Pinning down Maga Bo is tough. Not just musically: the man seems to constantly be on the go, making beats and laying vocals anywhere between Senegal and his hometown, Rio de Janeiro. The tracks featured on this mixtape reflect his geographic and sonic range, as Bo puts it:
“100% Maga Bo production with help from some very special friends – Jahdan Blakkamoore (Brooklyn), BNegão (Rio de Janeiro), Ghislain Poirier (Montreal), Filastine (Barcelona), Pacheko (Caracas), Fletcher (Cape Town), Dr. Das (London), Matona (Zanzibar), Abena Koomson (NYC), Teba (Cape Town), Xuman (Dakar), Speed Freaks (Rio de Janeiro) and too many more to try and list (you haven’t been forgotten!!!)…..”
If you place the cursor right under the T in Terras above the player below (14 min in), you’ll hear a sneak peek of a remix Maga Bo did for us… Aunty Adoley, more about that soon!!
We share a lot of our ideals with Nomadic Wax, a fantastic structure which gave birth to the great Democracy in Dakar film, but also to a slew of other projects, you MUST have a look at their site. If you know the Akwaaba story, you’ll enjoy the similarities with the beginnings of Nomadic Wax – down to the founder’s first name!! From their site:
“In the summer of 1999, Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson stumbled upon a thriving hip hop scene in Senegal, West Africa. Enthralled by the politically and socially conscious lyrics of the emcees he encountered, Herson researched and wrote his award-winning undergraduate dissertation Fat Beats, Dope Rhymes, and Thug Lives: Hip Hop, Youth and Politics in Senegal. In 2001, Herson returned to Senegal with collaborator Dan Cantor of Notable Productions. The two set up shop in a spare room in a Dakar community center to record African Underground Vol. 1, a compilation featuring fourteen of Dakar’s illest emcees.
Since 2001, Nomadic Wax has grown into an internationally recognized brand in global urban music and media, working with hundreds of pioneering artists worldwide. Focusing on Africa and the African diaspora, Nomadic Wax has expanded its projects into the Middle East, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.”
Nnamdi Moweta of Afrodicia is inviting Benjamin Lebrave over for a quick update: we’ve got lots of projects bubbling in 2010, the show will be a good place to hear what’s new and get an idea of what’s next, don’t miss it!
2 – 3pm PST (GMT – 8), 90.7 fm in the Los Angeles area, or kpfk.org worldwide.
BBRAVE met DJ Zhao during his stay in Berlin last October. The two didn’t get to play together, but did exchange thoughts about African flavored club music – and tunes! Zhao’s a cool cat, well versed in all strains of syncopated funk, from UK Funky to logobi and back.
Here’s a sample of what DJ Zhao lays down during his Ngoma parties.
