Afropop Worldwide

[Extended Online Version] Kano State in northwest Nigeria is a land of paradox. The ancient home of the Hausa people, it has ties back to the oldest civilizations in West Africa. Muslim since at least the 12th century, the region remained largely self-administered during the era of British colonialism, and never significantly adapted Christianity or Western culture and values as in other parts of Nigeria. In 1999, Kano instituted Sharia law. But by that time, the city of Kano was also the center of a large and active film industry, dubbed Kannywood. It was also nurturing a nascent coterie of hip-hop artists. There have been a series of high-profile conflicts and crises between these forces of religion, politics and art in the years since. But as the Afropop crew discovered, Kano has achieved a delicate balance that allows film and music to continue apace under the watchful eye of clerics and a censorship board. We visit studios producing local nanaye music, with its echoes of Hausa tradition and Indian film music. We also meet young Hausa hip-hop artists striving to develop careers under uniquely challenging circumstances. Produced by Banning Eyre. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ [APWW #757] Distributed 6/1/2017

Summer is always the most active season for African and diaspora touring artists. We’ll clue you in to what we think are the best. So wherever you are, enjoy the fun fun fun free open-air concerts at Central Park SummerStage, Celebrate Brooklyn, Nuits d’Afrique in Montreal, Concert of Colors in Detroit, Grand Performances in L.A. and more. Artists we’re looking forward to seeing perform in New York City this summer include Youssou N’Dour, Toto La Momposina, Seun Kuti and Mulatu Astake. Check their websites to see if they’re coming to your town. Produced by Sean Barlow. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #756 Distributed 5/25/2017

Cape Verde, land of the the playful coladeira, the entrancing batuque, the high-energy funaná, and of course the sensual morna that Cesaria Évora helped bring to the world. At the intersection of Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Cape Verde's creole identity is reflected in the richness of its musical output, one which continues to uphold traditions while maintaining a youthful energy and demonstrating an open-mindedness fitting for an archipelago whose diaspora outnumbers its inhabitants. In this program, we travel to Cape Verde’s capital, Praia, for the Atlantic Music Expo, a yearly gathering of music professionals and local and international artists. As the city center bursts with live music, we check in on some of the most exciting sounds coming out of Cape Verde right now, hearing from talented young singer-songwriters such as Elida Almeida and Lucibela; rappers Helio Batalha, Kiddye Bonz, and BigZ Patronato; traditional batuque ensemble Tradison di Terra; and many more. Produced by Alejandro Van Zandt-Escobar. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #755 Distributed 5/18/2017

The massive Niger River Delta is a fantastically rich cultural region and ecosystem. Unfortunately, it has been laid low by the brutal Biafran War (1967-70) and by decades of destructive and mismanaged oil exploration. This program offers a portrait of the region in two stories. First, we chronicle the Biafran War through the timeless highlife music of Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson, perhaps the most popular musician in Nigeria at the time. Then we spend time with contemporary musical activists in Port Harcourt’s waterfront communities and in oil-ravaged Ogoniland to hear how music is providing hope for these profoundly challenged communities. The program features new and classic music, the words of Nigerian scholars, musicians, activists and veterans of the Biafran War, concluding with an inspiring live highlife concert on the Port Harcourt waterfront in which rappers and highlife graybeards come together to imagine a better road ahead. Produced by Banning Eyre. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #754 Distributed 5/4/2017

Live from Brooklyn, it’s Afropop Worldwide! In collaboration with Brooklyn Internet radio station Stewart Avenue, Afropop invited New York-based artists from Africa and the diaspora to our office for a unique live broadcast on Sat., Feb. 11. In case you missed it, we have highlights from the six-hour broadcast which featured interviews with singer and keyboardist Jean Gnonlonfoun of Beninois band Jomion and the Uklos; urban dancer, teacher and choreographer Kim D. Holmes from New York; bandleader and percussionist Courtnee Roze from New York; and bandleader, singer and composer Nkumu Katalay from Congo. In the first half of the show, Alejandro Van Zandt-Escobar, Afropop writer, producer and DJ from duo Eko’ fo Show, set the tone with music from Afropop’s in-house record collection and producer Morgan Greenstreet interviewed our director of new media, Akornefa Akyea, for a throwback discussion on Ghanaian hiplife music. Enjoy music and voices from Brooklyn, the place Afropop has called home for over 20 years. Produced by Akornefa Akyea. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW #752 Distributed 4/20/2017

This Hip Deep episode presents the stunning radio premiere of “Oh, David,” the traditional song of the annual Easter Rock in Winnsboro, Louisiana. The Easter Rock is in fact a surviving ringshout—the oldest known form of African American music—but it’s about 600 miles west of the ringshout’s heartland in Georgia. It’s located across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg in the Louisiana Delta, where they don’t call it a “ringshout,” but a “rock.” And it totally rocks. Producer Ned Sublette attends the Easter Rock ceremony and talks with Dr. Joyce Marie Jackson, a scholar and Louisiana native, who has been working with the Rockers for almost 20 years and confirms their tradition as a direct musical link to slavery days. In Athens, Georgia, Sublette visits Art Rosenbaum, producer of recordings by Georgia’s McIntosh County Shouters, and more. Produced by Ned Sublette. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #734 Distributed 4/13/2017

The music being made in Puerto Rico before and during the salsa years had its own sabor, even while the salsa boom was exploding out of New York. We talk to three of Puerto Rico’s all-time most important bandleaders: Rafael Ithier, founder of El Gran Combo; Quique Lucca, founder of Sonora Ponceña; and Willie Rosario, and hear key tracks from the island. Produced by Ned Sublette with José Mandry. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #207 Distributed 4/6/2017

Highlife—West Africa’s pioneer popular music of the late colonial and independence periods—has mostly faded from popularity in 21st century Nigeria. However, highlife is alive and well in Edo State, 300 kilometers east of Lagos, and the center of the former Benin Empire. Edo highlife musicians fill the role of traditional musicians by animating community ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, and praising prominent members of the community, in exchange for “financial love.” This traditionalism is also progressive: Edo highlife music draws on traditional genres like asonogun, ojeke, agbi, ivbiagogo, and ekassa, and musicians continue to incorporate instruments and styles from neighboring Yoruba communities and Western popular music. In this Hip Deep program, we'll hear how Edo highlife musicians have found sustainable careers by simultaneously rooting their music in their local communities and appealing to diasporic enclaves in Europe and the United States. Their local support has even allowed certain musicians to broach political themes, singing in support or in critique of specific politicians, a rare occurrence in contemporary Nigeria. We’ll hear from legends and innovators including Sir Victor Uwaifo, Ambassador Osayomore Joseph, and Alhaji Waziri Oshomah as well as current stars including Dr. Afile, Akobeghian and Johnbull Obakpolor. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet and Austin ‘Maro Emielu. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #751 Distributed 3/30/2017

In our visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, we go beyond the handful of artists who have achieved international careers and dive into the local scene. We visit azmaribets, down-home music clubs featuring vivacious women artists and their ensembles of traditional players. We catch Mimi and Besat live. Competition between the leading music producers in Addis is fierce: We visit the recording studio of Abegasu Shiote, who breaks down the Ethiopian pop sound track by track, and for the finale, we attend a performance by the revered elder singer of the classic Addis sound--Mamoud Ahmed. Produced by Sean Barlow. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #532 Distributed 3/23/2017 [Originally aired in 2007]

In recent months, three Afropop Worldwide producers--Sean Barlow, Banning Eyre and Morgan Greenstreet--have been working in four different regions of Nigeria to gather material for the upcoming five-part Hip Deep in Nigeria series. In this program, the producers sit down to talk about their experiences, share favorite stories and tracks, and preview Afropop Worldwide’s most ambitious field project in our 30-year history. We’ll hear Naija pop, fuji, nanaye film songs and Hausa hip-hop from the north, and highlife from Edo and Rivers States. Produced by Banning Eyre, Morgan Greenstreet & Sean Barlow. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #750 Distributed 3/16/2017

The “Black Pacific” is a term coined by our guide, ethnomusicologist Heidi Carolyn Feldman. She describes the circumstance of African descendants displaced not only from their ancestral homes in Africa, but also from the Atlantic coast nations where their enslaved ancestors were originally brought. This Hip Deep edition explores the sonically vibrant realm of Afro-Peruvian music, a young genre identification that has flourished since the 1950s and has now produced artists of international renown, such as singer Susana Baca, and the black folkloric company Peru Negro. The music is sensuous and deeply beautiful, and represents a fascinating and little-understood history. We will hear from Juan Morillo, who represents Peru Negro, from Susana Baca, and from other artists and community scholars Feldman has worked with during her extensive research of this topic. Produced by Simon Rentner and Wills Glasspiegel. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #558 Distributed 3/9/2017

We visit one of the world's last untamed natural and musical wildernesses: The Guyanas. Riding along bumpy jungle roads and in dugout canoes, Afropop producer Marlon Bishop travels from Suriname to French Guiana for the Transamazoniennes Festival, located in the remote border town of Saint-Laurent-Du-Maroni. We enjoy the region's fascinating cultural stew, where French Creole, Maroon, Amerindian, Hindu, Javanese, and Dutch elements all mingle together on the outer fringes of the Amazon and hear styles like kaseko, bigi pokoe, aleke and kawina. We'll speak with local stars Prince Koloni, Little Guerrier and Chris Combete, as well as visiting acts such as self-proclaimed "African gypsy" Wanlov the Kubolor and polyglot rap crew Nomadic Massive. Originally aired March 2012. Produced by Marlon Bishop. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #630 [Distributed 3/2/2017]

Every September, millions of people celebrate Carnival in Brooklyn. From the pre-dawn J’ouvert bacchanal in the streets, to the intense Panorama steel pan competition, to the massive Labor Day Parade on Eastern Parkway, central Brooklyn is transformed into a Caribbean cultural haven. But before the fun comes months of preparation and centuries of history. We follow Caribbean steel pan groups, masquerade bands and Haitian rara groups through their preparations and celebrations and we hear how members of these Caribbean communities keep their cultural activities alive and thriving despite considerable challenges: violence and political backlash associated with Carnival, and soaring rents and cultural changes in Brooklyn due to gentrification. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet, Saxon Baird and Sebastian Bouknight. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #739 [Distributed 2/16/2017]

Every January, New York's Webster Hall jams to the music of 12 bands on three stages in one wild night. globalFEST has become an annual kick-off ritual for music-minded New Yorkers. This program samples the 2017 lineup with dynamic live recordings from Cuba (Septeto Santiguero), Congo (L'Orchestre Afrisa International), Ghana (Jojo Abot), Sudan (Alsarah and the Nubatones), Morocco (Hoba Hoba Spirit), and more. We also speak with Modero Mekanisi about the revival of Afrisa International, and with Reda Allali about Hoba Hoba Spirit's Moroccan roll. Produced by Banning Eyre and Sebastian Bouknight. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #748 [Distributed 2/09/2017]

On this program we survey the careers of two giants within their genres. Bunny Wailer is the last surviving member of the original Bob Marley and the Wailers trio. Right up to his 2016 tour, where we met him, this architect of reggae music has continued to carry the banner with new concerts and recordings. And he tells his story with bracing poetic candor. Meanwhile in Egypt, Hakim, the lion of shaabi music, remains a superstar and a player in that country’s turbulent pop scene. On a rare visit to New York, Hakim gives us a tour through his post-revolution songs, and offers personal insights into Egypt’s equally turbulent politics. Produced by Banning Eyre. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #737 [Distributed 2/02/2017]

Borrowing the title from Cuban polymath Fernando Ortiz, producer Ned Sublette takes a group of travelers, including you, to multiple sites in western Cuba to analyze the musical impact of what Ortiz called the "Cuban counterpoint" of tobacco and sugar. We'll hear endangered species of drums in mountain farms and sugar towns, drilling down into the deep culture of the Afro-Cuban world. We'll hear sacred drumming as handed down from Kongo sources, from Yorubaland, from Dahomey, and more, in sites that are indelibly stamped with the imprints of Africa, above all in music. We'll hear an incredible poetic improviser, go to a block party in Matanzas, and talk to our guest scholar, Latin Grammy-winning record producer Caridad Diez, about the power of rumba and its meaning in Cuban society in the wake of UNESCO's designation of rumba as world heritage. Update: Ned Sublette's group was in Cuba at the time of Fidel Castro's death. Ned, who covered the story for Billboard, tells us what he experienced as Cuba went for nine days without live music. Produced by Ned Sublette. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #747 [Distributed 1/26/2017]

Barbados recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence. We look into the rise and mysterious fall of the funky Bajan spouge beat which ruled the island in the ’70s, and discover a few underground musicians who are trying to keep it alive. Calypsonians Mighty Grynner and Red Plastic Bag detail their contributions to the lyrically potent kaiso scene. Soca stars Alison Hinds and Edwin Yearwood talk about the pros and cons of the island's competition circuit, and we learn about the hot new "soca bashment" scene. Produced by Saxon Baird and Noah Schaffer. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #746 [Distributed 1/19/2017]

New York City is home to a diverse community of Colombian musicians and groups who create in a wide range of traditional, popular and experimental music styles for diasporic communities and beyond. Our “Colombia in NYC” program takes us from independence day celebrations in a chic Manhattan club with accordion virtuoso Gregorio Uribe, to vallenato parties and outdoor festivals. We’ll hear from experimental groups Combo Chimbita and Delsonido; traditional Afro-Colombian bullerengue group Bulla en El Barrio; salsero, folklorist and educator Pablo Mayor; innovative dance bands MAKU Soundsystem and Grupo Rebolú; harp virtuoso Edmar Castañeda, and many more amazing performers. Along the way, musicians weave in stories about nationalism, identity, place and diaspora, and discuss the challenges and opportunities New York offers for Colombian musicians. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #736 [Distributed 1/12/2017]

The confederations and clans collectively known as the Tuareg descend from the oldest inhabitants of North Africa. They lead a mostly nomadic existence across the Sahara Desert, in the lands we now know as Algeria, Libya, Niger and Mali. Tuareg communities have long felt neglected by independent African governments, especially in Mali, which has endured a succession of rebellions. In 2012, a Tuareg uprising led to a year-long crisis in which the Malian north separated from the country and fell under harsh control by Islamic extremists. Ironically, these extremists banned music, which in the hands of modern bands like Tinariwen had been a crucial means for expressing Tuareg aspirations. This broadcast unravels the complex history and provides a vivid portrait of the Tuareg predicament in Mali today. The program samples a rich variety of Tuareg music and includes conversations with Tuareg musicians and cultural authorities in the wake of Mali’s crisis, along with University of Houston anthropologist Susan Rasmussen, who has been researching and writing about Tuareg culture for over 30 years, and veteran journalist and author Andy Morgan. Produced by Banning Eyre and Sean Barlow. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #727 [Distributed 1/05/2017]

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. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #512 [Distributed 12/29/2016]

In hard times and boom times, people in Ghana know how to party. In this program, we hear the regional pop and neotraditional music that animates festivals, funerals and community celebrations across the county. We travel to the lush Volta region in the east to hear Ewe borborbor, agbadza and brass band music. In the northern city of Tamale, we hear Dagbani traditional music, hip-hop and pop, and visit the vibrant Damba chieftaincy festival in nearby Yendi. Back in the bustling metropolis, Accra, we get down to the latest pop hits and underground styles moving hips in the capital city. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW PGM #745 [Distributed 12/22/2016]