This here is a 2 hour roundup of some of our favorite sounds coming from Africa. With a definite emphasis on sounds to make your hips move, and also definitely not an exhaustive line-up of genres – we are heavily biased towards Ghana, Angola, the Congo Kinshasa and Ivory Coast… what can you do!

BBRAVE put this mix together for This Is Africa and Nairobi-based Ghetto Radio who will air the mix… shortly. In the meantime, cop it here, and make sure to check out the full playlist below. And make sure to play loud and warm up the tip of your half-frozen feet!!

Monalisa – Ruff-N-Smooth Site | Buy
Simple – Bradez Buy
She De Bee feat. Guru – Old Sodja
So Cold – DaSoul
Ratata feat. K. Switch – R2Bees Buy
Extra – Just A Band Site | Buy
No Time feat. P Square – Bracket Buy
Swagger feat Stay Jay – Ruff-N-Smooth Site | Buy
Dome Na Mendowo feat. Castro – Appietus Site | Buy
Pipi – Marlaw
Fall In Love – D’Banj Buy
Yori Yori- Bracket Buy
Essabel feat. Mike & Old Sodja- Appietus Site | Buy
Boom Back Remix feat. Jose Chameleone – Bebe Kool
No One Like You – P-Square Buy
? – Les Garagistes Buy
Coeur Blanc - Les Patrons Buy
Do As i Do – Bracket Buy
Ma Alomo feat. KK Fosu & Reggie Zippy – Appietus Site | Buy
Eha Ye De (Bebia Awo) feat. SK Blinks - Nana Boroo Buy
Femme Africaine Lutchiana 100%
Elegom Bounsa feat. Maskarado (Radio Mix) – DJ Djeff Site | Buy
Relela – Skeat Site | Buy
Miss Doctor feat. 4X4 – Appietus Site | Buy
Kiss Ur Hand feat. Wande Coal- R2Bees Buy
Usinibore – Just A Band Site | Buy
DJ’s Mortel (2) – Polio – Kiloko
Sentiment Moka – ?
Wengeze – Eazzy
Windek – Cabo Snoop
Tchouchou Tchoucou – Kedjevara Site | Buy
Coupe de Tête de Zidane – DJ Menza Site | Buy
Asta Di – Aurlus Mabele Buy
Django – DJ Bonano Site | Buy
Som Do Zoca – Zoca Zoca Site | Buy
Tabouret Baoulé – Pat Sexy
Celimania Remix – Gadji Celi Buy
Sukuma – Killamu Site | Buy
Tiramakossa - Noite e Día Site | Buy
Number One - Fofandó & Saborosa Site | Buy
Aladin Mix – DJ Znobia
Kassumuna - Game Walla

Whooooaaaaaa! Yet another 70s afrofunk compilation… this one caught our attention though. Maybe because it has Pierre Antoine’s BANGING track Kalabuley Women. Clocking in at 11:40, it should get you going for a while. Grab this comp in iTunes, follow Julien Lebrun, bossman behind the Hot Casa Records imprint. And if you still want more, check out this super deep set by Frank of Voodoofunk, which also incorporates Kalabuley Women… make sure to read about it and grab the playlist on his blog.

Blast from the (not so distant) past! No real reason to post this today, except we’re on our way back to Ghana and Togo, and this brings us back to our last trip to Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo…

(photo by Andrea Bergart)

Too often, when we see the words “African music” in  a major music site, they’re in the same phrase as words like vampire or weekend… not that we don’t encourage experimentation with African music and techniques. But it’s refreshing to see the Chicago powerhouse making room for the music you find in the sidewalk stands they portray in the article, which we highly, highly recommend.

In French only… for now at least… but a lot of the gestures are pretty self-explanatory, so keep practicing!