In Benin, a small francophone country in West Africa, traditional music, vodun spiritual music and popular styles of roots music are intimately entwined. Creative artists transform traditional music into roots-pop by altering and 'modernizing' rhythms and instruments, writing their own compositions in the styles they interpret. There are many, many styles of roots-pop, but the baseline of dense percussion and intricate vocals is a constant. Roots music is extremely popular: artists sell thousands of CDs and DVDs of music videos, pack stadiums for concerts and frequently appear on national television. Let's check out five awesome roots-pop artists from Benin. Most are featured in our program Benin Roots Alive. If you want to hear more, be sure to check out the Benin Roots Pop Mix we're dropping next week.
Allevi- known as 'the prophet,' is from the Mon0-Couffo region of south-west Benin. He performs toba hanye, a roots-pop style that uses a large lamellophone (think 'thumb piano' but really big, like the Caribbean marimbula) as the lead 'drum.' Producer Morgan Greenstreet attended the release concert for his latest album, and you can hear the recording he made on the program Benin Roots Alive.
