Afropop Worldwide artwork

Afropop Worldwide

567 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★★ - 290 ratings

Afropop Worldwide is an internationally syndicated weekly radio series, online guide to African and world music, and an international music archive, that has introduced American listeners to the music cultures of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1988. Our radio program is hosted by Georges Collinet from Cameroon, the radio series is distributed by Public Radio International to 110 stations in the U.S., via XM satellite radio, in Africa via and Europe via Radio Multikulti.

Music music pri africa afropop worldwide african fela kuti diaspora pop
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Episodes

Planet Afropop - Brazil Update, The Indigenous Edition

October 31, 2023 15:53 - 54 minutes - 50 MB

In this edition of Planet Afropop we focus on Brazil - especially with regard the the challenges facing indigenous people within the country. We speak with musical icon and now Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes. We have a conversation with Brazilian musical legend Carlinhos Brown backstage at Central Park Summer Stage in NYC. We also have a fascinating, free-wheeling conversation with musician, rapper, cultural activist, and deep-thinker, Emicida. Episode #004

Africa Seven -.5db 7.25

October 25, 2023 15:25 - 15 minutes - 14.6 MB

Africa Seven (Steven Maecs) Producer Steven Maëcs speaks with with Rich Elson, the label manager of the fast-growing cult record label Africa Seven. Officially launched in 2015, based in London and Paris and with an outlet in New York. Africa Seven focuses on releasing curated remastered vinyl albums and eclectic painstakingly researched compilations, mixing big and big “ish” hits with thoughtful deep cuts.

Planet Afropop - Bombino And Bobi Wine

October 13, 2023 14:59 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MB

Banning, Georges, and Mukwae speak with Tuareg rocker Bombino; and Ugandan musician and politician, Bobi Wine. Episode #003

How the Sound of Saudade Traveled to Ethiopia

October 10, 2023 11:00 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MB

Saudade is a key emotion word for Portuguese speakers. The feeling of Saudade is an untranslatable word for the deep presence of absence. In this episode of Closeup, we bridge the gap between Brazil and Ethiopia, through the sound of music. On the surface, when comparing both respective countries few similarities come to mind. But given the cultural richness of each country in regards to the food, history, and art - once you dig deeper beyond the surface you will find the feeling of saudade t...

Planet Afropop - Lagos update with Fay Fay and a conversation with Las Hijas Del Rap

October 03, 2023 17:32 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MB

We get an update on Lagos from Afropop contributor, Fay Fay. And Mukwae has a reunion/conversation with Las Hijas Del Rap. Episode #002

Ghana Must Go

September 26, 2023 10:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MB

Ghana Must Go by Afropop Worldwide

Introducing Planet Afropop

September 18, 2023 20:52 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MB

Planet Afropop is the latest offering from Afropop Worldwide. Every two weeks, this podcast will feature lively conversations among the three hosts--Georges Collinet, Banning Eyre and Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe—as well as interviews, new music, trending African cultural news and much more. This is the maiden voyage for this podcast. It includes an introduction to the hosts, an interview with Afrobeats star Yemi Alade, and a conversation with author and producer Ned Sublette about Afropop’s recognit...

Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: The Story of Bugalu in NYC

September 15, 2023 00:22 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

We honor the late Joe Cuba with this portrait of "Bugalú," produced for Afropop Worldwide by Ned Sublette. Bugalú is the Spanish spelling of boogaloo, and was also known as “Latin soul.” Joe Cuba was one of bugalú’s most popular artists, best known for the major hit “Bang Bang” that his band created on the spot one night at a New York club. Joe was a mesmerizing storyteller, and we’ll hear some of the major bugalú stars tell their stories, including Johnny Colon (“Boogaloo Blues”) and Tony Pa...

Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: Soneros Mayores - Portraits of Beny Moré and Ismael Rivera

September 15, 2023 00:18 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Beny Moré and Ismael Rivera are national heroes in their home countries, Cuba and Puerto Rico respectively. They were soneros of the highest order, masters of the art of improvised singing. We'll hear some of the songs that made them famous and follow their development as artists. Produced by Ned Sublette. APWW #134

Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: Santo Domingo Blues - The Story of Bachata

September 15, 2023 00:17 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MB

Bachata is a music of the people. Recalling the American blues, bachata was infamous as the anthem of the hard-drinking, womanizing, down-on-his-luck man, vilified as the entertainment of the brothels and the cabarets, and worshipped by the down-trodden poor as the deepest expression of their feelings. Today it is an international sensation. Alex Wolfe, director of the film "Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata" brings us live ambience and stories of bachata stars Luis Vargas, Antony San...

Wagogo Music Heaven

September 13, 2023 03:45 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MB

Veteran Afropop producer Banning Eyre visits the Zawose family compound in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, to experience the magic of the hypnotic music of the Gogo people, the Wagogo. Msafiri Zawose, son of the late Tanzanian music legend Hukwe Zawose, describes the music and the emergence of the new Zawose Reunion Band.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2023: The Cumbia Diaspora

September 08, 2023 17:11 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In this episode, we find out how cumbia left Colombia in the ‘60s and ‘70s and traveled to other countries. Everywhere it went, it transformed itself, adapting to its new environment. In Peru, it mixed with psychedelic guitar effects and Andean sounds to become chicha. In Argentina, it became the expression of a new generation of restless youth in the burgeoning slums of Buenos Aires. And in Mexico, it became so instilled in the local culture that some have forgotten that it came from Colombi...

Congo Music’s Fifth Generation

September 07, 2023 13:13 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In the early 2000s, Afropop told the story of “Four Generations” in Congolese music—from rumba and rumba-rock to soukous and ndombolo. Now time has marched on, and once again, thrilling new sounds are emerging from Kinshasa and its global diaspora. We’ll hear hyperkinetic roots-rock from Jupiter and Okwess, Fally Ipupa’s embrace of the current Afrobeats trend, experimental innovations from Pierre Kwenders in Montreal, and more. We’ll also speak with Congolese music connoisseur Lubangi Muniani...

A Spiritual Journey To Mbanza Congo

August 31, 2023 11:00 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

To make this unprecedented program, producer Ned Sublette traveled to Mbanza-Kongo, the ancient seat of the Kongo empire located in present-day northern Angola, where he spoke to Dr. Bárbaro Martínez Ruiz, professor of art and art history at Stanford. We’ll learn about the simbi, the spirits that Martínez Ruiz describes as “the multiple power of god”; hear Antonio Madiata play the lungoyi-ngoyi, the two-stringed viola of the Kongo court; attend a session of the lumbu, the traditional tribunal...

Movement: A Conversation with Jesus Diaz

August 29, 2023 16:17 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MB

Movement: A Conversation with Jesus Diaz: Meklit Hadero is a singer and composer and the host of a new podcast called Movement, which tells the story of global migrations through music. In this shared episode, Meklit speaks with Cuban-American percussionist Jesus Díaz about his journey from playing homemade drums in Havana to performing on the biggest stages in the world Diaz. Produced by Ian Coss and Meklit Hadero. #cuba #jesusdiaz #meklithadero #iancross #afromusic #storyteller #afropopworl...

389 Four Generations Of Congolese Music

August 17, 2023 14:29 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Congo has always played an oversized role in entertaining dance lovers on the continent and beyond with greats like Franco, Tabu Ley, Doctor Nico, Zaiko Langa Langa, Papa Wemba, Pepe Kalle, and others. We start in pre-independence Congo with the beloved "Papa" Wendo Kolossoy, the grandfather of rumba, as he talks with us at his home in Kinshasa. We talk to the man and listen in on a recording session. After sitting out most of the 3-decade Mobutu era, Wendo put together a band of veterans wit...

Stambeli Music That Heals From Tunisia

August 15, 2023 16:34 - 23 minutes - 21.2 MB

Stambeli is traditional healing music in Tunisia. It is related to Moroccan gnawa music using similar instrumentation and generally for the purpose of healing a person during a ritual ceremony. But Stambeli also stands on its own at a time of cultural and generational change in Tunisia. Producer Tasha Goldberg touches down in Tunisia to connect with young and old generations who value and honor the culture of Stambeli. #tunisia #stambeli #ritual #tashagoldberg #sufi #sidialilasmar #alchaaban...

The World Sacred Music Festival In Fes, Part 1

August 03, 2023 17:28 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MB

The World Sacred Music festival in Fes, Morocco fully delivers on its promise of bringing together profound, spiritual music from around the globe. In one edition of the Festival, Youssou N'Dour debuted his Egypt project, backed by an orchestra from Cairo; whirling dervishes from Turkey and qawwali singers Meher Ali and Sheher Ali from Pakistan revealed contrasting faces of Sufi music and dance; the Orchestra of Fes showcased Andalusian and Jewish traditions and the art of Arab maqam; and Suf...

Acoustic Guitar Heroes of Africa

August 01, 2023 14:58 - 21 minutes - 19.9 MB

Producers Jayme Stone and Cory Seznec take us on a fingerstyle guitar journey through Africa.

Journeys With The Oud

July 27, 2023 16:25 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MB

The oud is the ancestor of many modern string instruments, including the lute and the guitar. Its origins may lie in Persia or ancient Arabia, but now, it is played all over the world, used in spiritual and secular music, in classical, pop, and jazz settings. In this program, we hear oud music from Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, and elsewhere, exploring the instrument’s history, lore, and rich variety of styles and sounds. We will talk with oud masters and innovators, and delve in...

The Musical Legacy of Al Andalus, Part 1 - Europe

July 20, 2023 15:31 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MB

The 700-year period of Muslim courts and conquerors in Medieval Spain (711-1492) leaves behind many mysteries. In the first of a three-part look at the musical legacy of Andalusia, this program presents period recreations of medieval Spanish music and considers the lasting influences the era would have on Europe. This program takes a provocative look at instruments--the lute and the violin--at the tradition of troubadours, European poetry and vocal styles, and much more, all informed by the i...

Etienne Charles: The Freedom of Carnival

July 18, 2023 15:48 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MB

Carnival in Trinidad is a feast for the senses – sights, smells, sounds, all blend together into a colorful celebration that you just have to see to believe. Trinidad born trumpeter Etienne Charles has composed an ambitious multi-part suite of music honoring the elements of Carnival that he experienced from a young age called Carnival: Sound of a People Vol. 1. Producer Trevor Smith speaks with Charles and we hear excerpts from the work. #etiennecharles #composer #musicalsuite #musicalspecta...

Mali Magic 2000

July 13, 2023 16:06 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MB

In January, 2000, a group of adventurous Afropop listeners accompanied by local artists including Habib Koite and special guest Bonnie Raitt toured Mali to hear the country’s extraordinary music. This program recaps the adventure with vivid live recordings of Habib, Khaira Arby, the Super Rail Band, Lobi Traore and others in nightclubs, private homes and in the dunes of the Sahara. It was a trip that could never happen today, but close your eyes and listen, and you’ll feel the magic. Produced...

Mali - Ancient Empires to Multicultural Democracy

July 06, 2023 14:17 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

If you’ve followed the news out of Mali since 2012, you may be discouraged by the conflict, violence and political turmoil in the headlines. But Mali has a long and profound history. It has met many challenges in the past. In this program, Professor Cherif Keita expertly guides us through the early history of Mali, up through the end of the 20th century, told through the music of the country’s great musical artists, Salif Keita, Toumani Diabate, Ali Farka Toure and others. It’s a classic! P...

Mali’s Amadou & Miriam Headline the 25th Afro Roots Fest in Miami

June 29, 2023 18:25 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In this episode, we make our annual trek to Miami to record the Afro Roots Festival. To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Mali's Amadou & Mariam headlined. Over four decades, Amadou & Mariam have managed to joyfully combine their love story with a musical career. Touring the globe, they have become some of the most famous ambassadors of African music. Collaborations with Damon Albarn, Manu Chao, Santigold, TV On The Radio, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have been well received. The duo have played the...

Journeys With The Kora

June 01, 2023 17:09 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The 21-string harp, the kora, is a signature instrument of West Africa. Complex and beguiling, kora music was long the exclusive domain of griots, musical historians by heritage. But once recordings began to circulate in the 1970s, the instrument went international, finding its way into jazz, pop, rock and even classical and religious settings. In this episode, we sample a wide range of kora music, and hear tales of its remarkable global journey. APWW #860 Produced by Banning Eyre

Taking the Pulse in Dar Es Salaam 2023

May 25, 2023 02:22 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Dar Es Salaam, a deep water port on Tanzania’s Indian Ocean Coast, is a musical powerhouse. This on-the-ground report delves into the city's top music styles, Bongo Flava, modern taarab, Swahili rumba, local gospel and the latest craze, breakneck-paced singeli music. We hear from artists and producers, sample rehearsals and live shows, and reveal a rich musical world that is far too often overlooked in coverage of African music. Produced by Banning Eyre. APWW #874

Oromo Music: Historical Memory and Competing Visions in Ethiopia

May 18, 2023 17:53 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The Oromo are the largest ethnic group in the Horn of Africa, but were relatively little known outside of the region until recently. This episode “Oromo Music: Historical Memory and Competing Visions in Ethiopia” looks into the history of the Oromo people and how music became an integral part of the early Oromo nationalism movement in the 20th century. Georges speaks with Kumera Zekarias, a PhD student in ethnomusicology who is working on an oral history project of the 1977 Oromo Cultural Sho...

Remembering Johnny Clegg

May 11, 2023 14:42 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Johnny Clegg holds a unique place in South Africa’s musical pantheon. From his childhood immersion in Zulu culture, his mastery of Zulu language, dance and guitar playing, some 20 albums with three different bands, his tireless world touring and, finally, his brave public battle with cancer, Clegg was an inspired witness to tumultuous history in South Africa and around the world. Afropop was fortunate to conduct many interviews with the maestro and raconteur over 30 years. In this program, we...

Soul to Soul at 50 - A Look Back at Ghana’s Legendary Music Festival

May 04, 2023 17:18 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

On March 6, 1971, a group of some of the top musicians from the United States – Ike & Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett, The Staples Singers, Santana, and more – boarded a plane bound for Ghana to perform in a musical celebration that was dubbed the “Soul to Soul Festival”. Thousands of audience members filled Accra’s Black Star Square for a continuous 15 hours of music. The festival was planned in part for the annual celebration of Ghana’s independence, but also an invitation for a “homecoming” ...

873 Pura Vida Costa Rica - Musical Hybrids in Central America -24 LUFS

April 20, 2023 17:15 - 59 minutes - 135 MB

873 Pura Vida Costa Rica - Musical Hybrids in Central America -24 LUFS by Afropop Worldwide

From Nashville to Nairobi: The History of Country Music in Kenya

April 06, 2023 16:38 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In this episode, we trace the history of country music in Kenya, dating back to the 1920s and 30s when local populations first heard Jimmie Rodgers on early country western 78 records, to the current day, where the clubs of Nairobi are filled with rising stars bringing their own unique sounds to country music. Hear their takes on the hits of Don Williams, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton and more. Tune in for an interview and performance from Kenyan country singer Steve Rogers, radio and tv prese...

Sauti Za Busara, Sounds of Wisdom 2023

March 30, 2023 13:12 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Sauti Za Busara means “sounds of wisdom.” That gives a clue to the music heard at the annual Sauti Za Busara festival in Stonetown, Zanzibar. It’s cool, savvy, surprising but never dull, and often hard-grooving. Afropop Worldwide attended the first edition in 2004. In 2023, we returned for a three-day feast of fantastic performances from the Swahili coast, the Indian Ocean and beyond. Taarab, kidumbak, Bongo Flava, Wagogo tradition and much more were on the menu. In this program, we hear live...

WOMEX - The Women Rule

March 23, 2023 15:59 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The 2022 global music exposition, WOMEX, went down in Lisbon, Portugal. For the second year running, most of the African-related showcases featured bands led by women. In this episode we meet Selma Uamusse from Mozambique and Portugal, Djazia Satour from Algeria and France, Pilani Bubu from South Africa, and hear 78-year-old Lia de Itamaracá, Brazil, positively blow away this tough-to-please crowd. And we’ll hear from some guys as well, Fra! with highlife funk from Ghana and Aywa fusing Moroc...

871 Saving The Malawi Tapes

March 16, 2023 19:03 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation recorded a goldmine of local music in the 1960s and 70s, but the tapes were neglected and close to ruined when broadcaster Waliko Makhala raised the alarm. With help from the Norwegian Embassy and Norwegian broadcaster Sigbjorn Nedland, digitization got underway. In this program, we sample the results guided by Waliko, Sigbjorn and Martin White, curator of AfricanPoems, a website dedicated to preserving poetry from around the continent. Produced by Martin W...

AfroRoots Fest 2022 with Dayme Arocena and Sinkane

March 10, 2023 16:34 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The Afro-Roots Fest is Florida’s state-wide celebration of Africa’s global musical heritage. The 2022 edition featured a diva of Afro-Cuban jazz, Daymé Arocena, Sudanese American indie rock band Sinkane, Miami’s own Latin music champions Cortadito celebrating their tenth anniversary, and more. We’ll hear live highlights and interviews with the principles. Produced by Banning Eyre and Sean Barlow.

Afropop Cover Songs

March 02, 2023 16:00 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In today’s pop music, everybody is a composer. But what about the classics? The songs that last? In this program we survey African musicians reinterpreting each other’s songs, as well as songs from far outside their traditions. And we hear foreign takes on African diaspora music. From Louis Armstrong’s “Skokiaan” to Alpha Blondy’s “Whole Lotta Love,” it’s a journey of discovery and rediscovery. Produced by Banning Eyre. APWW #854

Cheikha Rimitti, Rebel Queen of Algerian Music

February 23, 2023 18:03 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Cheikha Rimitti was certainly a queen. For some, she was the queen of raï (pronounced RYE), which means “opinion" in Arabic. For others, she was the queen of freedom, an Algerian Statue of Liberty wielding the fire of independence, as she sang daringly and frankly about love, sexuality, poverty, drinking and oppression. She defied taboos and her music was often banned. She used to say that "misfortune was her teacher” but she became an international star who died at 86, two days after a sold-...

The Prehistory of New Orleans Music - Treasures from the Hogan

February 16, 2023 14:11 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

In 2010, to mark the 5th anniversary of the Katrina disaster, we went way way back to honor New Orleans as the unique American treasure it is. This program tells the story of how jazz emerged in the context of all the other African American musics that proliferated in late 19th and early 20th century New Orleans: blues, ragtime, Mardi Gras Indian music, vaudeville and minstrelsy, spiritual church music, and more. With our guides Bruce Boyd Raeburn and Lynn Abbott, we'll comb through a vast wo...

Bangkok After Dark: The Story of Maurice Rocco

February 09, 2023 15:04 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Jazz pianist Maurice Rocco was a star of American nightclubs and Hollywood films in the 1930s-40s, playing in an ecstatic, stand-up style that left a deep impression on rock and roll. But in the 1950s Rocco fell out of fashion. Hoping to reverse his fortune, he went abroad in 1959. Rocco landed in Bangkok, Thailand, where he lived and played in relative privilege, away from American racism and homophobia, in an elite tier of Vietnam War-era nightlife. His murder in 1976 by two young sex worke...

The African American String Music Tradition

February 02, 2023 20:09 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

There’s been a lot of speculation about the chain of musical events that link the blues back to Africa. Most of that chain is unrecorded and shrouded in mystery. But there is one chapter, just before the blues, that we do know something about. And that’s the history of African-American string bands. This program explores that history, with music and memories from a special guest, the late string maestro Howard Armstrong. Along the way, we hear music from Canray Fontenot, Blind James Campbell,...

Béco’s Brazil: New Sounds for 2023

January 26, 2023 16:29 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Brazilian broadcaster, producer and music aficionado Béco Dranoff returns to Afropop Worldwide with a set of great new music from South America’s music cauldron. We’ll hear current sounds from Bahia, Sao Paulo, Rio and Belo Horizonte, including Caetano Veloso, Afrocidade, Lucas Santtana, Ze Manoel, Da Cruz, Jadsa and more. Produced by Béco Dranoff and Sean Barlow.

From Haiti To The World

January 05, 2023 14:08 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

From Paris to New Orleans and Boston, Haitian musicians are shaking up the music scene. The island’s powerful Africa-rooted culture—from celebratory rara and sensuous kompa to the deep well of vodun songs—has become a global force. In this program, we spend time with racine music veteran Lolo Beaubrun of Boukman Eksperyans, and his rising star son, Paul Beaubrun, both on a swing through New England. We also meet Paris-based Moonlight Benjamin, and hear recent New Orleans-tinged music from Lak...

A Visit To Afro-Sweden

December 29, 2022 05:10 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Afro-Sweden? Who knew? Over the past 60 years, a number of musicians from Africa and its diaspora have come to base themselves, or have been born, in Sweden. And recently, they have emerged as a collective voice in Swedish society. From the acoustic Mande folk of Sousou and Maher Cissoko, to the kaleidoscopic hip-hop of Timbuktu, and the smooth soul-pop of Swedish-born, Gambian-descended Seinabo Sey, there’s definitely something happening in Scandinavia. On this program we speak with and hear...

New Africa - 2022

December 22, 2022 17:28 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

This year, we are launching a new tradition: a year-end episode that looks forward rather than back. We’ll ask artists and others to tell us about something new they discovered in African music this year, something that points to the future. The answers range from rising- star artists, to changes in the industry, to revelations about artists and styles that have been around, just not noticed. We’ll hear from Angelique Kidjo, Oumou Sangare, Fally Ipupa and many of the artists we met at WOMEX 2...

Ghana - Celebration Sounds

December 16, 2022 17:19 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

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, Ac...

The Black History of Tap Dancing

December 01, 2022 18:28 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Foundational for Broadway and the movies, intertwined with jazz, tap dancing is a Great American Art. Strap on your shoes and shuffle along as we trace the history of tap and celebrate the Black artists and innovators who built--and continue to build this art form. From its murky origins melding African percussion and Anglo-Irish step dancing to tap's golden age and its ongoing evolution. Produced by Ben Richmond APWW #851

WOMEX 2022 - The Women Rule!

November 23, 2022 17:08 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

The 2022 global music exposition, WOMEX, went down in Lisbon, Portugal. For the second year running, most of the African-related showcases featured bands led by women. In this episode we meet Selma Uamusse from Mozambique and Portugal, Djazia Satour from Algeria and France, Pilani Bubu from South Africa, and hear 78-year-old Lia de Itamaracá, Brazil, positively blow away this tough-to-please crowd. And we’ll hear from some guys as well, Fra! with highlife funk from Ghana and Aywa fusing Moroc...

Global Griots In France

November 17, 2022 14:15 - 59 minutes - 54 MB

Traditional Manding (Mande) griots living in France sit at the crossroads between Africa and Europe. Historically, their role has been to weave traditional, oral histories, often within music, to promote a united, peaceful society. As they have become part of the modern global community, each griot has their own way of staying true to these historical roles, while also broadening their appeal to multicultural audiences. In this program, we hear how these international troubadours spread their...

Ladama In The Studio

November 16, 2022 02:49 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MB

Ladama is a collective of four female musicians and activists from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S. Drawing on traditions from all these countries and beyond, they create original music with the zest of soul, r&b and pop. In this podcast, the group visits the Afropop studio to perform and deconstruct key songs in their repertoire. Narrated and produced by Zubin Hensler.