Africa: Afropop Top Videos - Requiem for David Lindley, Ayra Starr and More!

9 March 2023
Afropop Worldwide (New York)
By Banning Eyre

It's been awhile since we added new videos to our Afropop Top Videos playlist. Three weeks in Tanzania was rather distracting! But we're back with six new entries. Of particular note is Henry Kaiser's "Requiem for David Lindley," a heartfelt 31-minute tribute to a giant of Americana. Kaiser and Lindley's epic series of Madagascar releases on Shanachie Records (A World Out of Time) was a landmark for African music in the 1990s. These two great artists share Afropop's passion for Malagasy music. We've been there three times, and not done yet. Henry Kaiser's tribute featuring wonderful performance clips, including with Malagasy musicians, is highly recommended. But first, some more current offerings.

To start, three videos in recognition of Women's History Month, starting with Nigeria's Ayra Starr, whose meteoric rise in the past year has set the Afrobeats scene on fire. You can see why in her latest offering, "Sability."

Afropop took note of Les Mamans du Congo while producing our program New Africa 2022. This video, produced with French electronic producer RRobin, presents a joyous romp through Kinshasa.

Malika Zarra is a New York based Moroccan singer/songwriter/bandleader with a gorgeous voice and a rich, varied repertoire. We first featured her in our 2011 program Berber Rising II. She's out with a terrific new album this year, Rwa (The Essence). Here's the video for the track "Zrigh."

In Tanzania, we learned a lot about Singeli music, a frenetic, loop-driven local genre that is dominating youth music these days. This video by Singeli star Dulla Makabila is an interesting example, one we'll have more to say about in a future show. Suffice it to say the video offers a window into the present day moral landscape in the country. You'll see as various people plead their case to Makabila and are sent either to heaven or hell...

Kevyn Colt is described as a "Nigerian/German industrial hip-hop star." He's out with an album called Music is Fire later this month. Here's a sample of his bracing, in-your-face style.

And finally, chill out with Henry Kaiser, David Lindley and friends. Our thanks to Henry for pulling this together. May David rest in peace. He is already sorely missed.

#Ayrastarr #sability #mavinrecords #afrobeats #Nigerianmusic #lesmamansducongo #rrobin #salasala #congomusic #malikazarra #zrigh #rwa #dullamakabila #singeli #pitahuku #kelvyncolt #shorty! #music is fire #davidlindley #henrykaiser #malagasymusic #aworldoutof time #womenshistorymonth

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