We met Beto AC (left) and Bebo Clone (right) a couple weeks ago through Telmo, we mentioned their song Vem Ca, which has been blasting through Luanda for the past few months, and Telmo made it happen, getting us a meeting with them the next day. These kids are super chill, very enthusiastic about their music, relatively new to the game (3 years), but rising quickly. They come from the Cassenda barrio, which is not a traditional stronghold for kuduro, but now with help from these cats it’s definitely on the map. Among others, they work with Dred Man-Gi, a lesser known yet quite talented DJ and producer, who took us to his studio and shared a few beats with us.
Diata Sya have got it going on. They took hip hop in their one hands, mashed it with their rich Malian tradition, called in top instrument players and MCs, and recorded a highly original album in Bamako. Stepping in the legacy of Soundiata Keita, one of the Manding people’s most notorious warriors and historical figures, Diata Sya tackle serious social and political problems, while sticking to both their Malian heritage and hip hop roots – Chanana and N’Bee have both been rapping for over 15 years. Djekafo was released with help from Ital Vibes and Kourtrajmé Africa.
The album is available in the iTunes store.
November 4 is the iTunes release of Akwaaba wo Africa – welcome to Africa in twi, the language of the Ashanti people of Ghana. With this release Akwaaba welcomes the world to its eclectic catalog of African music by locally established, yet globally unknown artists.
We traveled to West Africa to meet with the scores of artists who have existing releases, but who’ve never had the opportunity to take their music outside of their native land.
Acoustic Senegalese musicians, Malian Wassoulou pop stars, Ivorian coupé décalé entertainers, Ghanaian highlife and hiplife singers, Reggae, hip hop and salsa artists… the wealth of music is staggering. Akwaaba signed fair deals with a number of these artists to make their music heard outside of Africa. Akwaaba wo Africa is the introduction to this wide spanning catalog of music you hear in Africa.
The music is available for download on iTunes, or you can buy a CD from CD Baby.
[:fr]
Le 4 novembre sort sur iTunes Akwaaba wo Africa – bienvenue en Afrique en Twi, la langue du peuple Ashanti du Ghana. Avec cette sortie Akwaaba convie le monde dans son catalogue éclectique de musique africaine réalisée par des artistes établis localement, mais inconnus au niveau mondial. Nous avons voyagé à travers l’Afrique de l’Ouest pour aller à la rencontre des musiques d’artistes qui ont déjà publié, mais n’ont jamais eu la possibilité de faire sortir leur musique du pays natal. Des musiciens acoustiques sénégalais, des pop star maliennes du Wassoulou, des artistes de coupé décalé ivoirien, des chanteurs de Hiplife et de Highlife ghanéens, de Reggae, de Hip Hop et de Salsa… la richesse de la musique est sidérante. Akwaaba a signé des accords équitables avec un certain nombre de ces artistes pour faire entendre leur musique hors d’Afrique. Akwaaba wo Africa est l’introduction à cet immense catalogue transversal de musiques que vous entendez en Afrique.
L’album est disponible en téléchargement sur iTunes, ou en CD.
[:de]
November 4 is the iTunes release of Akwaaba wo Africa – welcome to Africa in twi, the language of the Ashanti people of Ghana. With this release Akwaaba welcomes the world to its eclectic catalog of African music by locally established, yet globally unknown artists.
We traveled to West Africa to meet with the scores of artists who have existing releases, but who’ve never had the opportunity to take their music outside of their native land.
Acoustic Senegalese musicians, Malian Wassoulou pop stars, Ivorian coupé décalé entertainers, Ghanaian highlife and hiplife singers, Reggae, hip hop and salsa artists… the wealth of music is staggering. Akwaaba signed fair deals with a number of these artists to make their music heard outside of Africa. Akwaaba wo Africa is the introduction to this wide spanning catalog of music you hear in Africa.
The music is available for download on iTunes, or you can buy a CD from CD Baby.
