Addis Through the Looking Glass

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- Hip Deep is Afropop's media project dedicated to the idea that music is a key to understanding everything. Get hip deep into programs on how the music formed and informed cultures in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas, plus companion interviews, features, discographies and more.
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Alkibar Gignor : La Paix

Malian garage-rock group Alkibar Gignor deliver gloriously rough album.
Brownout : Oozy

Latin-Funk group Brownout get down with some seriously laid-back swagger.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars: Radio Salone

Sixteen great new tracks from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.
Funk Ark : High Noon

Group from DC brings the Afrobeat fire.
, Amadou et Mariam: Folila

Amadou and Mariam continue their foray into fusing their Malian styles with the sounds of western artists.
Nneka: Soul Is Heavy

Nigerian-German soulstress channels her inner neo-soul star on her latest release
Sauti Sol: Sol Filosofia

Kenyan, Afro-fusion outfit Sauti Sol continue their exploration of all things "pop."
KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train

A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2

Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground

Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA

West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
Sia Tolno: My Life

Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph.

All Reviews >>

Dub Colossus Addis Through the Looking Glass Real World, 2011

This UK-Addis Ababa collaboration was the brainchild of British musician/producer Nick Page—a.k.a. Dubulah. The project’s 2008 debut was at once a chance for some terrific Addis Ababa vocalists to be heard outside Ethiopia, and also to shake up thinking on how that country’s amazing music should be produced. Bypassing existing formulas, Dub Colossus offered a mixup of dub reggae, classic 1970s Addis funk, ornamented traditional vocals and instruments, and tight blasts of melody from a terrific brass section, The Horns of Negus.