Afropop Worldwide Folgen

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would be 79 years old this month, had he not died from complications of AIDS in 1997. By the time of his death, Fela was the inventor of the enduring and influential Afrobeat music style, the composer of an enormous body of music, and one of the bravest political voices in 20th century African music. It is fair to say that no African musician before or since has sacrificed more for the principles he believed in. Nigerian history and music have barreled forth during the two decades since Fela left us. A powerful new generation of Nigerian musicians have emerged in that time, and the music they now champion has been dubbed “Afrobeats,” an appropriation of the name Fela gave his original sound during its heyday. The youngest artists on the scene today have no direct memory of Fela, though his legacy is impossible to escape. In this program, we hear from current day Nigerians from multiple generations and genres—fuji, juju, hip-hop (Afrobeats) and highlife—on how they remember this musical giant, and how they reckon with his complex and challenging legacy. Produced by Banning Eyre and Morgan Greenstreet. Hosted by Sahr Ngaujah. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW #764 Distributed 10/12/2017

When we talk about the influence of American performers on African music, we usually think about a few obvious examples, legends like Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix or James Brown. In this episode, we go beyond these stars to explore the legacy of some lesser-known inspirations. We’ll learn how the fluid guitar playing of ’70s rock band Dire Straits became massively popular in the Sahel, influencing Tuareg rockers like Tinariwen and Tamikrest. We’ll hear about the American country superstar Jim Reeves’ African career, and the unlikely story of how the pedal steel made it from Hawaii to Lagos. Finally, we’ll travel to Angola with the help of director Jeremy Xido, to explore that nation’s death metal scene. And along the way, we will try to understand just how to account for taste. Produced by Sam Backer with help from Jesse Brent. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ APWW #703 Distributed 10/5/2017

The San Francisco Bay Area is a unique cultural space that has given birth to some of the most iconic countercultural American music. It is a place where identities can be fluid and hyphenated, where new voices emerge to speak to their times. Two very different Bay Area artists, Meklit Hadero and Zena Carlota, use their music to explore what it means to live on two sides of a hyphen: African-American, black-artist, Ethiopian-American, female-musician, to name a few. Produced by Lisa Bartfai About the producer: Lisa Bartfai is a freelance radio journalist, writer and translator based in Brunswick, ME. As a senior producer at award-winning Blunt Youth Radio, Lisa shares her love of radio with the next generation of noisemakers. Follow Afropop Worldwide on Facebook at www.facebook.com/afropop, on Instagram @afropopworldwide and on Twitter @afropopww. Subscribe to the Afropop Worldwide newsletter at www.afropop.org/newsletter/ S2:E3 Distributed 10/3/2017