August 28
Africa: Afropop Top Videos - August, 2024
The songs of summer 2024 are flying by. We at Afropop Worldwide have our own takes, and here are a few to consider. This month's seven picks lean heavily into Afrobeats, the genre… Read more »
August 27
Africa: Salin Cheewapansri - From Bangkok to Africa
Salin Cheewapansri was born in the mid-1990's and raised in Bangkok, Thailand. Musically inclined, she tried the piano, but then switched to drums when she heard that the drum… Read more »
August 21
Africa: Palm Wine Festival Returns to New York
In association with Move Forward Music, the Lagos-based Palmwine Festival celebrating Nigeria's nascent alternative music scene returned to Central Park Summerstage on August 17.… Read more »
Africa: Ana Moura - Going Beyond Fado
Banner photo by Benoit Rousseau Read more »
August 14
Ghana: Ghanaian Singer Afroso Blends Tradition with Modernity
Okaidja Afroso is a Ghanaian singer, dancer, guitarist and composer based in Oregon since 1999, but still deeply tied to his Gãdangmé roots in a fishing community of… Read more »
August 13
Africa: Ron's 2024 Nuits d'Afrique Rundown!
Afropop's Ron Deutsch attended the entire run of this year's Nuits D'Afrique Festival in Montreal. His report on the Montreal Jazz Festival was a tour de force! Here's his rundown… Read more »
July 30
Nigeria: Ego Ella May Is Not Alone
What's in a name? For jazz singer/songwriter Ego Ella May, it's a window into her rich heritage. Her first name, pronounced "eh-go," honors her Nigerian roots - her parents having… Read more »
July 19
Africa: Daymé Arocena At LAMC 2024
A showcase is, well, a showcase. It's where record labels and companies push and highlight their talent for record producers, industry execs, and press. Perhaps they need a… Read more »
Africa: Wild Weekend in NYC - Thandiswa, Seun Kuti, Magic System and More!
Greetings from Night 3 of the six-night "outdoor" portion of Montreal's Nuits D'Afrique Festival. As ever, the festival is a firehose of great music, much of it new to us,… Read more »
July 15
Africa: The Joy Lapps Project - On a Mission to Keep Afro-Caribbean Culture Alive
We first fell in love with Grammy-nominated steel pan artist Joy Lapps, when she walked - or rather, waddled - on stage, eight months pregnant at the Festival International de Jazz… Read more »
July 11
Africa: Festival International De Jazz De Montreal 2024 - an Overwhelming Musical Feast
Choices. There are easy ones and difficult ones in life. And when it comes to the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the choices always lean towards the difficult. There… Read more »
July 09
Africa: Afropop Top Videos - YG Marley, Yemi Alade, Tinariwen, Qoha and More!
Summer is upon us full force, and nothing sounds better in summer than music from the continent and its global diaspora. Here are seven new video offerings for you to keep the… Read more »
July 08
Africa: Meridian Brothers Turn to Africa On Mi Latinoamérica Sufre
The Colombian alternative act Meridian Brother, is a one-man-band in the recording studio, and a five-piece ensemble on stage. The one man in question is Eblis Álvarez, a… Read more »
July 05
Africa: Pan-African Legacies Converge in Seun Kuti, Damian Marley's 'Dey'
On June 26, Seun Kuti and Damian Marley released "Dey" -jazzy, funky, and indicative of the sound that defined Nigerian star Fela Kuti's Afrobeat. Read more »
June 24
Algeria: Iness Mezel - a French-Algerian Musician Blends Tamazight With Rock
Born Fatiha Messaoudi to a French-Italian mother and Kabyle-Algerian father in the suburbs of Paris, Iness Mezel brilliantly blends western contemporary with classic Kabyle… Read more »
June 20
Nigeria: Roundtable Discussion On Legendary Nigerian Fela Kuti's Music and Activism
"The more the people are organized, the better" - Fela Read more »
June 18
Togo: 'What Is Vaudou Music?' Peter Solo Speaks
One of the highlights of the inaugural Voodoo To Go Festival in Utrecht, Netherlands was Vaudou Game, a tremendous six piece Afro-funk band based in Lyon, France. Led by Togolese… Read more »
Africa: Afro-Cuban Royalty in Holyoke, Massachusetts
This year, southern New England once again experienced a series of intimate encounters with some of the most accomplished Afro-Cuban musicians in the United States. Lazaro… Read more »
June 14
Africa: Brooklyn's Dance Africa Bazaar 2024 - a Vibrant Celebration of Culture & Community
Brooklyn's Dance Africa Bazaar 2024: A Vibrant Celebration of Culture and Community Featuring Afropop Worldwide Read more »
June 06
North Africa: North Africa's Indigenous Peoples - the Imazighen
The Imazighen, also known as Amazighen, are the indigenous peoples of North Africa. A majority of the world may know them as the "Moors" or "Berber," a term coined by the Romans… Read more »
June 05
Africa: Djely Tapa, Yemi Alade, Manu Chao, Meridian Brothers and More
Here are seven recent videos we know you'll enjoy. To watch the more Afropop Top Videos, click here. Read more »
May 16
Ghana: Ghana Special 2 - Electronic Highlife & Afro Sounds in the Diaspora: 1980-93
This set of 18 funky tracks is a welcome follow-up to Soundway's essential compilation Ghana Special: Modern Highlife Afro-Sounds & Ghanaian Blues, 1968-81. In the late 70s,… Read more »
May 15
Tanzania: Afrika Muye Muye! Tanzanian Rumba & Muziki Wa Dansi 1968-70
Note: If you yearn to experience classic and modern African music in person on the continent, consider joining Afropop Worldwide's, February 2025 Music and Culture Tour of Tanzania… Read more »
May 14
Africa: Leif Totusek - African Guitar Par Excellence!
Seattle-based guitarist and bandleader Leif Totusek has been playing African guitar styles for some 40 years, notably in the U.K. in the 1980s with Somo Somo, a leading Congolese… Read more »
May 06
Africa: Afropop Top Videos - Amadou & Mariam, Mdou Moctar, Noise Cans, Malika Zarra, Meridian Brothers and More...
It's been a busy year, and we've fallen a bit behind in posting the most awesome new Afropop videos we've come across. So today we have nine new offerings for you. We start with… Read more »