Africa: Afropop Top Videos – 2024 Year End Special
[Afropop] Awesome videos have been coming at us fast and furious. Here’s a set of eleven to get you grooving through the holidays!
Africa: Womex 2024 Wraps Up in Manchester, UK
[Afropop] The end of October brings autumn leaves, cooler weather, Halloween, and, of course, the Worldwide Music Expo (aka WOMEX). The floating convention takes place in a different city each year and this year it was held in Manchester, England. The …
Congo-Kinshasa: Gims Brings French-Congolese Pop to Madison Square Garden Theater
[Afropop] Gims, formerly Maitre Gims, is a fantastically successful French-Congolese singer, rapper, producer and songwriter. Born in Congo the son of Djanana Djuna, one of Papa Wemba’s singers in the band Viva la Musica, he came to the world as Gandhi…
Nigeria: Seun Kuti Gets Heavier Yet
[Afropop] Seun Kuti, youngest son of the Afrobeat legend and founder, is just out with his seventh studio album, Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head). It’s a strong set of tracks, featuring an updated lineup of the Egypt 80 band, and the requisite dee…
Ethiopia: The Atse Tewodros Project Aims At Reconciliation Between Ethiopians and Italians
[Afropop] Gabriella Ghermandi is a singer, performer and writer born in Addis Ababa in 1965 to an Italian father and an Italian-Eritrean mother raised in Ethiopia. Ghermandi moved to Italy in 1979, during the harsh repression of the military Derg regim…
Africa: Ibrahim Maalouf Embraces the World
[Afropop] Ibrahim Maalouf is shape-shifting Renaissance man. A master of the quarter-tone trumpet, a modified version of the instrument capable of playing Arabic scales (maqamat), Maalouf has performed and recorded classical music, jazz, experimental w…
Mali: Mali’s Amadou and Mariam Celebrate Five Decades in Music
[Afropop] Mali’s Grammy-nominated Afro-rock sensation, Amadou and Mariam, once billed as “The Blind Couple of Mali” have had a big year this year. They recently played a cover of a Serge Gainsbourg song at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralym…
Rwanda: Rwanda’s Young Artists Going Back to Their Roots
[Afropop] Banner image: Kenny Mirasano performing during his concert True Mutu at L’Espace on December 9. Photo from © The New Times Rwanda
Sudan: Mahmoud Abdel Aziz – Timeless Voice of Sudan
[Afropop] With an eclectic sound that united both young and old, it’s no surprise that “Al Hoot” (the Whale) still stands as a figurehead of Sudanese revolution in both music and social change. Born in Khartoum’s Bahri district in 1967, Mahmoud Abdel A…
Cameroon: Ekep Nkwelle – Tapping the Spiritual Source
[Afropop] One of the most memorable moments for us this year at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal was the chance to see and hear 25-year old, Cameroonian-American jazz singer Ekep Nkwelle. Over the last couple of years, Nkwelle has been la…