http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHRbEhLj540

I’ve recently taken on a new daily commute from Bed-Stuy to Harlem via the A Train. This route, once celebrated in song by Duke Ellington, was and remains famous for connecting New York’s two largest and most historical Black Communities. Today, both communities retain their importance as cultural nodes for the descendents of Black migrants from the American South, but both have also become central nodes for New York’s newest waves of African immigration. The almost hour long commute has given me plenty of time to get through a few DJ mixes. Given my daily trip’s musical and cultural connection, perhaps it’s only appropriate that I present “Take the A Train” updated for the 21st Century, a list of some of my favorite Africa-connected mixes from this year so far.