April 09
Zimbabwe: Mokoomba Returns to America!
The hottest band in Zimbabwe is back on the road in America. We caught the group on April 7 at a gala for Global Arts Live, an organization that has presented exceptional music and… Read more »
April 05
Africa: Dele Sosimi Talks Afrobeat - From Fela Kuti to the Future
The lights dimmed inside London's legendary Jazz Cafe, the air thick with anticipation. A melting pot of Londoners - longtime Afrobeat devotees, curious newcomers, and those simply… Read more »
April 01
Africa: Season 16 of Afropop - the Ultimate Cultural Exchange Series, Premiering Monday, April 1
AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange, the award-winning series by Black Public Media (BPM) and WORLD, debuts season 16 on Monday, April 1. The series, renowned for its powerful… Read more »
March 18
Africa: Moonshine Lights Up the Globe With Afro-House Extravaganzas
Moonshine is a Montreal-based, Afro-house collective founded in 2014 by Juno-nominated musician Pierre Kwenders and his childhood friend Hervé "Coltan" Kalongo--both of… Read more »
March 15
Africa: How Beyoncé Reclaims Country Music's Roots for Black Artists
You have no doubt heard that global music diva and 32-time Grammy Award winner Beyoncé dropped a pair of hit country songs--"Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages"--in her… Read more »
March 14
Egypt: Zakariah Ibrahim - 1952_2024
On February 12, Egypt lost one of its greatest champions of traditional culture. Zakariah Ibrahim, director of the El Mastaba Center for the Preservation of Egyptian Folk Music,… Read more »
February 29
Africa: Cine Africa - the Kitchen, the Grenfell Tower Disaster, and the Windrush Scandal
On June 14, 2017, 72 residents perished in the Grenfell Tower disaster in London. Grenfell Tower was a "council house," one of Britain's federal government-funded buildings based… Read more »
February 22
Tanzania: Afropop in Tanzania 2024 - Sauti Za Busara
After an intense week of music in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, I, Sean Barlow and 24 intrepid Afropop travelers made our way by ferry to Stone Town, Zanzibar, to experience one of… Read more »
February 08
Tanzania: Afropop in Tanzania 2024 - Dar es Salaam
We're enjoying being back in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this time with a group of 24 intrepid Afroopop travelers for our music and culture visit to Tanzania and Zanzibar. Our first… Read more »
January 31
Congo-Kinshasa: Baloji Pushes Cinema Boundaries With Augure/Omen
The Belgian/Congolese rapper/composer/recording artist Baloji has always cut his own road, creating unclassifiable recordings and videos that reflect a broad and in some ways… Read more »
January 26
Africa: Afropop Top Videos for January 2024
Kickoff 2024 entries to the Afropop Top Video playlist with six great new entries. Topping the list are two featuring today's Mama Africa, Angelique Kidjo, continuing her role as… Read more »
January 12
Africa: The Afro-Semitic Experience - 'Unity in the Community'
The Afro-Semitic Experience is a six-piece ensemble of Jewish and African-American musicians dating back to the late 1990s, when Hartford-based pianist and vocalist Warren Byrd and… Read more »
January 10
Morocco: Beyond Borders: "Jarama" Fuses Gnawa Traditions with Dub, Funk, and Rock
Saïd Tichiti is a Morrocan-born musician based in Hungary since 1998. There he founded the fusion ensemble Chalaban, which released six albums over a 20-year span. Their music… Read more »
December 31, 2023
Africa: Afropop Game Changers 2024
Happy New Year. The future looks bright for African musicians and content creators as their ingenuity and talent are changing the global cultural landscape. Like the abundance of… Read more »
December 20, 2023
Africa: Camp Afropop 2024
Camp Afropop 2024 is gearing up to be an extraordinary event with a lineup of diverse and talented artists. The festival will feature Georges Collinet, a renowned broadcaster and… Read more »
December 08, 2023
Morocco: The Lure and Lore of Gnawa
The Gnawa musical healers of Morocco are a perennial fascination within the broad tableau of the Afropop story. They bring together potent themes--slavery and its legacy of… Read more »
Morocco: Deborah Kapchan On the Gnawa of Morocco
Deborah Kapchan is a professor of Performance Studies at New York University, and the principle voice for Afropop Worldwide's Hip Deep program, Traveling Spirit Masters: The Gnawa… Read more »
November 29, 2023
Congo-Kinshasa: Baloji Releases Soundtrack for His Film Agure (Omen)
It's been a while since we heard from maverick Congolese/Belgian hip-hop artist Baloji. But he's been busy! He's now out with an EP for his Oscar-nominated film Augure (Omen),… Read more »
November 21, 2023
Africa: Top Afropop Videos - Thanksgiving Edition
As Thanksgiving is upon us, some may find time to squirrel away with a phone or laptop and escape into a world of music and imagination. Others may wish to share these with an… Read more »
November 20, 2023
Africa: WOMEX 2023 - the Rundown From Ron!
Each year, come late October, there is a gathering of what could be described as a tribe - this year it was nearly 3000 people, from over 100 countries. There are no real rules to… Read more »
November 13, 2023
Africa: Afropop Celebrates 35 Years At Sob's in New York, Congo-Style!
Congo's Samba Mapangala and the Soukous Stars animated a high-spirited Afropop Dance Party at the legendary New York nighclub SOB's on Friday, Novemver 10th. The event was to honor… Read more »
November 09, 2023
Africa: Images of WOMEX 2023 in Spain
Each year when the world music expo, WOMEX, closes up shop in another European city, we get the stats. And the 23rd edition in A Coruña, Spain, was no exception. So here… Read more »
October 31, 2023
Africa: Afropop Top Videos for October - Dobet Ghahore, Novalima, Kavita Shah and More...
The videos just keep on coming. Here are eight more, once again spanning the endless diversity of today's African and diaspora music and video. Read more »
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 »