We are excited to welcome Batida back on our pages, and even more excited to release this great little EP with them, in celebration of the founding of the African Union in 1963. Before we tell you the story behind this EP, we do want to stress that this free EP will only be available to download for a week! After that… moving on to other things.

The idea was to celebrate the 25th of May,  Africa Day with a musical tribute to one of the  (if not the) most emblematic figure of Africa: the woman, the mother, with her baby (and others) on her back, carrying and selling goods, finding a way to bring food to the table by the end of the day.

It all started with “Rap-Semba”, which Mpula of Batida produced in Luanda in 2010, where you can hear this chorus:  “Can of Water on her head… There goes Maria… There goes Maria…”
Mpula then challenged some of his favorite MCs, to build a poem on this figure that could be: Africa the continent, the African mother or even their own mothers, on a social or more emotional approach. The structure and instrumental are always the same but they brought their own life to each version.

1 – Karlon (aka Kota K)
He makes part of the history of the hip hop movement in Portugal, embracing the 4 elements, known as the founder of Nigga Poison, the most respected Afro Rap band in Portugal. On his version he talks about the generosity of women in his life and also in his hood, mostly immigrants from Cape Verde, taking care of the children, working and keeping their homes together.

2 – Izé Teixeira
Izé is mostly known for his groups Mc Malcriado and Neg Marrons. He has just released his new solo album called “Urb Africa”, where you find his condition divided between traditional Cape Verdian music with new Urban trends. In his version he talks about the “Mother Crioula”, that travels in search for a better life for her family. Again, a bit of a common story in Cape Verde and the rest of Africa, with his own.

3 – Ikonoklasta
The most activist rapper in Angola these days. He started as a radio dj in Luanda, was involved in groups like the Conjunto Ngonguenha, is a nuclear Fazuma element and now the most regular Batida Mc. On his lyrics he talks about his own life and the past and present of Africa.

My name is Catherine Barnes, and I’ll be contributing a series of articles to this blog on Angolan semba and Brazilian samba. I’m a percussionist and armchair ethnomusicologist fascinated by all rhythms African and of the African diaspora. I recently returned from studying samba in Rio de Janeiro, which is also where I encountered Angolan semba music for the first time. I became interested in the similarities and differences in the two styles, and what better place to explore them than here at Akwaaba Music?

Angolan semba and Brazilian samba share a common ancestor: the massemba dance from central Angola. Known as umbigada, or “belly-bumping” in Portuguese, the dance is characterized by a hip thrust meant to mimic the act of procreation. (source)

Here’s a Brazilian umbigada group performing at the First Forum in Defense of Popular Traditions in Piracicaba, Brazil:

Now check out this recent video of couples dancing semba in Luanda, Angola. Notice the “belly-bumping” movements at 1:40.

Although samba is usually danced without a partner, samba da gafieira, or ballroom samba, has become very popular, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Seu Jorge even featured it in the video for his hit song “Carolina” :

Keep checking back for more information on the similarities and differences between Angolan semba and Brazilian samba!

Akwaaba meets Killamu in front of his home and studio in Luanda, Angola. Killamu’s been making kuduro beats for close to a decade, and explains the stories and realities of kuduro in Angola today. We highly recommend you watch the video in HD on Vimeo!

Enjoy the tease, Killamu’s full length album comes out January 12, 2010. If you haven’t already, go download Killamu’s song Flaminguinho right here for free.

[audio:http://www.tsugi.fr/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1029&Itemid=49]

Galliano with Tony Amado, grandfather of kuduro:

And here’s the video that made us fall in love with kuduro:

Bintou Simporé is following up with Akwaaba’s founder Benjamin Lebrave, after a first interview in december 2008, right after the launch of our first release.

Bintou is the historic “sono mondiale” pusher, big supporter of a wide range of sounds from Africa – her show Néo Géo’s been on the air since 1992!! Learn about Bintou – and practice your French – here.

What? Where? When? 6pm Paris time (GMT + 1), 101.5FM in Paris, novaplanet.com for the rest of us.

In 1975, Angola became independent from Portugal, months after the fall of Salazar’s Estado Novo. Rather than repeat the story, read it in wikipedia. To celebrate Angola and its culture, Julia of Africa Kabisa on WMBR is having an Angolan music special on Sunday Nov 22, 4-6pm EST. Julia will interview Akwaaba founder Benjamin Lebrave between 5 and 6pm. Tune in at 88.1FM in the greater Boston area, or stream at wmbr.org, or get the direct stream link… here. Learn more about Africa Kabisa here.