The Afropop Blog

Today we have some special goodies for all you afropoppers out there, in the form of some wonderful video we shot at Rokia Traore's soulful performance at Highline ballroom this past weekend.

Rokia was in top form with a killin' international band featuring, in particular, an exceptionally fantastic bassist who introduced himself to me simply as "Disco" (aka Christophe Minck).

Driven by Rokia's beautifully unique personality both as a singer and songwriter, the set ranged from some old school Miriam Makeba to funky bass breakdowns and unexpected hard rocking interludes.

All this combined with Rokia's captivating beauty and charming stage presence made it one of the most thoroughly enjoyable concerts in recent memory.

-Gabriel and the whole gang here at Afropop

Not only can you get $5.00 off the price of admission to the Sierra Leone Refugee All-Stars tonight at Highline Ballroom (and we highly suggest that you do just that), but Janka Nabay and Bajah + the Dry Eye Crew will be opening for them. Below are a few videos to whet your appetite.

USE CODE AFROPOP AT THE HIGHLINE BOX OFFICE!

See you there...

--Matt

JANKA NABAY


BAJAH + THE DRY EYE CREW


SIERRA LEONE REFUGEE ALL-STARS

Gabe came across this gem while doing a little research for us on Nigerian artists. It's the one and only King Sunny Ade holding court in London, in 1984. It was KSA that blew Sean Barlow's mind in 1983 and lead to the creation of Afropop. Here, a year later, KSA's still killin' 'em.

Sean would like to remind everyone that KSA will be in NYC at the HighLine Ballroom on May 18...

Now, have your mind blown...

(POSTED BY SEAN)
I was lucky to be in Dakar on Sunday April 4th, when Senegal celebrated its 50th Anniversary of Independence. They told me Independence Days were usually when the army, police, gendarmes and navy brass bands got to show their stuff. And this day was no different. I love brass bands so I was happy. Then the planes buzzed overhead and the sabar groups performed their polyrhythmic fury. Presiding over the whole scene was President Abdoulaye Wade and eight African heads of state. I slipped out of the security perimeter and enjoyed hanging out on the street corner where the just plain folks enjoyed their holiday.



MARCHING BAND #1


MARCHING BAND #2


STUDENTS MARCHING


MILITARY MARCHING


SABAR BAND AND YOUNGSTERS DANCING


STREET CORNER ON PARADE DAY


PARADE-GOERS WAVE GOODBYE

Sean and Banning have just headed up to the Skirball Center in Manhattan to interview Awadi, part of the famed Senegalese Hip Hop duo Positive Black Soul. He will be one of many superstars in NYC tonight and DC on Monday as part of the Concert for Peace Tolerance and Understanding: USA-Senegal. (See below for a full press release on the event, which will make its way back to Dakar for a Megaconcert in May.)

Sean actually got Flipcam video of Awadi performing in Senegal last weekend as part of his trip to celebrate the country's 50th Anniversary...

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE:

Concert for Peace, Tolerance, and Understanding
USA-Senegal

Emerging Senegalese Superstars Play New York, Washington DC, and Dakar

Leading Senegalese artists are scheduled to perform at a series of free concerts in the United States and Senegal for Peace Tolerance, and Understanding, as part of an exchange program to promote mutual understanding between our two countries. The program is being conducted by the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, Senegal and the Senegalese Ministry of Culture.

A total of three concerts will take place at the following locations: New York University’s (NYU) Skirball Center in New York on April 8th, 2010 (doors open at 7 PM; 2-hour show at 8 PM); Cramton Auditorium at Howard University, Washington DC, on April 12th, 2010 (doors open at 6 PM; 2-hour show at 7 PM); and at the 60,000 seat Stade Léopold Senghor (aka Stade de l’Amitié) in Dakar, Senegal, on May 12th, 2010 (doors open at 6 PM; 5-hour show at 8 PM).

Concerts will feature leading Senegalese artists across a spectrum of musical genres: hip hop group Positive Black Soul, “Golden Voice” Abdou Guitté Seck, Ma Sané of Waflash, and “angel” voiced Titi. In Dakar, the five artists will be joined by well-known legends of Senegalese music, including Youssou N’Dour, Baba Maal, Omar Pene, and others: Pape Diouf, Mame Balla, Abou Thioubalo, Carlou D, the Julien Jouga Christian Choir, and an Islamic music group. DJ Xuman and MC DJ Boubs will open the show.

The five Senegalese artists will return home to share their experience of America and discuss the multitude of cultures, races, and religions that thrive in the United States.

Additional concert details are provided below:

U.S. Concerts

New York, April 8, 2010, at New York University’s Skirball Center

Washington D.C., April 12, 2010, at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium

The two concerts on April 8, 2010, at New York University’s Skirball Center and on April 12, 2010, at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium in Washington DC, will feature four groups, including three of Senegal’s newer, most popular stars, whose performances will symbolize the diversity in Senegalese music – from hip-hop to mbalax and bougarabou to reggae beats.

Positive Black Soul
Positive Black Soul, the hip-hop duo of Didier Awadi and Duggy Tee, will headline the concert (http://www.myspace.com/positiveblacksoul). They recently reunited after some time apart. Bound by music and their common ideals of Afrocentrism and peace and democracy, the two musicians have become African hip-hop role models and leaders in their communities and perform their hits in French, Wolof, the main language in Senegal, and in English.

Titi
Titi (Ndeye Fatou Tine) (http://www.titi-music.com) is also known as ‘Titi l’ange’ (‘Titi the Angel’) for her glorious voice singing to Mbalax rythms. Titi has gained critical acclaim for her music and been in great demand to share the stage with several Senegalese top stars. She recently won the prestigious SUNUMUSIC Best Female Singer Award.

Ma Sané
Ma Sané and her all-male group Waflash is one of West Africa’s loveliest, gentle singers (http://www.myspace.com/waflash). Since she started the group with childhood friends in the 1990s, Waflash has known great success. Their sounds reflect a broad range of influences, blending African and Western musical genres: Senegalese mbalax and bougarabou, soul, jazz, Afrobeat, hip-hop, reggae.

Abdou Guité Seck Abdou Guité Seck is also referred to as “The Golden Voice” and “the future of Senegalese music” (www.guiteseck.com). Prior to launching his solo career, Abdou Guité became the lead vocal singer for the Franco-Senegalese group Wock, which signature sound combined mbalax with rock. The group performed at Festival des Nuits Métisses, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and Festival International de Jazz de St. Louis. Abdou Guité won the 2000 RFI Découvertes Award and was nominated in 2001 for the best world music album category in the French Music Awards in Paris. Abdou Guité has embarked on his solo career with his new band, Evolution, and has won numerous awards with several solo albums and huge commercial success in Senegal and beyond. His abiding themes continue to explore childhood, love, hope, education, and universal peace.

Concert in Dakar
The “Concert de la Paix, la Tolérance, et l’Entente” will be held at the Léopold Sédar Senghor Stadium, on May 12, 2010.

The line-up for the five-hour free concert includes: Youssou N’Dour, PBS, Ma Sané, Titi, Abdou Guité Seck, Omar Pene, Baaba Maal, Pape Diouf, Mame Balla, Carlou D, Abou Thioubalo, the Julien Jouga Christian choir and an Islamic music group, DJ Xuman, and MC DJ Boubs.
Artists’ high-resolution jpegs available upon request

TRUE Media Contact: evangelinekim@gmail.com

How To Obtain Free Tickets For US Concerts:
SKIRBALL CENTER CONCERT – APRIL 8TH, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY:

Ticket RSVP for NYU Skirball Center performance:

Concerts for Peace, Tolerance and Understanding – Featuring Positive Black Soul, Abdou Guitte Seck, Titi, Ma Sane

NYU Skirball Center – Thursday, April 8th


RSVP by email for free tickets: ibrahim10031@gmail.com

Type “RSVP – Peace” in the subject heading; in body of email provide full name and indicate 1 or 2 tickets (Limit: 2 tickets per person)

Tickets for guests with RSVP will be available at no cost at the NYU Skirball Center box office (Noon-6pm, Tues-Sat) beginning Wednesday, April 7th

RSVP tickets are free, but are “first come first served”

General admission / Doors open at 7pm – Concert at 8pm

CRAMTON AUDITORIUM CONCERT – APRIL 12TH, HOWARD UNIVERSITY:

Ticket RSVP for Howard University Cramton Auditorium performance:

Concerts for Peace, Tolerance and Understanding – Featuring Positive Black Soul, Abdou Guitte Seck, Titi, Ma Sane

Howard University Cramton Auditorium – Monday, April 12th

RSVP by email for free tickets: cramtonauditorium@howard.edu

Type “RSVP – Peace” in the subject heading; in body of email provide full name and indicate 1 or 2 tickets (Limit: 2 tickets per person)

Tickets for guests with RSVP will be available at no cost at the Howard University box office (10am-6pm, M-F) beginning Friday, April 9th

RSVP tickets are free, but are “first come first served``

General admission / Doors open at 6pm – Concert at 7pm

Coming up very soon, Sean will be releasing a wealth of information on his experience in Senegal, where he traveled last weekend for the country's 50th Anniversary.

For now, Gabe's pulled together a great collection of Senegalese vids in honor of last weekend's celebration, including this great video from Orchestra Baobab:



Check out all of the YouTube links that Gabe gathered.

Banning's Band. Timbila. Bootie' Shakin'. DROM. Tonight. 'Nuff Said...

Sean is now on his way to JFK to fly to Senegal (keep your eyes on Newsflashes for more on that), but before he left, he wanted to point out that the hot Orquestra Contemporanea de Olinda from the Northeast of Brazil make their NYC debut tonight at Lincoln Center and Saturday at SOB’s.

Here's a video of the band...

While we try to keep the "we're toally jamming out to such and such in the office" blog post and tweets to a minimum, sometimes we can't help ourself. Earlier this week it was a fantastic Sterns Music compilation of Issa Juma and Super Wanykia Stars--World Defeats the Grandfathers: Swinging Swahili Rumba 1982-1986.

At this very moment, we're enjoying Caetano Veloso's most recent album, which was released just this week: Zii e Zie.

This, of course, begs the question: Where can I purchase these wonderful albums, thus giving back to the world music community I--as a rabid fan--am part of?

Here's where...

Zii e Zie

World Defeats the Grandfathers

Last week, we released a new Hip Deep show. For those that don't know, our Hip Deep shows are humanities-rich Afropop shows that delve much deeper into the culture and history surrounding the music we profile. Wills Glasspiegel just finished a piece on field recordist HUGH TRACY, who was to southern Africa what Alan Lomax was to the Americas. Check out the program page on our brand-new Hip Deep site here:

DISCOVER AND RECORD: THE FIELD RECORDINGS OF HUGH TRACEY

Music nerds, GEEK OUT!

--Matt

(POSTED BY MATT)
Well, spring has sprung and summer is right around the corner, judging from all of the great music happening. Soon, we'll be dancing at SummerStage again. In the meanwhile, we've already seen some great performers come through--Habib Koite was in town last week, performing at the HighLine Ballroom on Tuesday night and South Orange Performing Arts Center on Friday.

Santiago Felipe, our intrepid (and extremely underpaid) staff photographer snapped the following shots from Habib's NYC show...

Highline Ballroom has generously offered the Afropop community $5.00 off two upcoming shows--

Sierra Leone All Stars--April 14
Rokia Traore--April 17

Head to HighLine Ballroom's Website, and plop the code AFROPOP into the form when you purchase your tickets.

Afropop is also reserving a few tables for the Rokia show for a CLUB AFROPOP. More info on that can be found on our website.

So much good music coming up!

I just got off the phone with Oji at NollywoodNYC, where he let me in on some fantastic news--not only will some of Nollywood's biggest stars be out in full force THURSDAY night for the next NollywoodNYC event, but they'll be filming scenes for a new movie at the event.

So, get there early, put on your best look, and perhaps you too will soon be a NollywoodNYC star...

--Matt

DETAILS...

Do join NollywoodNYC, and aficionados of Nollywood (the Nigerian film industry) in its unique after-work networking event for an exclusive movie preview and night of networking.

Do join surprise Nollywood actors and actresses live and direct from Nigeria!

After substantial and month long interior renovations, the space previously known as Boucarou has been retransformed to Betty’s!

NollywoodNYC is back with unfiltered cultural stimuli!

Come join the Nollywood culture and experience!
Meet and greet industry professionals!
Food and drinks - Pepper soup, Suya, Palm wine, etc.

Raffle to win 2 tickets to Broadway hit FELA!
Raffle to win 2 match tickets for World Cup SA 2010 courtesy of media sponsor Africa.com

Event Details
Date: Thursday, March 25th, 2010.

Time: 6 until 11pm. Movie preview begins at 7pm and ends approximately at 9pm with some interludes.

Admission: $5.00 before 7pm.

Location: Betty’s Lounge. http://www.bettysnewyork.com
64 East 1st Street (btw 1st & 2nd Ave), New York, NY 10003
212.529.3262. F or V train to 2nd Ave. Take the 1st Ave exit.

Contacts: nollywoodnyc@gmail.com

(POSTED BY MATT)
A few months back, our friend Jake Bright (better known as DJake), spun at the Freetown, Sierra Leone club ACES. He was nice enough to put a feature together for us that covers his experience and delves deep into the current African music scene...

"E Wan D.J. Nar Yar": A New York D.J. Returns to Mix In Postwar Sierra Leone

Much more from Kiko Klaus' NYC debut at Joe's Pub. Special shout out to Chico Science (RIP), whose fantastic video for Maracatu Atomico was posted on the blog a few weeks ago.



You can find out more about Kiko Klaus on his website.