Afropop Worldwide

As work continues on the vast Afropop archive, producer Banning Eyre takes a deep dive and comes up with some gems. On the vinyl front, the focus is on South African and Zimbabwe, where the Afropop team collected a good deal of rare vinyl in the 1980s. Then Banning samples some his favorite field recordings from Zanzibar to Mali. In the age of YouTube, Pandora and Spotify, you might have the impression that all the music ever recorded is there at your finger tips. Here's proof that's not so. You'll hear music on this program you can't find anywhere else. Originally aired in 2015 [APWW #714]

For some 50 years, Leo Sarkisian was a worldwide staple on the overseas radio broadcast of Voice of America. A talented musician, raised in the Armenian community around Boston, Leo began traveling the world with his Nagra tape recorder and microphones for Tempo International, a Hollywood record label. His intrepid work in remote corners of Afghanistan and in newly independent Ghana and Guinea won him the attention of Edward R. Murrow, then at VOA. So began Leo’s epic career as a documenter, archivist and popularizer of African music. He once said he had worked in every African country but one. In recognition of his passing in June, 2018, we revisit Leo’s rich, fascinating conversation and music-sharing session with our own Georges Collinet. Expect lively exchanges between two radio icons, and some rare audio, including Leo's 1965 recording of Fela Kuti during his jazz years. APWW #783

A lot has happened since Afropop last visited Zimbabwe. The 37-year regime of Robert Mugabe has ended, and Thomas Mapfumo, the Lion of Zimbabwe, has staged a triumphant return concert after a 14-year absence. Meanwhile, the country’s youth now moves to the groove of Zim-Dancehall from the likes of reigning star Winky D, and roots gospel from Jah Prayzah. On this program, we catch up with all these new sounds, hear the latest from Oliver Mtukudzi, and meet one of the most creative singer/songwriters on the scene these days, Victor Kunanga. APWW #781 Produced by Banning Eyre

Singer and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo is an icon in his home country, Zimbabwe. But he last performed there in 2004. He moved his family into exile in Oregon to escape the turmoil, scarcity and harassment they faced in the late years of President Robert Mugabe’s regime. But in April , 2018, with Mugabe out of power since November, Mapfumo returned to Harare to perform an all-night stadium concert for an estimated 20,000 people. Banning Eyre, author of Lion Songs, Thomas Mapfumo and the Music that Made Zimbabwe, was there and this podcast is his report on a historic homecoming concert.

Afropop producer Banning Eyre takes us on a surprise-filled tour of his 30-some years of covering African music. Through conversations with Georges Collinet and producer/agent/DJ Rab Bakari, the program reflects on how the world, the music, the culture and the media have changed and keep on changing throughout Africa and the diaspora. Along the way we hear some of the tunes that have most inspired Banning and Georges, sample the latest Afrobeats and Naija pop, and speculate on where African music is heading next. Great music, provocative thinking! [APWW #740]

Afropop Closeup Season 3 - Episode 2 Produced by Ian Coss

DO YOU LOVE BRASS? WELL, WE HAVE A SHOW FOR YOU… GANGBE BRASS BAND, REBIRTH BRASS BAND, FELA, FRANCO AND T.P.O.K. JAZZ. JOIN GEORGES COLLINET FOR “ALL THAT BRASS” - PART OF AFROPOP’S CELEBRATION OF OUR 30TH ANNIVERSARY! [APWW #780]

For six decades Calypso Rose has been one of the Caribbean’s leading feminists and human rights advocates. Now, at the age of 78, she's touring the world with songs about sexual assault, workplace discrimination, and some thoughts on Donald Trump. In this report, Afropop correspondent Dan Rosenberg talks with Calypso Rose about using music as a weapon for social change, and how Rose collaborated with fashion designer Anya Ayoung Chee to transform "Leave Me Alone" into a political movement. We will also go behind-the-scenes with her producer, Ivan Duran, bandleader Drew Gonsalves of Kobo Town, and filmmaker Pascale Obolo. S3:E1

In honor of Afropop's 30th anniversary on public radio, we are proud to present "Afropop Divas - Live." These are artists of extraordinary artistic talent and larger than life personalities - recorded by Afropop Worldwide. Featured artists include Oumou Sangare from Mali, Cesaria Evora from Cabo Verde, Uum Kulthum from Egypt, and Marie Daulne born in Congo. Produced by Sean Barlow. [APWW #778]

Lagos and the Rise of Nigerian Afrobeats Heavy, percussive club beats with irresistible hooks and street-wise raps in Yoruba, Igbo or pidgin English—Nigerian pop music, increasingly known by the much-debated term Afrobeats, is the sound that moves Lagos and the sound of Lagos that moves the world. But it wasn’t always this way! Starting in the early 1990s, a new musical movement was born in Nigeria. Ten years into a series of military dictatorships that almost completely destroyed the Nigerian music industry, artists including Junior & Pretty, the Remedies and Plantashun Boiz brought a new, youth-centric style drawing heavily on r&b, hip-hop and reggae, with plenty of local style. Twenty years later, this music has exploded from the margins to the Nigerian mainstream and grown into an international pop music phenomenon, spreading across the African continent and influencing U.S. and U.K. tastes. Musical, political, cultural, technological and economic developments have turned the sound of Lagos pop music into a massive industry of artists, labels, radio and television stations, video directors, PR firms and more. We’ll hear the story of the birth and development of this scene straight from the influential and foundational figures who lived it, including 2Face Idibia (2Baba), DJ Jimmy Jatt, Sound Sultan, Eedris Abdulkareem, and Kenny Ogungbe of the legendary Kennis Music label and Ray Power FM. We will also hear from current stars including Iyanya, Yemi Alade, Adekunle Gold and Flavour, visit Clarence Peter’s music video studio, and hear from the producers who define the sound, including Young John, Ikon and Cobhams Asuquo. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet. Hosted by Siji Awoyinka. Photo by Kazeem Akinpelu APWW #765