From Zetina Mosia’s upcoming album “The RoundAbout”, this track: ‘Lately’. We’ve said this before, but the Johannesburg label Iapetus is an exceptional breeding ground for South African artists — remember Fifi the Rai Blaster, Yugen Blakrok, Robo the Technician or Gin i Grindith — with a special mention for Kanif, the producer behind many of the songs.
Friday Music Bonus Edition
February 24, 2012 By 1 Comment
It’s a mixed bag this week. Kenyan artist Ato Malinda created a video for one of the tracks of last year’s BLNRB album (music is by the Teichmann Brothers, vocals are by Alai K):
Shameless Self-Promotion
February 24, 2012 By 4 Comments
So I released an album this week, and shot my first ever music video for it as well. This is my personal reflection on Sorie Kondi’s original message, integrating footage from his video, and my own from New York and Freetown. I hope you enjoy.
Music Break. Kaba Blon
February 23, 2012 By 1 Comment
Thinking about Mbalax Dub, got me wanting to share some more of Kaba Blon. It doesn’t seem like they have uploaded anything online yet, and the only song available for purchase I believe is Moribayassa. But, Mo Laudi was playing me some more of their tracks the other day. He had gotten them from a Malian friend in Paris.
Yasiin Bey, ladies and gentlemen
February 23, 2012 By 1 Comment
The rapper formerly known as Mos Def’s take on the Jay Z track with his own song, ”N****s in Poorest.”
Azonto Germany
February 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
So apparently there’s more to the Ghana-Germany connection than the Boateng boys. I think the above Azonto rave in Hamburg this past January is proof of that. It’s perhaps an illustration of some of the points we were trying to make about diverse histories and orientations of African pop, the diaspora, and its international dissemination. If anything it is an illustration of the speed with which culture travels now.
Music Break. Jeri-Jeri
February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Berlin based Dub and Techno producer Mark Ernestus (check his previous work with Rhythm and Sound) fell in love with Mbalax (how could you not?), went to Senegal, found a band, and produced a collection of songs for release on Honest Jons records.
The first release is Mbeuguel Dafa Nekh from the group Jeri-Jeri (led by Bakane Seck) featuring Mbene Diatta Seck. Since I’ve been experimenting with my own ideas of Club-Mbalax, the Mbalax Dub version has got me too excited!
The Toto ‘Africa’ Meme, N°4: The Europe Edition
February 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
I can’t lie, Europeans love Toto’s “Africa.” First up there’s the massive Slovenian a capella choir Perpetuum Jazzile (above) that has been viewed more than 12 million times (when I last counted earlier this week) on Youtube where it attracts comments like “unusual and interesting” or “the two women to our right of the main male singer are hot;” then there’s the Dutch street organ (imagine what Toto would have sounded like in the 19th century), a German trio, and the devotion of Serbian fans who decided to subtitle the original.
Rare: Conscious Kwaito
February 21, 2012 By 1 Comment
South African kwaito house with an explicit message: we don’t get to hear it often. Shota’s Etshwaleni has been playing in clubs for months, I’m told. Its straightforward lyrics make it stand out: have fun while still respecting others (“hlonipheni abanye abantu”) and drink responsibly (“pasop ugu dakwa”) during sleepless (“asisalali”) weekends. But you figured that much from the video.
Paris is a Continent N°9
February 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Watching French incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech in Marseille Sunday night (his second speech since announcing he’s seeking a second term last week), I was hoping for a reference to how the financial crisis — the millstone round Europe’s neck, a politician’s nightmare — has hit the banlieueus. I should have known better. His words on the European financial crisis referenced the “Greek civil servant with his salary cut” and “the Portuguese retiree with his pension cut” but “France was not swept away by a crisis of confidence”. He’s talking confidence in the French economy, not in his person. Presenting himself as the country’s savior (“I’ve avoided France from a catastrophe”), he showed himself the ‘respectable’ fanatic people have started to suspect him to be. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this: there’s a whole world in between the Champs-Elysées and Greece. It burned in 2005, as French-Cameroonian rapper Mac Tyer reminds us in his new ‘Justice’ video, and it has been left smoldering since.
