African Music Podcast

In this special edition of Afropop Worldwide, cutting edge African artists Emmanuel Jal from Sudan, K'Naan from Somalia, Angelique Kidjo from Benin, El Hadj N'Diaye from Senegal as well as Michael Franti from the U.S. celebrate the 60th anniversary of the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed on Dec. 10, 1948 in the wake of the horrors of World War II. The artists share their thoughts and feelings about the fight for human rights in their countries and around the world, and share their songs that these struggles have inspired. Produced in collaboration with Amnesty International and Link TV Television Without Borders.

With new visa fees, a weak dollar, and the decline of the CD business, it's not easy for foreign musicians to mount a successful U.S. tour these days. And yet they keep on coming! On this program we catch up with an exciting collection of hearty, traveling Afropop musicians. We'll hear insights, memories and fabulous music from Zimnbabwe's Chiwoniso, Umalali and The Garifuna All-Stars, Lobi Traorandeacute;, Joep Pelt, and more.

Missionaries and nationalists rubbed shoulders in Kenya as early as 1906, when Kenya was a young, British colony. Christianity has long been closely allied with local, cultural expressions: however, it was only with the spread of radio in the 1940s that choral makwaya groups began to be heard by mass audiences. Hymns, arranged in 4-part harmony and translated into African languages, mark the humble beginnings of what has become a robust industry in Kenya. Today, Christian-themed music dominates the country, from traditional drumming and singing, to Kenyan country music, to guitar band pop, to reggae and rap. Our guest on this program is author and ethnomusicologist Jean Kidula. Kidula will trace Kenyan music's development from the 1940s to the present, placing rare and unavailable musical examples from her extensive collection in historical context. Produced by Siddhartha Mitter.

(Part 1 in a two-part series marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.)On January 8, 1959, Fidel Castro and his ragtag army marched into Havana and proclaimed victory in the Cuban revolution. Much of the world knew Cuba primarily from its 1930 megahit "El Manicero" ("The Peanut Vendor") and from the mambo craze of the 1950's. After Castro came to power, the economic, political and cultural doors between Cuba and the U.S. would soon be shut. The doors opened briefly for tours by Cuban artists in the U.S. under the Carter and Clinton administrations. They've shut again tightly under President Bush. What will happen in the new world of President Obama? Time will tell, but indications are that change is coming. In this encore broadcast, we savor sounds from the pre-Revolutionary golden age of Cuban music that sets the scene for the international success of Cuban music. We illustrate how popular music in Africa and the Americas is not imaginable without the influence of Cuban music--copied and adapted on three continents. We'll hear the stories and rare recordings of such core styles as son as well as luminaries such as Beny Morandeacute;, Arsenio Rodriguez, Celia Cruz and the Sexteto Habanero; along with less well known artists.

Madagascar is a big island with a big heart, occupying a special place in Afropop's musical imagination. We have visited this one-of-a-kind island in the Indian Ocean several times and brought back joyous music and fascinating stories. We'll hear Dame of the ground-breaking roots revival group Mahaleo give us a musical landscape of different Malagasy instruments--kabosy, valiha-- and styles--salegy, tsapika, sova, hiragassy--in the amazingly diverse Malagasy cultures. We'll visit other artists and hear private performances, plus a feast of the valiha (kora like string music). The show features long stretches of songs to dance your heart out to.

In an encore of our extraordinary 2001 musical journey across this most extraordinary musical island, we travel from the capital Antanarivo ("Tana") in the highlands to the southwestern coastal city of Tulear to experience guitar-driven tsapika dance music (that the rowdy emerald miners love) to the southeastern city of Fort Dauphin for surf roots music, then back to Tana for a finale.

Afropop Soundsystem has one eye on Africa and one on the world. We dig deep into the African digital domain to uncover songs and artists little known across the Atlantic. We plunge into sexy kuduro music from Angola; bubu music from Sierra Leone, jagwa from Tanzania as well as the latest sensations in the kwaito scene in South Africa and the hyperactive ndombolo sounds from Kinshasa. Get ready to enjoy some of the continent's choice hot spots--from Lagos to Dar es Salaam. Guided by deejay Michael Ndaribamare and producer Wills Glasspiegel, Afropop Soundsystem will challenge Hawaiian-shirt-wearing world music. Expect politics, yodels, break-beats, and club crushers.

Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazilian musical giants have long enjoyed the spotlight, yet throughout Latin America there are other black enclaves producing some of the New World's most vibrant music. Their stories have gone untold for far too long. In this episode, Afropop explores these lost sounds, starting in an Ecuadorian desert valley where African and Andean traditions have mixed seamlessly into fiery dance music. Then we're off to mangrove-studded Esmeraldas to search out the last marimba legends living on the jungle waterways. We continue to Bolivia, where a tiny black minority uses their music to fight for recognition by the government (headed for the first time in its history by an indigenous president) and last, we'll listen to the driving carnival music of Uruguay, candombe. Tune in for exclusive interviews and recordings by everyone from marimba master Papa Roncón to Candombe-jazz legend Hugo Fattoruso.

As part of our 20th anniversary celebration, we are proud to encore one of our all-time favorite programs, celebrating one of most exhilarating events of the 20th Century, the peaceful transition from the evil system of apartheid to a democratic, non-racial country. With all Africa's troubles today, the extraordinary wisdom and forgiveness of Nelson Mandela as he led South Africa to freedom is a miracle that we should not forget. The music of this era is a vivid reflection of the emotions and hopes. We will hear conversations with some of the veterans of contemporary SA music including Lucky Dube, Ray Phiri, Dorothy Masuka, and others. They share their recollections of the key events of the apartheid era and the long journey to freedom: the June 16th 1976 Soweto Student Uprising, the Feb. 11, 1990 release from jail of Nelson Mandela; the April 27th 1994 first democratic elections for the New South Africa. Plus younger stars of kwaito music including Kabelo and Thandiswa Mazwai speak for the youth generation.

(As part of Afropop's celebration of Black History Month, this program continues a focus on African and Brazilian Diaspora communities in the U.S.)New York's Mandé community has blossomed over the past 20 years. The story that begins with the rise of the king Sunjata Keita in 13th century Mali now extends to music-filled social gatherings among West African diplomats and businessmen in the Bronx and Harlem, not to mention electro-griots, and of course, fusion! The community is supported by and supports musicians like Mamadou Diabate, Papa Susso and Yacouba Sissoko (all kora players), Famoro Diabate and Balla Kouyate (balafon players), and the golden-throated griot vocalist Abdoulaye "Djoss" Diabate. We'll meet them, hear their stories and music, and get historical and cultural context from ethnomusicologist Ryan Thomas Skinner. Part 1 of a 2-part series.