WHAT IS AFROPOP.ORG?
Afropop.org is the companion website for the acclaimed public radio series Afropop Worldwide, which has been connecting Americans to Africa and the world for more than 22 years. Afropop’s peerless network of researchers, writers, field recorders, photographers, videographers, audio engineers, producers, bloggers and on-air personalities has worked tirelessly to expose and promote what we consider the most exciting music of the past quarter-century. Since 2004, Afropop’s elite set of Hip Deep radio programs has gone a step further, using this exhilarating music to explore important chapters of history, from slavery and colonialism, to diaspora communities and the rise of today’s hip hop generation. At Afropop, we believe that music is not only food for the soul, but a lens that helps us better understand our world and ourselves. Music is knowledge. Music is life. And the way we see it, African music lies at the heart of everything!
AFROPOP’S HISTORY
Afropop began as a one-hour, weekly, public radio program focused on the urban music of contemporary Africa. When NPR first aired our series in the fall of 1988, the word “Afropop” was pretty much unheard-of, but it quickly became the favored term for a whole host of amazing music styles emerging mostly from African cities, but also the continent’s towns and villages.
In 1990, we became Afropop Worldwide, expanding our reach and vision to include the music and cultures of the entire African Diaspora: Latin America, the Middle East, and of course, the United States. Our radio program remains the gold standard for both the curious and the connoisseur. We take listeners to dynamic music capitals such as Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; Cairo, Egypt; Havana, Cuba; Salvador de Bahia, Brazil; New York and Paris. Listeners meet leading stars as well as emerging artists. From vintage live concert recordings by African music veterans like Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Cesaria Evora, and Baaba Maal, to the latest on reggaeton, or the rise of global rappers like K’Naan, Afropop Worldwide is synonymous with excellence, excitement, accuracy and depth. The founders of numerous musical ensembles, publications, record labels, media offerings, websites and concert venues have cited Afropop as the spark that first inspired their endeavors.
Hosted by one of Africa 's best-loved broadcast personalities, Georges Collinet, and produced by Sean Barlow, Afropop Worldwide is currently distributed by PRI Public Radio International to over 108 stations in the U.S. The series is also heard in Europe and Africa, and around the world on our website, afropop.org. Originally launched in 1997, afropop.org was one of the first websites dedicated to African music. From day one, drawing on our rich archive of interviews, features, photos, CD reviews, artist profiles and more, we provided context and crucial leads for anyone wishing to turn this extraordinary music into deeper understanding. Afropop.org has evolved steadily with the times. Today, we offer blogs, videos, and streaming audio of new and archival radio programs. The site’s Hip Deep section, launched in 2010, is simply the richest educational resource on African Diaspora music and history available on the internet.
Hip Deep began in 2004 with major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Created with some of today’s most adventurous and provocative scholars and researchers, Hip Deep radio programs and web features use music to explore crucial and sometimes controversial chapters in world history: the coming of Islam and Christianity to Africa, colonial legacies around the continent, the rise of African Diaspora communities in the Americas and the Middle East, and the development of African American identity and culture. Over 60 Hip Deep programs, each supported by a wealth of complementary web materials, are now available on-demand in our Hip Deep section. Listeners describe these programs as “eye-opening,” “mind-blowing,” “sensational.” Visit Hip Deep and you’ll quickly see what they mean. Meanwhile, spectacular new work for the Hip Deep series is currently underway.
Afropop’s guiding vision has always been to increase the profile of African and African Diaspora music worldwide, and to see that benefits from this increased profile go back to artists, music industry professionals, and the countries that produce the music. We welcome you to our community and encourage you to get involved. You can share ideas and suggestions, provide content including music and video links, and of course, financial contributions to support our work are gladly accepted and are tax-deductible !
Afropop Worldwide’s Board of Directors:
Afropop Worldwide and afropop.org are produced by World Music Productions, a Brooklyn based, non-profit multi-media organization founded by Sean Barlow in 1986. Sean is joined on the Afropop Board of Directors by:
Timothy J. Bork
Skye, LLC
Djibril Diallo
UNAIDS
Fiona Dunne
Tourism Ireland
David Greeley
FHI 360
Mitchell A. Harwood
Mitchell A. Harwood Partners, Inc.
Steve Hendel
Producer, FELA!
Knitting Factory
Angelique Kidjo
Artist
William Kornreich
Wealth Preservation Associates
Josh Mailman
Founder, Social Venture Network
Youssou N'Dour
Artist
Randy Weston
Artist
OUR WEB CREW
The Afropop Worldwide website is developed by World Music Productions.
Afropop Worldwide producer Sean Barlow is the Project Director. He edits the weekly Afropop e-Newsletter.
Georges Collinet is the host of the Afropop Worldwide radio programs you hear through our on-demand streaming.
Banning Eyre is Senior Editor for Afropop.org and Director of Database Content Development. Visit Banning at banningeyre.com .
Matt Payne is Managing Editor for Afropop.org; Senior Producer, New Media; and Operations Director of Afropop Worldwide.
Roy Reiss is our Webmaster and IT Consultant.
Crystal (Bliss) Sloan of EagleRidgeTech.com is our Senior Technology Consultant. Crystal is our lead web systems consultant, the Microsoft Access programmer for the desktop version of our database, and has guided our database modeling team.
Marc Amigone is our Associate Editor for the weekly Afropop New York City Select Concerts & Events feature.
Images on our site provided by Banning Eyre, Georges Collinet, Ned Sublette, Sean Barlow, Jack Vartoogian and others.
Our worldwide network of Afropop reporters and co-producers contribute information and stories to the site.
OUR GRACIOUS FUNDERS
Crucial first funding for the Afropop Worldwide web site redevelopment project comes from the Joshua Mailman Charitable Trust (thank you Josh!).
We also thank the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for their generous support.
Initial research and strategic planning support for the site provided by the Ford Foundation .
Other funders of our core research and production work include the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Merck & Co, Ltd.
Hundreds of individuals support our work with tax-deductible contributions large and small. Go to Join Afropop to find out how you can join forces with us in spreading the word about these dynamic artists and the living, breathing music cultures they come from.
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Afropop Worldwide is produced by World Music Productions, a non-profit multi-media organization based in Brooklyn , NY . Find out how you can support our work with tax-deductible contributions.
