
Latin America and the Caribbean haven’t gotten enough attention on this site. We’re going to intentionally rectify that, and I’m excited to start by sharing this video from sometimes collaborators of mine, Los Rakas. About these ads

Latin America and the Caribbean haven’t gotten enough attention on this site. We’re going to intentionally rectify that, and I’m excited to start by sharing this video from sometimes collaborators of mine, Los Rakas. About these ads
Friday night at Sutra Lounge in New York, Maimouna Coulibaly will be performing alongside myself and DJ King Solo for Africology’s Afrique Sessions.
The new 5 minute trailer for the new Nas-Damian Marley collaboration, “Distant Relatives”–out next month–where they engage with the music of Africa. (I’ve blogged before about some of the leaked tunes from the album.) Can’t wait for this. They’ve announced a tour schedule in the US and Europe this summer to promote the album. Sadly, […]
Video for the single “Fresh One” by Ghanaian dancehall-rap outfit, 4X4. These guys appear to recycle images from “Shaka Zulu,” an Apartheid TV drama series which invented history about the founder of the Zulus, Shaka. (Incidentally, the TV series was also a hit among African-Americans.) And then there’s this refrain in the song: “The girl […]

I have blogged before about “Distant Relatives,” the collaboration between Nas and Damian Marley where they make explicit the connections African music and rap and reggae. Well, now two of the tracks off the forthcoming album have now leaked: “Strong Will Continue ” and “As We Enter” (is that a Fela sample?). I like “As We […]

A busy week on the personal front (more on that another time) so that means a lot of stuff gets the speed blog treatment. * First up, a link to the “Parts of Africa” hip hop mix: Fourteen tracks including music by Abass Abass, Da Brains and Daara J. [Link]
The Fader interviews the Ugandan musician Bobi Wine (whose pronouncements on the shortcomings of the country’s political leadership has earned him the title “Mr President”). More, including links to two of Bobi Wine’s dancehall-inflected songs, see here.
The media blog that is not about famine, Bono, or Barack Obama. Contributors are: Sean Jacobs (he started AIAC), Daniel Magaziner, Neelika Jayawardane, Boima Tucker, Tom Devriendt, Elliot Ross, Basia Lewandowska Cummings, Sophia Azeb, Dan Moshenberg, Brett Davidson, Orlando Reade, Jonathan Faull, Caitlin Chandler, Gregory Mann, Dylan Valley, Emily Wood, Marissa Moorman, Lily Saint, Mikko Kapanen, Wills Glasspiegel, Melissa Levin, Loren Lynch, Olufemi Terry, Megan Eardley, Hinda Talhaoui, 'kola, Davy Lane, Siddhartha Mitter, Johan Palme, Steffan Horowitz, Justin Scott, Dennis Laumann, Kweli Jaoko, Jumoke Verissimo, Zachary Rosen, Shamira Muhammad, Maria Ximena Plaza, T.O. Molefe, Ts'eliso Monaheng, Maria Hengeveld, Corinna Jentzsch, Nicholas Barber, Serginho Roosblad, Roxsanne Dyssell, Cheta Nwanze, Sarah El-Shaarawi, Jimmy Kainja, Claudio Silva and Jacques Enaudeau. Pre-August 2009 posts are archived here.