Afropop Worldwide Folgen

The dembow, the beat behind reggaetón, is much more than just a backdrop for a night of partying and dancing. The style of music, widely associated with Puerto Rico and forged from a mixture of Jamaican dancehall, Panamanian reggae en español, and American hip hop, has always existed as a form of social and political resistance, and continues to do so in 2020. And as such, it has endured constant attempts to criminalize, censor, and police both the music and those who consume it, from the early tape-confiscations by Puerto Rican law enforcement in the 1990s underground scene to the present day, arguing its hypersexual content. In this episode we speak with Latin and Caribbean music scholars and social workers to break down the racist and sexist undertones of the genre's constant policing, as well as examples of songs by artists such as Tego Calderón and Ivy Queen, that counter these assumptions. We also take a couple of detours to explore how this music, and these criticisms, manifest in the Dominican Republic and Cuba. Produced by Luis López. APWW #824

The Kenyan capital is roaring into the 2020s. On this program singer/songwriter/producer Eric Wainaina introduces us to a rising cadre of artists rocking the Nairobi scene. From hip-hop and dancehall to r&b and Gengetone, the city’s cultural melting pot is coming to a boil at a time of political change when artists are finding their voices to speak out against government corruption and champion social justice movements. We meet artists on the front line--Juliani, Karun and Blinky Bill—and take a side trip to Kakuma, one of Africa’s largest refugee camps where music, including hop-hop, is literaliy a matter of survival. APWW #831

Sia Tolno escaped war-torn Sierra Leone to become a popular singer in Guinea. As her career blossomed, she shifted to Afrobeat, with deep grooves and strong political messages. But festivals and her record company discouraged her new, big band direction, and she set out on her own. That’s when Sia met American guitarist/bandleader Aaron Feder, leader of Alma Afrobeat Ensemble out of Barcelona. When Aaron set upon the idea of creating a collective of musicians to interpret Grateful Dead songs in African styles, Sia was intrigued, and the rest is history... This podcast tells the long, strange story of Sia Tolno and the Afro-Dead Collective. Produced by Banning Eyre.