The 2 Best Afropop Worldwide Podcast Episodes
1) Global Griots in France
Traditional Manding (Mande) griots living in France sit at the crossroads between Africa and Europe. Historically, their role has been to weave traditional, oral histories, often within music, to prom...Show More
2) The Nature Of Trance
[APWW #702] In many communities throughout Africa and the diaspora, music and spiritual life are deeply connected through the experience of trance: ritual possession by ancestors, spirits, deities, or...Show More
3) Islam and Music: From Prohibition to the Science of Ecstasy
Islam's complex relationship with arts and culture across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia presents special paradoxes and intrigue in the realm of music. Islam has been used both to nurture and curta...Show More
4) The Music of Black Peru: Cultural Identity in the Black Pacific
The "Black Pacific" is a term coined by our guide, ethnomusicologist Heidi Carolyn Feldman. She describes the circumstance of African descendants displaced not only from their ancestral homes in Afric...Show More
5) Madagascar Medley
On a return trip to Madagascar, we catch up with and hear new music from tsapiky maestro Damily, the “King of Salegy” Jaojoby, an exciting new duo starring Sammy of Tarika Sammy, Toko Telo and more. T...Show More
6) New Sounds From Nigeria
Nigeria is the undisputed powerhouse of African pop music. Call it Naija Pop, Afrobeats, Afropop or what have you. The likes of Burna Boy, Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Olamide and Fireboy DML are ...Show More
7) The Story of Bembeya Jazz
Guinea's legendary dance band, Bembeya Jazz, are a pillar of modern West African history. Begun in 1961 in the flush of Guinea's independence and Sekou Toure's maverick presidency, the band played un...Show More
8) Blues Reflections
In this episode, Afropop dives into a celebration of the blues--for some, the essence of the American experience and for others a link back into a lost history in Africa. For our program, we also went...Show More
9) Chimurenga Legacy - Thomas Mapfumo and Mary Anibal
Afropop’s Banning Eyre published his prize-winning biography of Thomas Mapfumo, Lion Songs, in 2015. In this episode, he visits the Lion of Zimbabwe at his home in Eugene, Oregon, to discuss new music...Show More
10) Nollywood - Nigeria's Mirror
"Nollywood - Nigeria's Mirror" takes us to Lagos, the third largest film industry in the world. Scholars Jonathan Haynes and Onookome Okome serve as guides as we negotiate the intricacies and eccentri...Show More