This weekend (May 18) is Haitian Flag Day, when Haitians around the world celebrate their history & culture by adorning themselves in the red & blue of the Haitian flag. 

Haiti is one of the most unique countries in the Caribbean, as it was the second independent nation in the Western hemisphere and the first Black republic in the world. Its people speak Haitian Creole, a hybridized language which blends West African languages with French. And Haitian musical traditions like kompa and rara are unique, too. In recent years, DJs and partiers have been renewing and pushing the "raboday" sound.

Celebrate Haitian heritage month with this mix for Haitian Flag Day!

🇭🇹 Haitian Flag Day (Kompa / Raboday Mix by Evan Woodson)

In our current era of the internet and social media, the lines which used to separate musical genres within different regions of the African Diaspora have become blurred. 

Artists within Jamaica's globally-influential dancehall culture (like Popcaan) have reached back across the Atlantic ocean to work with West African artists (like Davido) who represent the "new" global genre of Afrobeats.

This fusion of genres can be described as both "Nigerian music entering the global mainstream" or as "Jamaican music re-connecting with its African roots", depending on your perspective. Either way -- its energetic, it's refreshing, and yet another example of the infinite musical creativity of the cultures of the African Diaspora.

Find common ground between Jamaica & Nigeria with this 20-minute mix of Dancehall / Afrobeats crossovers & collabs.

🇯🇲🇳🇬 Jerk & Jollof (Dancehall / Afrobeats Crossover Mix by Evan Woodson)

🇨🇴 Champeta Criolla (10 Clásicos Mezclado por Evan Woodson)

🇨🇩🇨🇴 Soukous Vibrations (Mezcla Champeta Africana de Congo) [Por Evan Woodson]

Africa's gift to the world is life -- and the rhythms, wealth, and resources that come with it. But too often the rest of the world (especially Europe) has sought to exploit these gifts, rather than recognize that Africa is the root & mother of everything that is human.

Human life began in Africa, which means that the first music humans ever made was, by default, African music. Rhythmic & melodic traditions rooted in Africa have thrived and multiplied for thousands of years. They were seeds spread around the world via the African Diaspora, planting musical family trees everywhere from the U.S. to Brazil to the Caribbean and beyond.

Now, with the ascendance of "Afrobeats" as a force in global pop music, more listeners than ever are seeking to connect with west Africa. As it always has, Africa is currently pollinating and reinvigorating genres ranging from hip-hop to dancehall to reggaeton around the world.

These genres were founded on African rhythms in the past, but now their musical cultures are acknowledging that Africa is not ONLY the past -- AFRICA IS THE FUTURE.

🌍Africa Is The Future (Volume 2) [Mixed by Evan Woodson]

Today (September 7) is Brazilian Independence Day, marking 197 years since the largest colony in South America broke away from its Portuguese mother country.

Even before it became independent from Portugal, Brazil was at the center of the Black experience in the Americas. Around 5 million Africans had arrived there in chains by the late 1800s, representing nearly 40% of the entire trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

Its original capital, Salvador de Bahia, served as the main importation point for many of these Africans. And upwards of 80% of its nearly 3 million residents today are Black.

With all these connections to Africa, it's no wonder that Brazilian music is so heavily influenced by the mother continent. Brazil's Carnival celebrations, samba dance, capoeira, and today's edgy baile funk music are all rooted in Africa.

Celebrate Brazil's Independence Day with this mix of Afro-Brazilian music!

🇧🇷 Afro Brasil (Volume 3) [Mixed by Evan Woodson]

Today (October 15) is the birthday of Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti. 

"Afrobeat", the music genre that Fela pioneered in the 1970s and 1980s, is built upon traditional African rhythms but also heavily influenced by American funk and jazz music. Fela used this music to educate Nigerians about the effects of colonialism in African societies as well as directly protesting government corruption within the newly-independent nation of Nigeria.

Modern Nigerian artists like Burna Boy are returning to the roots of this tree planted by Fela Kuti, infusing elements of old-school Afrobeat & highlife music into their new-school Afrobeats hits.

Celebrate Fela's life and influence on Afrobeats with the latest mix from Body and Soul Records!

🇳🇬 Afrobeats & Chill Volume 4 (Slow Burners Volume 2) [Mixed by Evan Woodson]

For years now, "Dembow" music from the Dominican Republic has been heating up the Latin Diaspora.

From Santo Domingo to New York to Miami to Los Angeles and everywhere in between, it's impossible to deny the infectious energy that Dembow has injected into the Latin and hip-hop worlds.

Take a 12-minute joyride through the Dominican Republic with the newest mix from Body And Soul Records!

🇩🇴 K Lo K Volume 3 (Dominican Independence Day Mix by Evan Woodson)

A musical lens on the African Diaspora. 🌎🎧🌍

🔊 BODY AND SOUL RECORDS

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