Afropop Worldwide

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 quite a lot about. That’s the history of African-American string bands. This program explores the 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, Hobard Smith and other legends of this little-known chapter in American folk and popular music. Produced by Banning Eyre. APWW #326

The season of Carnival (Carnaval), in Guadeloupe brings the unmistakable sounds of music from the local culture clubs to the streets like no other carnival in the world. Every Sunday from the new year to Ash Wednesday, The islanders take turns showing off their cultural traditions. Enslaved Africans, were prohibited from assembling because of Article 16 of the “Code Noir” promulgated by the King of France, Louis XIV, in 1685. After the abolition of slavery on the islands in 1848, They have been reorganizing by marching the streets with displays of traces of pre-colonial Arawak sounds of conches and the drumming and the singing of chants of their traditional folk music called Gwoka. In Pointe-à-Pitre “Ben Démaré" or in the sea, is a purification ritual for the “skin clubs”, which kicks off Carnival. Young men take to the streets with traditional whips used on their ancestors during enslavement and have created a counter-culture in their display of whipping the ground - reconciling the past present, and future. Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe was a special guest of Harry Durimel, the environmental lawyer and Mayor of Point a Pitre, and she experienced the Carnival, or Mas as it is called in Guadeloupe, from a unique perspective. She was at Place de la Victoire on Dimanche Gras the biggest gathering of the islands, bringing thousands onto the streets of Pointe-à-Pitre in the run-up to Lent. Produced by Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe. PA #012

This program traces the history of this most American of instruments from its ancestors in West Africa through the Caribbean and American South and into the present, as a new generation of Black women artists reclaim the banjo as their own. Rhiannon Giddens, Bassekou Kouyate, Bela Fleck and more talk claw-hammers, trad jazz, Appalachian folk, African ancestors and the on-going story of American music, which would be woefully incomplete without a Black history of the banjo. Produced by Ben Richmond.

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.

Every winter, starting in February, the organizers of the annual Nuits D’Afrique festival put on a battle of the Afropop bands. Bands face off, three a night at Club Balatou, and the audience votes a winner for the night. Eventually, the field comes down to nine finalists, and that’s when we at Afropop are asked to pick the winner of the Afropop prize from those nine acts. So as the festival is about to kick off again this year,we thought it would be great to honor the 2023 winners. The big winner of the entire contest was an awesome Afro-Latin band called Team Salsa Quintet. We'll also feature a visit with a group of young Algerian immigrants in Montreal - the band is called Afirka. And we'll wrap up with a report from correspondent Harrison Malkin on the recent Artist for Aid event in Newark, New Jersey. It was a star-studded evening aimed at raising awareness and funds for the victims of violence in Gaza and Sudan.

This Hip Deep episode presents the stunning radio premiere of "Oh, David," the traditional song of the annual Easter Rock in Winnsboro, Louisiana. The Easter Rock is in fact a surviving ringshout—the oldest known form of African American music—but it's about 600 miles west of the ringshout's heartland in Georgia. It's located across the Mississippi River from Vicksburg in the Louisiana Delta, where they don't call it a "ringshout," but a “rock.” And it totally rocks. Producer Ned Sublette attends the Easter Rock ceremony and talks with Dr. Joyce Marie Jackson, a scholar and Louisiana native, who has been working with the Rockers for almost 20 years and confirms their tradition as a direct musical link to slavery days. In Athens, Georgia, Sublette visits Art Rosenbaum, producer of recordings by Georgia's McIntosh County Shouters, and more. Produced by Ned Sublette. APWW #734

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

Moh Kouyate, a Guinean griot, discusses his adventurous life and ground-breaking acoustic album. They also explore his musical experiences growing up in Guinea and his special connections with other artists. The podcast delves into the origins of his hit song 'Don't Go Away' and pays tribute to late artists Moricante and Basayo. The mystery behind the song 'Coco Rico' is discussed, along with an exciting upcoming event, Camp Afropop.

In 2018, the renowned music journal Fact boldly claimed that “the world’s best electronic music festival is in Uganda.” In only a few years, Nyege Nyege has indeed become one of the hottest artistic hubs in East Africa, birthing two music labels that propelled local scenes, such as Ugandan acholitronix or Tanzanian singeli, across the globe. At the heart of this explosive universe lies a big house, known as “the Villa,” that almost constantly vibrates with sounds as musicians from the region and beyond tirelessly produce, exchange skills, and frenetically party until dawn. Despite reducing the Villa’s bubbling flow, COVID-19 didn’t silence it, and the house kept on nurturing its community of underground musicians. In this episode, producer Basile Koechlin takes us to the Villa to meet current residents and other members of the Nyege Nyege nebula. Through a patchwork of stories, soundscapes, and fresh musical releases, we hear more about this unique and strange place that came to host and generate a seminal part of the avant-garde of electronic music production in East Africa. APWW #843

Calypso and reggae have been mainstays of Grenada’s musical culture, until the emergence of the distinctive Carnival-based offshoot known as jab-jab soca, and more recent hybrid forms embraced by a younger generation of musical practitioners. On this program, we explore how the island’s tempestuous history has influenced its dynamic music scene, with testimony from leading Grenadian music figures, including calypso kings Ajamu and Black Wizard, members of the innovative group Moss International, jab-jab soca pioneers Tallpree and Mr Killa, and upcoming artists such as Sabrina Francis, a rising star who draws on soul, jazz, R&B and folk elements. Produced by David Katz APWW #856