Akwaaba’s been mostly focusing on the Atlantic coast of Africa, but thankfully, we’ve finally connected with East African artists, in the form of this very interesting trio hailing from Nairobi, Kenya.
Traditionalists beware: Just A Band is pop music. Not Afropop, straight up pop. Pop as in music that you, your cousin and your mom might all enjoy. Music that your grandfather won’t ask to turn down immediately, as he may already be shakin’ his legs.
The references to Kenya’s musical heritage are not absent however, just subtle. Although the band mentions Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson as tttwo major influences, some of the softer tracks on their album “82″ evoke polyphonic, spiritual chants. Call it what you want: Just A Band’s recipe is potent, and we intend to spread the potency worldwide. Stay tuned, their album drops February 23! In the meantime, check out Just A Band’s Facebook page, and download this free mp3 of the song Ha-He:
We’re excited to introduce a fantastic new artist to the Akwaaba roster: Gambian kora player Jali Bakary Konteh. We were introcuded to Jali through Steve Pile, a Northern California resident who spent time in the Gambia, first to learn how to play the kora, which is how he met his teacher, Jali. Steve came back to the Gambia last summer to record Jali’s album, which we are very proud to introduce. Stay put for videos and teasers, until the album drops in iTunes on March 9!
Yeah… we’re hams! Couldn’t resist but post this massive feature courtesy of our friends over at iTunes. If this is any indication, Iba’s album is well worth checking out. Thanks again to Bruno & the iTunes US team for helping us push this fabulous music!!
Dive into the archives of the RTP [national Portuguese TV]. The idea was to select images that illustrate the hidden story behind “Bazuka”. We [DJ Mpula & Radio Fazuma team] hand-picked historic archival footage, added some contemporary images we collected, and footage from our documentary “E Dreda Ser Angolano”.
Lots more to say, but our Portuguese isn’t quite cutting it… and Google translate is very, very little help on this one. But more importantly, dig the video!!
To be honest, we don’t really remember how Max showed up on our radar… did he ask for a Killamu promo? Did we comment on one of his pungent sets? How can it already be a blur?!?! Whatever the case may be, we’re glad we connected, this cat’s been making noise in Brussels with his MDD crew, pushing kuduro, cumbia, coupé décalé or kwaito, without neglecting European flavors such as uk funky, dubstep or grime. So Killamu fit right into his routine, and we hope you dig this mix!
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Our strength here at Akwaaba is distributing and marketing music from Africa, and we’d like to put our expertise to work, by releasing a compilation of music from Haiti, and by giving our entire profits to organizations working on the ground in Haiti.
We need to act fast, so if you are a Haitian artist, or if you own the rights to Haitian songs, please contact us to see how to release this music as part of a joint relief effort.
Let’s get people involved! Please forward to your friends and family, and feel free to join the conversation at Music for Relief.
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