Calipso

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

World Beats

Panama

panama

Otro

New private playlist

Carolina Cao Kinito Mendez

Taken from Strut's comprehensive retrospective of the hugely influential Fania Records, 'Pa' Bravo Yo' is one of the biggest hits vocalist Justo Betancourt achieved on the label.  An infectious cut lead by his deep vocal, the song first appeared on his 1972 album of the same name.  Fania Records 1964 - 1980: The Original Sound of Latin New York will be out March 29th on Strut, featuring a 32-page booklet including a full Fania label history, memorabilia, album artwork and many previously unseen photos from the Fania archive.

Justo Betancourt- Pa' Bravo Yo (From Fania Records 1964 - 1980)

1967. Decca. N.Y.

Del álbum "The Explosive Side of Joe Panamá"

Pianista líder del Quinteto Joe Panamá, el mismo donde el señor Joe Cuba tocaba las congas en sus inicios. 
Salsa, Cha cha chá, Funk, Boogaloo Y Shingaling

Joe Panamá - Tu eres mi vida

Jill Scott ft. Eve and The A Group "Shame"

"Shame" is from the upcoming Jill Scott album "Light of the Sun"

Talk to Jill:
missjillscott.com
youtube.com/missjillscott
twitter.com/missjillscott
facebook.com/missjillscott
myspace.com/missjillscott

Shame (feat. Eve & The A Group)

[APWW PGM #388] [Originally aired in 2002]

Bachata is genuinely a music of the people. Recalling the American blues, bachata was infamous as the anthem of the hard-drinking, womanizing, down-on-his-luck man, vilified as the entertainment of the brothels and the cabarets, and worshipped by the down-trodden poor as the deepest expression of their feelings. Dominican immigration to the U.S. has had a profound impact on Bachata.  Now Bachateros come to play in New York and write songs with an urban edge that reflect the experience of the Dominican diaspora. We visit with Alex Wolfe, director/producer of the forthcoming film "Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata" who brings us live ambience and stories of bachata stars Luis Vargas, Antony Santos, Luis Segura, Adridia Ventura. 

Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata

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 poor nordestinos 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 like modinha 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 Podcast

[APWW PGM #383] [Originally Aired in 2002]

Baaba Maal has toured the world, backed by his electric group, Daande Lenol. Sometimes he has performed as an acoustic duo with his longtime musical partner, Mansour Seck, on guitars and vocals. And rarely, Baaba has assembled a large acoustic group featuring guitars and traditional instruments. We caught such a moment at one of our all time favorite live recordings, Baaba and his acoustic big band performing at Joe's Pub in New York City. Beautiful! 

Baaba Maal Acoustic - Live In NYC

papa este es mi umilde regalo a todos mis panas maestra vida 

Ruben blades - maestra vida(2)

Kitaro - Matsuri

[APWW PGM #468] [Originally aired in 2005]

King Sunny Adé was, in many ways, the inspiration for what would become Afropop Worldwide. And he was by no means only an inspiration to us! Many fans in America first got hooked on Afropop (and African music in general) through the landmark 1982-83 tour by King Sunny Ade and his African Beats: the propulsive polyrhythms of traditional drums mixed with sophisticated guitar arrangements and pedal steel were like nothing they had ever heard. Topped by graceful choreography and the beaming presence of the “Chairman” himself, the effect was totally intoxicating. In this program, we travel to Lagos to talk to people there who help us fill in the picture of King Sunny Ade’s earlier career in the 1960s and '70s. KSA also granted Afropop Worldwide a three-hour interview. We’ll hear his stories and some classic recordings. Featured in the show are highlights from a sublime acoustic concert Ade and the African Beats gave at Joe’s Pub in New York City.

Hip Deep Portrait Of King Sunny Ade

Ruben Blades - Salsa - Pedro Navaja

Voices in Vinyl: Matanzas—A Story in Afro-Cuban Culture

Toque Y Canto O Ochun

Tumba Francesa.
An informal bolero performance by members of the Familia Valera Miranda in Santiago de Cuba. 
A rehearsal by the Conga del Barrio de los Hoyos of Santiago. 
El Diamante del Son: Ayúdame, Babalú. 
More from Dr. José Millet. 
A visit to the Playa de Cajobabo. 
A return visit to the spiritist Madeleine in Cobre. 
The Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo, live and on CD. 
The 150th birthday celebration of José Martí in Holguín. 
A palo monte song, live.
The Grupo Nengón y Quiribá, recorded live in the countryside outside Baracoa, playing the antique cousins of the son. 
Faustino Oramas “El Guayabero”: “A mi me gusta que baile Marieta.” 

2003
Photo of Tumba Francesa La Caridad de Oriente via René Silveira

The Cuban Connection, Part 17

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

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

RIO #2: SAMBA STRIKES BACK!
Part two of our Hip Deep series on the music of Rio de Janeiro picks up the samba story where we left off in the 1960s, tracing the rhythm as it transforms and reappears throughout the many popular music forms that developed in Rio in the later 20th century. Scholar Frederick Moehn, author of a book about samba and pop music titled Contemporary Carioca, shows us how samba’s shadow reappears in the youth music of MPB stars Pedro Luis and Marcos Suzano, and how a samba revival led by young artists in the Lapa neighborhood revitalizes Rio’s urban core. Arriving in the 21st century, we see how samba’s footprint continues to reverberate in Rio today, in the form of the electronic tamborizão rhythm behind funk carioca tracks , and in the beats of Brazilian hip-hop pioneer Marcelo D2. (Produced by Marlon Bishop)

Rio #2: Samba Strikes Back!

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

Gilberto Gil is one of his country’s best loved and most prolific artists. In this intimate solo concert in New York City, Gil plays guitar and sings classics from his repertoire and from his favorite composers. Gil also narrates his performance beautifully, telling stories along the way.

Gilberto Gil Acoustic, Live in New York

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

Every September, millions of people celebrate Carnival in Brooklyn. From the pre-dawn J’ouvert bacchanal in the streets, to the intense Panorama steel pan competition, to the massive Labor Day Parade on Eastern Parkway, central Brooklyn is transformed into a Caribbean cultural haven. But before the fun comes months of preparation and centuries of history. We follow Caribbean steel pan groups, masquerade bands and Haitian rara groups through their preparations and celebrations and we hear how members of these Caribbean communities keep their cultural activities alive and thriving despite considerable challenges: violence and political backlash associated with Carnival, and soaring rents and cultural changes in Brooklyn due to gentrification. 

Produced by Morgan Greenstreet, Saxon Baird and Sebastian Bouknight.

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APWW PGM #739

[Distributed 2/16/2017]

Carnival In Brooklyn

The San Francisco Bay Area is a unique cultural space that has given birth to some of the most iconic countercultural American music. It is a place where identities can be fluid and hyphenated, where new voices emerge to speak to their times. Two very different Bay Area artists, Meklit Hadero and Zena Carlota, use their music to explore what it means to live on two sides of a hyphen: African-American, black-artist, Ethiopian-American, female-musician, to name a few. Produced by Lisa Bartfai

About the producer:

Lisa Bartfai is a freelance radio journalist, writer and translator based in Brunswick, ME. As a senior producer at award-winning Blunt Youth Radio, Lisa shares her love of radio with the next generation of noisemakers.

Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww.

Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/

S2:E3

Distributed 10/3/2017

Afro-Symphonic Folk: From the Coasts of Africa to the San Francisco Bay

[APWW PGM #207] [Originally aired 6/22/1995]


Produced by Ned Sublette with José Mandry. The music being made in Puerto Rico before and during the salsa years had its own sabor, even while the salsa boom was exploding out of New York. 

We talk to three of Puerto Rico’s all-time most important bandleaders: Rafael Ithier, founder of El Gran Combo; Quique Lucca, founder of Sonora Ponceña; and Willie Rosario, and hear key tracks from the island. 


Playlist:

Cortijo Y Su Combo feat. Ismael Rivera: Bomba Carambomba (1961)
El Gran Combo feat. Pellín Rodríguez: Acángana (1964)
El Gran Combo feat. Andy Montañez: Serrana (1968)
Kako y Su Combo feat. Chivirico Dávila: Soy Sonero (1962)
Nacho Sanabria: Mambo Batiri 
Tommy Olivencia feat. Chamaco Ramírez: Trucutú (1965)
Mario Ortiz feat. Chico Rivera: Se Acabó el Bembé 
Cortijo Y Ismael Rivera: Sinbad el Marino 
Sonora Ponceña: Hachero Pa’ Un Palo (1968)
Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound: Y Tú Loco Loco Pero Yo Tranquilo (1969)
Bobby Valentín: Huracán (1970)
Willie Rosario feat. Chamaco Ramírez: De Barrio Obrero a la Quince (1971)
Puerto Rican All-Stars featuring Kako: Abaniquito (1963)


A History of Puerto Rican Salsa

[APWW #643] [Originally aired 2012]
In Part One of our 2012 Hip Deep Brazil series, we travel back in time to Rio De Janeiro in early 20th century to explore the birth of Brazil’s most iconic sound: samba. Beginning with the arrival of poor nordestinos 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 like the modinha 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. Plus, 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 the end, 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 [Full Program]

[APWW PGM #579]  [Originally aired in 2009]
AFRO-DOMINICANA: MUSIC FROM THE OTHER DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 
[APWW PGM #579]  [Originally aired in 2009]
In the 1930s, infamous Dominican dictator Rafael Truillo ordered the burning of the country’s palos drums, hoping to erase the powerful vestiges of African culture in the Dominican Republic. Luckily for us, the breakneck, trance-inducing sound of palos still reverberates at Afro-syncretic religious parties across the island nation almost a century later. This week, Afropop revisits the home of styles such as merengue and bachata, but this time we’ll be looking towards the most deeply African side of Dominican music--little known outside of the island. Afro-Dominican music is a secret treasure, filled with virtuosic drumming styles, heart-stopping grooves, and mystic dance parties. We’ll listen to traditional genres like palos, salve, and gaga, a uniquely Dominican take on rara music from neighboring Haiti. Throughout, we’ll be looking at artists who have drawn on Afro-Dominican styles to make infectious pop music, from wizened veterans of the folklore movement such as Luis Dias, to a host of hip, young bands who use Afro-inspired rock, reggae, and hip-hop to redefine what it means to be Dominican. We’ll also check out the Afro-Dominican scene in New York City – home to more than a half million Dominicans—where we’ll find a Dominican gaga group in Brooklyn who are mending cultural fences at a weekly Haitian celebration.

Afro-Dominicana -  Music from the Other Dominican Republic

[APWW PGM #468]  [Originally aired in 2005]
Many fans in America first got hooked on Afropop through the landmark 1982-83 tour by Nigeria's King Sunny Ade and his African Beats: the propulsive polyrhythms of traditional drums mixed with sophisticated guitar arrangements and pedal steel. Topped by graceful choreography and the beaming presence of the "Chairman" himself. Totally intoxicating. In this program, we travel to Lagos to talk to people there who help us fill in the picture of  King Sunny Ade's earlier career in the 1960s and 1970s. KSA also granted Afropop Worldwide a three hour interview. We'll hear his stories and hear some classic recordings. Featured in the show are highlights from a sublime acoustic concert Chairman gave at Joe's Pub in New York City. Produced by Sean Barlow.  

King Sunny Adé: Hip Deep Portrait

[APWW #596] [Originally aired in 2010]  
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.  We visit Panama, a little known musical treasure trove. Here on the isthmus, 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. Produced by Marlon Bishop.

A Palo Limpio - Kinito mendez

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. 