Cameroonian singer Lapiro de Mbanga landed a 3 year jail sentence for his song “Constipated Constitution” which denounces Paul Biya’s “management style”: Biya’s been running Cameroon for 26 years now, and seems not to tolerate much criticism… please take a moment to sign the petition for Lapiro’s release – and get a free album in the process. It’s all at Mondomix, and don’t forget to download the pdf booklet to learn more about Lapiro and his sentencing. And if you’re still hungry for more go to Freemuse.
It’s exciting and inspiring for us to see Sierra Leonean sounds featured in a prominent paper such as the LA Times. We read a piece today talking about music and its political role in Sierra Leone, a country where the divide between the educated elite and the masses leaves little room for effective criticism. Singers sometimes play a significant role in tilting the opinion through their engaged lyrics. Rather than simplify and paraphrase, read Scott Kraft‘s great piece here.
Not sure who took this photo… but whoever took it did a great job. As we start 2010 we hope to get back to Luanda very soon, the music and energy were so inspiring… and as the African Cup of Nations approaches, surely the levels of energy – or straight up chaos! – in Luanda must be reaching new highs!!!! Saudades das pessoas que conhecemos em Angola… feliz ano novo!!!
To celebrate a great 2009, our friends at Six Degrees are letting the world sample their releases: they’re giving away 8 mp3s on their site, go check them out! We couldn’t resist to share one of the tracks right here:
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.
