October 25, 2023
Africa: Catching Up With Delgres
Since we last spoke with Danaë, the band has released two full-length albums, Mo Jodi in 2018 and at 4:00AM in 2021, and are now finishing work on their third album to be… Read more »
October 20, 2023
Africa: Etienne Sevet - the Many Adventures of the Bongo Hop
One of this year's headliners at the International Festival de Nuits Afrique in Montreal this summer was The Bongo Hop. Read more »
October 11, 2023
Africa: Stephen Marley - Old Soul and Bob Marley: Africa Unite
Bob Marley is an enduring icon of popular music. But even icons need refreshing from time to time, and two recent releases add depth and luster to the ongoing Marley legacy.… Read more »
Africa: Africa Unite
Africa Unite was probably inevitable. In the decade-plus that Afrobeats has been on the rise worldwide, outreach and collaboration with established genres, mostly hip-hop and… Read more »
October 09, 2023
South Africa: Nduduzo Makhathini - in Conversation With the Ancestors
One of the most anticipated and outstanding performances at this year's Festival International de Jazz de Montreal was from jazz pianist Nduduzo Makhathini. Makhathini is often… Read more »
October 06, 2023
West Africa: Kokoroko - Evolving the Legacy of West African Music
The origin story of the band Kokoroko began, as all origin stories about humans and music do, in Africa. In this case, it was Kenya in 2014, in the town of Meru on the northeastern… Read more »
October 05, 2023
Nigeria: Adekunle Gold At Kings Theater in Brooklyn
Nigerian pop star Adekunle Gold returned to New York this week for a show at King's Theater in Brooklyn. The event was scheduled for September 29, the day Brooklyn nearly drowned,… Read more »
September 29, 2023
Cote d'Ivoire: Sidiki Dimbélé's Journey With the Djembe
At the speakeasy in Dalston, London, Hannah Allchurch had the pleasure of interviewing and listening to the talented multi-instrumentalist Sidiki Dembélé, accompanied… Read more »
September 22, 2023
Nigeria: Mr. Eazi Fuses African Art and Music Into a Global Sensation With the Evil Genius
Mr. Eazi, the award-winning Nigerian artist, is blurring the lines between continents and genres with his groundbreaking project, The Evil Genius. This innovative fusion of… Read more »
September 12, 2023
Africa: Afropop Top Videos - Stephen Marley, Bombino, Las Hijas Del Rap
The awesomely creative and inspiring videos just keep coming. Here are six more additions to Afropop's Top Videos YouTube playlist, once again spanning the endless diversity of… Read more »
September 07, 2023
Zambia: From Zamrock to the Great Year - Zambian Artist Sitali Siyolwe Releases Fourth Studio Album
Sitali is a New York-born singer-songwriter and guitarist from Zambia who has been in the D.C. and summer festival music circuit scene for years. If you were to ask anyone outside… Read more »
August 24, 2023
Zimbabwe: Mokoomba - Tusona (Tracings in the Sand)
By the time the Zimbabwean band Mokoomba arrived on the African pop scene with their international debut album Rising Tide in 2013, they had been developing their sound for a… Read more »
South Africa: Sharon Katz and the Peace Train New Album - for You
South African singer/songwriter and bandleader Sharon Katz co-founded the band The Peace Train in 1992. Nelson Mandela was just out of prison, and Katz and her musicians traveled… Read more »
Nigeria: Rema Conquers Bollywood With TikTok
As we celebrate King Sunny Ade for having the longest charting African album on Billboard (Jùjú i Music, 1982, Island Records), forty-plus years later, Rema is… Read more »
Nigeria: KSA Passes the Baton to Rema as Longest-Charting African Album on Billboard
In the midst of celebrating Afropop Worldwide's 35th anniversary, Nigerian jùjú maestro King Sunny Ade fans and those new to him will appreciate a new landmark.… Read more »
August 17, 2023
Zimbabwe: Mokoomba's Unforgettable Return to London
After 6 years since the legendary Mokoomba last played in London, they finally made their very special appearance at the Jazz Cafe, in Camden Town. And there is no better place to… Read more »
August 13, 2023
Niger: Mdou Moctar's Central Park Stand for Niger
We recently saw Mdou Moctar and his band from Niger deliver a blistering set of Tuareg rock at Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage in Central Park. There were some 4,000… Read more »
August 08, 2023
Mali: Fatoumata Diawara - London Ko
Fatoumata Diawara's latest album, "London Ko," is an uplifting musical journey that lly blends electronic music with the rich traditions of Malian Wassoulou music. The production… Read more »
August 04, 2023
Africa: Instagram Message From Bonnie Raitt to Afropop Worldwide
Three days ago Bonnie Raitt sent her fans a heartwarming message about her experience traveling to Mali in 2000 with Afropop Wordlwide. Check it out! Read more »
July 28, 2023
Africa: Sobs Celebrates 40 Years
Sean participated this week in the party hearty celebration of the 40th anniversary of SOB's (Sounds of Brazil), the legendary nightclub in New York City founded by Larry Gold. Read more »
Uganda: Bobi Wine, Uganda's People's President, Comes to America With a New Feature Film
There are few musicians in modern history, certainly modern African history, who can hold a candle to Fela Kuti when it comes to brazen courage in standing up to powerful despots.… Read more »
July 27, 2023
Africa: Simon Shaheen Discusses the History and Art of the Oud
In preparing the program "Journeys With the Oud," Afropop's Banning Eyre visited Palestinian composer Simon Shaheen, an oud and violin virtuoso. They met in Shaheen's Brooklyn… Read more »
July 26, 2023
Africa: Nuits d'Afrique Rides Again With Yemi Alade, SONA Jobarteh, Dicko Fils and Much More!
The 37th edition of the Nuits D'Afrique festival in Montreal is a wrap. Once again, the city hosted twelve days of live music from Africa and the diaspora, featuring many of the… Read more »
July 25, 2023
Nigeria: Yemi Alade - From Montreal With Love
Yemi Alade was one of the early breakthrough artists in the global Afrobeats movement. Born in Nigeria in 1989 to a Yoruba father and an Igbo mother, she broke the scene open in… Read more »
July 18, 2023
Africa: 2023 Montreal International Jazz Festival
The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (FIJM) returned in its 43rd edition in full swing (and shuffle, backbeat, Afrobeat, and even ¾ time). It's been three years… Read more »