Music

Africa: Africa Rising and Dancing to the Tune of Reggae Music

[Ethiopian Herald] The concept of "Africa rising" has long lacked significance, and the idea of an African renaissance often appears as a lofty slogan without practical manifestation. However, recent political events in West Africa--specifically Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali--have begun to lend substance to these mottos. Burkina Faso is at the forefront of a new wave of radical change in political culture and practice. Developments in these three countries illustrate that Africa is not rising all at once but rather step by

South Africa: David Jenkins, Aka Qadasi, Champions the Roots of Zulu Maskandi

[Afropop] Afropop fans are likely familiar with the life and music of the late Johnny Clegg, the South African-born English boy who snuck out into the Zulu townships during apartheid and befriended Zulu musicians, eventually learning their language, guitar style and dances, and then founded two of the most significant bands in South African music history, Juluka and Savuka. At the heart of Clegg's sound is the Zulu traditional guitar, concertina and vocal genre called maskandi, (sometimes maskanda). It's a