Musicians and the Making of the Ethiopian American Diaspora (2022). This episode, originally aired in 2009, takes us into Ethiopian Diaspora communities in the United States and Israel, and also in Addis Ababa itself, where new winds are blowing. Harvard's Kay Kauffman Shelemay and Ethiopiques CD producer Francis Falcetto provide expert insights. We visit Dukem Reastaurant and Nightclub in Washington, DC, and meet singer Hana Shenkute. We also speak with Idan Raichel of Israel.

APWW #516

Ethiopia was the first Christian nation in Africa, and the only African country never to be colonized. With ethnomusicologist Kay Kaufman Shelemay and Ethiopian music scholar and compiler Francis Falceto as guests, this Hip Deep program explores the role of the Ethiopian church and monarchy in building the country's unique brassy pop music. We sample the hot sounds of "swinging Addis" on the eve of the 1974 revolution. Produced by Banning Eyre in 2006.

APWW #512

South Africa is one of the biggest dance music nations, and now it seems like the whole world is dancing along to its amapiano (piano/yanos) beats, a genre that blends its kwaito roots with house, jazz and its signature log drum.

Afropop Worldwide first explored amapiano’s origins and growing popularity in October 2020. Since then, the genre has seen explosive growth outside of South Africa. A combination of factors, such as: a fresh unique sound, social media, the African diaspora, hard work, and a bit of luck at the right time, has put Amapiano on the global stage.

Amapiano is proving to be a genre that has both depth and breadth, but is it here to stay? We tackle this question, and explore how this homegrown sound is winning over the hearts of audiences across the world. We also speak to two of its rising stars: Teno Afrika and Luxury SA.

That’s all in this episode, Amapiano to the World. Produced by DJ Kix.


APWW #867

On this episode of Planet Afropop, Georges Collinet interviews fellow Cameroonian Gino Sitson. Sitson is a maverick maestro who blends unique vocal techniques with sounds from classical instruments—cello, violin, double bass—with African traditional elements. You have to hear it to believe it. You will likely share Georges’ amazement. Also, new music from Bamako-based Ivoirian reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly. His latest album, Acoustic, marks a striking new direction for Fakoly.

The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation recorded a goldmine of local music in the 1960s and 70s, but the tapes were neglected and close to ruined when broadcaster Waliko Makhala raised the alarm. With help from the Norwegian embassy and Norwegian broadcaster Sigbjorn Nedland, digitization got underway. In this program, we sample the results guided by Waliko, Sigbjorn and Martin White, curator of African Poems, a website dedicated to preserving poetry from around the continent. Produced by Martin White.

In 1991, Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited made their second tour of the United States. It was a fascinating transitional moment in the band’s history. Mapfumo had recently added two musicians playing the metal-pronged, Shona mbira, enriching the band’s lineup of guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, brass and percussion. The band had now evolved into a kind of folk orchestra in which everyone sang, allowing for beautifully layered vocal arrangements. This recording, made by Afropop Worldwide at S.O.B.'s in New York City during that historic tour, is a true gem in the Afropop archive. It captures one of Africa’s most innovative and unusual artists and bandleaders at the height of his powers. One listen to this sublime recording and you will understand why producer Banning Eyre devoted some 15 years to writing the book Lion Songs: Thomas Mapfumo and the Music That Made Zimbabwe.