Afropop Worldwide Folgen

The two-man acoustic juggernaut from Malawi, Madalitso Band, is on the move in 2025. With their fourth album, Ma Gitala (The Guitars), just released and a global tour, including Glastonbury, just starting, these rootsy, spirited street musicians from Lilongwe are winning hearts everywhere. In this episode, Mukwae meets the band in Malawi as they begin to tour and takes a deep dive into their music. Then we speak with Salif Keita about his long-awaited acoustic album, So Kono, and what's happening in Mali. Produced by Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe and Banning Eyre. PA 040

One of the glories of Afropop’s more than 30-year run has been joining our host Georges Collinet in the kitchen as he creates delicious concoctions, while grooving to his favorite tunes. This episode looks back on two classic “Cooking with Georges” episodes: Yassa Chicken from Senegal, and Yoruba soul food with guest chef Baba John Mason—all accompanied music to make you move, from wherever George’s insatiable culinary curiosity takes him. Get your apron and your dancing shoes ready!

In the 1930s, infamous Dominican dictator Rafael Truillo ordered the burning of the country’s palos drums, hoping to erase the powerful vestiges of African culture in the Dominican Republic. Luckily for us, the breakneck, trance-inducing sound of palos still reverberates at Afro-syncretic religious parties across the Caribbean nation almost a century later. In this episode, Afropop revisits the home of styles such as merengue and bachata, but this time we’ll be looking towards the most deeply African side of Dominican music—little known outside of the island. Afro-Dominican music is a secret treasure, filled with virtuosic drumming styles, heart-stopping grooves, and mystic dance parties. We’ll listen to traditional genres like palos, salve, and gaga, a uniquely Dominican take on rara music from neighboring Haiti. Throughout, we’ll be looking at artists who have drawn on Afro-Dominican styles to make infectious pop music, from wizened veterans of the folklore movement such as Luis Dias, to a host of hip young bands who use Afro-inspired rock, reggae and hip-hop to redefine what it means to be Dominican. We’ll also check out the Afro-Dominican scene in New York City—home to more than a half-million Dominicans—where we’ll find a Dominican gaga group in Brooklyn that is mending cultural fences at a Haitian celebration. Produced by Marlon Bishop APWW #579