makale nawe

paul j. — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:31:54 +0000

Not only can you write an encyclopedia entry on ex-pat Congolese bands in East Africa, someone has already done so.

I can’t quite wrap my head around this group’s history, but the guitar playing and the singing are so righteous.

Bokake Lokassa Tabou National – Makale Nawe Part 1

Bokake Lokassa Tabou National – Makale Nawe Part 2

african rhythm

paul j. — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:22:46 +0000

If you’re looking for some great rap from the Ivory Coast check out this mixtape by CIAfrica. It features some really superb production. Unfortunately, my French isn’t quite up to the task of following most of the lyrics, which is too bad because from what I understand they are on the political awareness tip. I remember seeing a documentary on Link TV not too long ago about rap music from Mali (I believe?), and I saw some performers, and the documentary had subtitles for their lyrics which got into some deep & excellent points about the challenges Africans face from Western economic liberalization policies.

And let me sweeten this post by making it a 2 for 1 deal with this podcast from Brian from awesometapesfromafrica.

All this music is very beat-oriented, and that illustrates a serious annoying recent development of rock critics describing bands as having an African or tribal style drumming. Obviously these critics are being lazy and don’t know what they’re talking about, or else they would recognize the diverse range of styles that exist, and also the way the West and Africa really do share a common musical lexicon.

Anyway, shout out to mudd up! and wayne&wax for bringing all this excellent music to my attention.

Cold Tropics » africa

makale nawe

african rhythm