A collection of Afropop's weekly hour-long podcasts. Visit http://www.afropop.org/category/program/ for a comprehensive archive of all programs.

Afropop Programs

[APWW #632] [Originally aired in 2012]

It’s Carnival week again! Which means party time in Trinidad, Haiti, Brazil, Louisiana and much of South America. Below, find links to sites about Carnival, stream it live and/or check it for the road-march contenders. Also be sure to check out past programming on Carnival.

Carnival Jump Around

#724
Produced by Ned Sublette
air date 2/11/2016

In Africa, drums don't only play rhythms, they send messages. “Ancient Text Messages: Batá Drums in a Changing World” explores an endangered tradition of drum speech in Nigeria, and how that tradition changed and thrived in Cuba, where large numbers of enslaved Yoruba arrived in the 19th century. Producer Ned Sublette speaks with ethnomusicologist Amanda Villepastour, language technician Tunde Adegbola, and drummer Kenneth Schweitzer about how language and music overlap.

Ancient Text Messages: Batá Drums in a Changing World

[APWW #226]  [Originally broadcast in 1996]

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was an astounding explosion of African-American cultural innovation, producing art, literature, poetry, and of course, fantastic music. In honor of Black History month, we are encoring our tribute to this magnificent period. We’ll hear from stars like Mamie Smith, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, as we use their music to explore the often-fraught history of Manhattan’s heights.


Music Of The Harlem Renaissance

Urban traditional bands from the ethnic neighborhoods of sprawling Kinshasa have emerged as a surprise world music hit around the world. Overlooked and marginalized in the complex world of Congolese pop music, groups like Konono No 1 and Kisanzi Congo are reaching the world thanks to the concerted efforts of Belgian musician and producer Vincent Kenis, the man behind the Congotronics phenomenon. This urban roots music goes back to the heady days of President Mobutu’s “authenticity” campaign in the 1970s, and to ancient, village culture before that. How that music became a hit with college age, club crawlers from London to Seattle is quite a story. And the music has a trance vibe that takes hold of you and doesn’t let go. We speak with Vincent Kenis, Mawangu Mingiedi of Konono No 1, and also a rising star in mainstream Congo pop—Felix Wazekwa. All that plus new music from the acoustic rumba revival group, Kékélé. 

[APWW PGM #494]  [Originally broadcast on PRI in 2006]

The Story Of Congotronics

[APWW #594] [Originally broadcast in 2010]

Nestled between Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria, Benin is a culturally rich sliver of West Africa too often overlooked. This program focuses Afropop’s spotlight on Benin, starting with the country’s favorite daughter:international star Angelique Kidjo. She looks back on her musical education in the Benin capital, Cotonou, as she walks us through the songs on her album Oyo, which spans covers of songs by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Miriam Makeba and Benin’s own Bella Bellow. We meet the ’70s vodoun funk band Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, who are still going strong, and recently made their belated U.S. debut. We move forward to present a chat with Lionel Loueke, a Beninois guitarist who has moved on to become one of the most original voices in contemporary American jazz. The program ends with a remembrance of the brilliant Malian guitarist and singer Lobi Traore. 


Treasures Of Benin

[APWW #709]  [Originally broadcast in 2015]

Sometimes it’s hard to sit still in the Afropop office. The funkiest, most leg-shakingly infectious music blasts from our speakers on a regular basis. Impromptu dance demonstrations have been known to take place. It’s our mission to share this wealth of musical excitement with our audience. Today, we bring you everything from the latest Chilean electro-pop, to the reggae revival that’s heating up Jamaica, to the psychedelic frontiers of South Africa. Get down with what the future’s dance floors sound like. You’re hearing it here first. 


Dance Floor Dynamite:  Future Grooves Today

[APWW #707 - updated for 2016] 
News bulletins from Havana are appearing daily as Obama’s initiative to defang the U.S. embargo moves forward. Ned Sublette, who frequently travels to Cuba, talks with Sean Barlow about the present moment and recent developments. The program features timba from Havana d’Primera and Pupy y Los Que Son, Son; a master mix of reguetón by Chacal y Yakarta; El Micha, and the timeless music of the late Papo Angarica and Haydée Milanés.

Music In A Changing Cuba 2016

Africa in Matanzas, Cuba: El Almacén is Walking
#726
Airdate: 3/24/2016
Producer: Harris
Matanzas, Cuba has long been regarded as the source (la fuente) of many rich Afro-Cuban folkloric traditions. These ceremonial and secular Afro-Cuban musics are, for the most part, alive and well, and being documented for the first time by Matanceros themselves, rather than exclusively by Havana-based or non-Cuban imprints. The Matanzas record label and artist collective, Sendero Music/El Almacén, faces several challenges: oversight from the state, limited access to resources, curating which groups to record while paradoxically convincing the folkloric community of the value of their endeavors, and the conundrum of establishing meaningful connections outside of Cuba to disseminate the city’s music to the world. 

Africa in Matanzas, Cuba: El Almacén is Walking

#729 AFROPOP VISITS ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE FOR MASA 2016
AIRDATE: 5/5/2016
PRODUCER: SEAN BARLOW

Georges and Sean head to Abidjan, the commercial and artistic center of Cote d'Ivoire, to cover the 2016 edition of MASA, perhaps the biggest arts festival of its kind on the continent. Over the course of a week, six acts performed on each of three stages every night. And we knew hardly any of them: That's exactly the point! Many of these emerging artists have not toured outside the continent yet. You'll hear concert highlights from Zeynab (Benin), Bella Mondo (Cote d'Ivoire), BANTU (Nigeria), Ile Aiye (Brazil), Charlotte Dipanda, Mingus Group (Mozambique), Ray Lema (Congo), Paco Séry (Cote d'Ivoire), Soum Bill (Cote d'Ivoire). And we'll take a break from the action onstage to visit African reggae megastar Alpha Blondy at his radio station, Alpha Blondy FM. This man is quite a storyteller! 

AFROPOP VISITS ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE FOR MASA 2016

Born-Free South Africa: A Kaleidoscope of Colors
Produced by Sarah Geledi and Simon Rentner
Airdate May 26th 2016

Join us on a modern-day musical adventure into Africa's Rainbow Nation. Now, 20-plus years removed from apartheid, South Africa is a nation deep in transition. And, it's reflected in its music—brimming with enthusiasm and creativity, yet also suffering from the growing pains of a new democracy. On the ground at the 2016 Cape Town International Jazz Festival, we celebrate the country's amazing diversity and discover its hottest local talent: Mafikozolo, the sizzling fashionista Zulu pop duo; Tribute “Birdie” Mboweni, a soulful and socially conscious songbird from the rural north; Gigi Lamayne, a fresh voice from hip-hop’s "born-free" generation; Bokani Dyer, a worldly jazz-cat on 88 keys; and Derek Gripper, a Capetonian guitarist virtuoso making us rethink African classical music as a whole.

Born-Free South Africa: A Kaleidoscope of Colors

[APWW #716] We profile three African musicians who have created significant careers in the face of daunting challenges in their countries. Paulo Flores, champion of semba and kizomba in Angola, came of age in the midst of that country's long post-independence civil war. He's probably done more for Angola's spiritual health during these difficult decades than anyone alive. Emmanuel Jal faced still worse as a child soldier who escaped Sudan under horrific circumstances to become an internationally acclaimed singer and rapper. Today, he must watch as his homeland--now called South Sudan--descends into another brutal, senseless war. The masked man of Nigerian pop, Lágbájá, has created diverse, socially conscious music through a series of military regimes in his homeland, and has new advice for his countrymen in a fragile democracy. We'll meet all three artists and hear an awesome variety of music. Produced by Banning Eyre.

Three Survivors: Paulo Flores, Emmanuel Jal, Lágbájá

THE TROPICAL SOUL OF JORGE BEN JOR
Jorge Ben Jor first began to experiment with fusions of samba, bossa nova, rhythm ‘n’ blues and soul in the early 1960s. Together with Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, he participated in the watershed cultural movement, Tropicália, in the late 1960s. In the 1970s, he further explored Afro-Brazilian history and culture in a series of popular albums that have since become key points of reference for a contemporary neo-soul movement. Jorge Benjor continues to be an active presence in Brazilian popular music. He grants us a rare interview to tell his story. The program is produced by Sean Barlow and co-produced with Christopher Dunn, author of Brutality Garden: Tropicália and the Emergence of a Brazilian Counterculture  (University of North Carolina Press, 2001) as part of Afropop Worldwide’s “Hip Deep” series

The Tropical Soul of Jorge Ben Jor

The Amazon River basin has long been a mystery to Brazil. Located far from the centers of business and power in the nation’s southeast, the jungle provinces of the Brazilian north have long been ignored by the nation at large. But recently, Brazilians have discovered that the cities and waterways of the Amazon are home to some of the nation’s hottest music. In this Hip Deep episode—a musical history of Pará state, where Afro-Caribbean influences have created a unique local flavor that connects the dots between Brazilian music and the rest of Latin America, we check out the guitar heroes of old-school Amazonian dance bands, investigate the origins of the early ’90s lambada dance craze, and explore the bubblegum bass culture of tecno brega. Featured interviews with singer Gaby Amarantos, lambada revivalist Felipe Cordeiro and ethnomusicologist Darien Lamen, among others.

Lead Producer: Marlon Bishop
Assistant Production: Saxon Baird, Joe Dobkin

The Mighty Amazon

LUIZ GONZAGA—THE KING OF BAIAO
Sweet accordion riffs, the steady twang of the triangle, and the off-beat pounding of the zabumba drum make forro a favorite for all Brazilians. The infectious tunes and syncopated beats have been described as “a mixture of ska with polka in overdrive.” This edition of Afropop Worldwide’s Hip Deep will profile forro creator Luiz Gonzaga–from the wanderlust that led him from his rural birthplace in northeastern Brazil to a pumping career in the capital, Rio de Janeiro, in the 1940s. Conversations with Brazilian artists, recorded on location in the forro capital of Recife, following in Gonzaga’s footsteps. Co-produced by Megwen Loveless. 

Luiz Gonzaga: The King of Baião

RIO #1: SAMBA AT THE DAWN OF MODERN BRAZIL
In part one of our Hip Deep Brazil series, we travel back in time to Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century to explore the birth of Brazil’s most iconic sound: samba. Beginning with the arrival of poornordestinos in the city after the end of slavery in 1888, we follow the exploits of the early sambistas as they forged the genre that would come to represent the nation. Brazilian scholar Carlos Sandroni shows us how Afro-Brazilian religious music and popular styles likemodinha transformed into the syncopated samba beat. Then, media scholar Bryan McCann guides us through the glamor and political intrigue of 1930s Rio as samba explodes as the popular music of choice throughout the country. We speak with samba greats from the old guard to the young bloods, including Dona Yvone Lara, Heitorzinho dos Prazeres, Paulão 7-Cordas and Luciana Rabelo. In closing, we find out how samba, an ambitious radio station and a populist dictatorship worked together to shape Brazilians’ ideas about race, society and the Brazilian nation itself. 

Rio #1: Samba at the Dawn of Modern Brazil

APWW #717 Voodoo To Go Festival

Producer Morgan Greenstreet follows the trail of West African Vaudou spiritual music to a very unlikely place–Utrecht, Netherlands–for the first edition of the Voodoo To Go Festival. The three-day festival, pioneered by Togolese entrepreneur Leopold Ekué Messan, set out to demystify Vaudou/Vodun/Voodoo spiritual practices by featuring music and dance from Togo, Benin, Haiti, Cuba and Suriname and bringing people together for films, food and a panel discussion about “Good and Evil in Voodoo.” From the opening ceremony, to the climactic final moments of the festival, the music at Voodoo To Go was filled with the spirit: Trance-inducing traditional music from Togolese/Beninois diaspora group Djogbé; heavy, retro Vaudou funk from Togolese musician Peter Solo and Vaudou Game, based in Lyon, France; Surinamese Kawina music from Rotterdam-based dance band Dray-ston; Late-night Haitian Vaudou-jazz from Erol Josué; and, finally an intense collaboration between Cuban jazz maestro Omar Sosa and Togolese musician and dancer Ayaovi Kokoussé. Alongside the excellent music, we hear from various participants in the festival discussing what Voodoo means to them: a Winti priestess; fascinated Dutch music fans; and, of course, the musicians who make music inspired by the spirit.

Voodoo To Go Festival

Central America, a narrow, mountainous, and largely impoverished stretch of land spanning seven countries, is a surprising and under-exposed Latin American musical hot zone. The region’s bizarre and tumultuous history has led to a fascinating mix of cultural influences – Spanish conquistadors, British pirates, and American banana companies have at one time or another vied for power. Add to this mix presence of large indigenous enclaves, Anglo-Caribbean migrants, the Afro-Arawak Garifuna and Mosquito peoples, and the many musical influences of the Caribbean, and you have the makings of a very interesting musical tapestry. Salsa and merengue, soca and calypso, reggae and reggaeton – it all comes together in Central America. In our program, we visit Panama, a little known musical treasure trove. Here on the ithmus, music from around the Americas mixed together in a unique stew: American, Cuban, Colombian,Jamaican influences combine to form a highly complex and unique musical culture. We’ll hear interviews from Spanish reggae star Kafu Banton, Afro-Spanish linguist John Lipski, traditional Afro-Latino princess Marcia Rodriguez, dancehall youngbloods Los Rakas, and many more.

The Panama Beat

Look around today’s musical mainstream, and you’ll quickly realized that dance styles are everywhere, filling stadiums, topping charts, and gathering tens of thousands in festivals around the country. Yet few know their full history. “Roots and Future” explores how a community of (primarily) black British musicians, fans, D.J.s, and radio pirates recreated dance music in the United Kingdom during the 1990s and 2000s.

Connected to the musical mainstream during 1989’s drug and rave fueled “second summer of love,” these  musicians learned to combine American hip-hop, dancehall toasting, dub bass, and techno euphoria to create style after chart-topping style, from drum-twisting jungle to the slick sounds of garage, the ferocious rhythms of grime, and the all-encompassing low-end of dubstep. We’ll speak to legendary pirate radio D.J.s, underground label owners, and groundbreaking producers. We’ll check young M.C.s spitting their bars on illegal frequencies, and hear veterans playing to their beloved audiences. And most importantly? We’ll rave. See you on the dance floor.

 #733 Roots and Future: A History of U.K. Dance
Producer: Sam Backer
Airdate: June 23rd 2016

Roots and Future: A History of U.K. Dance

#734
airdate 6/30/2016
Producer: Ned Sublette
The Ring and the Shout. At one time thought to have died out, the ring shout is the oldest known form of African American music. Producer Ned Sublette travels to Winnsboro, Louisiana, to record the Easter Rock, an annual ritual with a direct connection to antebellum slavery days, in an endangered plantation church with a wooden floor that serves as a drum when the Rockers are in charge. And we visit Athens, Georgia, to speak with Art Rosenbaum, co-producer of the McIntosh County Shouters' forthcoming album.

The Ring and the Shout

[APWW PGM #452]  [Originally broadcast in 2005]  "Escaping the Delta" is the title of a provocative book by award-winning author Elijah Wald that explores how a mythology of the blues grew around the figure of Robert Johnson. On this Hip Deep episode, Wald talks with producer Ned Sublette, and plays lesser-known recordings by Peetie Wheatstraw, Lonnie Johnson, Leroy Carr and others, who provided source material for some of Johnson’s classic tunes.

Escaping The Delta

Afropop Worldwide is an internationally syndicated weekly radio series, online guide to African and world music, and an international music archive, that has introduced American listeners to the music cultures of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean since 1988. Our radio program is hosted by Georges Collinet from Cameroon, the radio series is distributed by Public Radio International to 110 stations in the U.S., via XM satellite radio, in Africa via and Europe via Radio Multikulti. 