Shortcut to Lots of Great Free Tracks
You may have checked out the Lungu Lungu column I write for Fader magazine: every two weeks I focus on a musical discovery, typically a brief outline of a country and a specific musical scene, anchored around one specific artist's profile. And with every post, there's...
DJ Satelite: Luanda No Horizonte – Afrohouse from Angola
DJ Satelite is one of the most talented and inspiring artists I met on my recent trip to Luanda. So much so that I devoted my last Lungu Lungu column to him last week, not only because of his musical talent, but also his impressive skills at bringing fragmented scenes...
Aline Frazão: Lusophone Grace
Originally published in the Fader under Lungu Lungu. Most people don’t know a whole lot about Lusophone music, meaning music from Portuguese-speaking countries. If anything, Brazil usually comes to mind first—in my experience, whenever I play music from places like...
DJ Juls – Da Burst of da FOKN Bois
DJ Juls is the man behind a lot of great stuff in Ghana... from Kay-Ara's Me Dough to this great version of BRKN LNGWJZ (this version is also DOPE), this versatile beatmaker is making a serious name for himself. In this mix he highlights the best of the FOKN Bois...
Alec Lomami – Pop Revolution
It's been a few months since the Fader article about Alec Lomami was published, and by now, his green card situation should have been sorted. Well, it hasn't. And rather than choose to go to court to fight his asylum case again, Alec decided to avoid dealing with...
Waga 3000: Cold Heat from Burkina Faso
Originally published for Fader magazine. Remain strong and feisty. The meaning of “Dale Fo Yi Kin Dao” hits you as soon as the cold but punchy beat starts. This song is the first release by Waga 3000. It’s average hip hop from Burkina Faso, and it’s very obvious, very...
Just A Band & Nonini: Nerdy Genge Boys Band?
You know Just A Band, but have you heard of Nonini? If you haven't, clearly you are not Kenyan. This guy practically created genge, Nairobi's own take on hip hop. He teamed up with the Band to redo their hit song Ha-He... video is coming soon, stay chooned!...
E.L.’s Azonto Beats Are Crazy Chale!
Originally published in The Fader: It seems the word you hear the most in Accra is no longer “akwaaba” or even “chale”, but “azonto”. The azonto dance has taken Ghana by storm, and although everybody seems to know the dance here, nobody is really able to say where it...
Edoheart – “Sosomoney cockplease” Remix Contest
Remember Edoheart and Sosomoneycockplease? We've been preparing some remixes of this tune, featuring... we can't tell you just yet. But we decided, together with Edoheart, to add one remix by a yet to be found remixer... which could be YOU, given this is another...
Anto – Qwerty Love – Flashmob video with Stocktown
It's always such a pleasure to put good people in contact. Soon after our own Benjamin Lebrave wrote his Lungu Lungu column about Anto, our friends from Stocktown informed us about their trip to Nairobi. They connected and made magic happen: a flashmob of dancers in...
Mutombo Talks Poetry in Ghana
(Originally published in The Fader) Holiday season in Accra means lots of entertainment. Many Ghanaians come home from abroad to celebrate with their families, and after family obligations are sorted, clubs and music venues fill up for the year’s busiest party season....
Kay-Ara: The Reality Show Mixtape
Double whammy! Just before 2011 closed, Kay-Ara sent me his new mixtape, put together with studio wizard KluMonsta - like his last tape Still Underground, which you should also check out if you haven't. The Reality Show will give you a feel for the type of verses...
FOKN Bois & Kay-Ara in NPR’s Top 100 of 2011
You may know about the Lungu Lungu column Akwaaba boss dude Benjamin Lebrave has been writing for Fader magazine. Well it seems cats are taking notice: last December Lebrave was asked to come up with a short list of his favorite under-the-radar African hip hop...
Kuduro is Dead?!?!
(Originally published in the Lungu Lungu column for Fader magazine) It pains me to say it, but it appears kuduro is seriously fading out in Angola. It’s so hard to believe. I was there just two years ago, and kuduro was blasting...
Lasting Music & Disposable Love in Nairobi
(Originally published in the Lungu Lungu column at the Fader) Nairobi is a place I have yet to visit, but already I’m hooked to its bustling, cosmopolitan atmosphere. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Just A Band, I follow Sauti Sol on Twitter, I’ve been listening...
Wanlov the Kubolor – African Gipsy
The latest BBC Bush House music session filmed in studio S6 by Owain Rich.
Just A Band – Huff + Puff (video)
It's here!!! The Band has been keeping the next video on the hush hush.... but here it is, visual goodness from our favorite Kenyan Super Nerdy Boys Band. Album available in iTunes, Beatport, Amazon, Bandcamp, eMusic.... you name it!...
“Oh Wow, Really African”
Today is Thanksgiving in the US, this little freebie is quick way to give thanks, as Akwaaba dood Benjamin Lebrave gets ready to head back to Accra. The name of this mix is the type of comment heard over and over on this trip... read more about it here. The mix was...
Afropolitan or Cultural Bastard?
When the three countries you have ties to refuse to grant you asylum, let alone citizenship, you know you’re in a tough spot. Meet Alec Lomami. Born in Belgium but not eligible for Belgian citizenship, raised in Kinshasa but denied citizenship by the Congolese...
X-Pensive Nframa – Aunty Adoley EP – Free!
This is our slowest release in the making!!! On Benjamin Lebrave's very first trip to Ghana in the fall of 2007, he met with X-Pensive Nframa, an up and coming artist, who at the time had just released a phat single produced by then-hiplife maestro JQ. Aunty Adoley...
From Eritrea to Ethiopia: Saba
Another great song via the Lungu Lungu column over at Fader mag. This time the spotloight shines on Eritrean-born, Addis resident Saba. Thanks to DJ Sirak for the link,here's one of Saba's first completed songs, the beautiful Lene Yalew: From Fader: A few years back I...
Just A Band In Your Earbuds
Take classics: Fela, Manu Dibango, Hugh Masekela. Take dancefloor killers: DJ Cleo, Louie Vega, Hat+Hoodie. Soak it all in a thick Just A Band Kenyan stew. Bam! Sick sick sick mixtape by our favorite Kenyan band, thanks to...
FOKN Bois & Irie Maffia Remixes
It's been a busy year so far for Ghana’s most scandalous Afro-pop duo known as the FOKN Bois. Aside from almost causing a war between Nigeria and Ghana, touring Europe, USA and releasing the world’s first Pidgen Musical, they also managed to record an 8-track EP The...
Don’t Watch That FOKN TV
NEWSFLASH: SORRY!!! Apparently the owners of this video have revoked our right to embed it on this site... we're not sure at all what the point of making videos non-embeddable is, do you? Hopefully the video returns swiftly! Meanwhil you can watch it here The FOKN...
Arc Djébé – “Mandja”
Late October, Pushking Noize came down to Accra to enjoy some time off in the sunshine, and record a few songs with Arc Djébé. Then in September, while he was editing the music back in Zurich, we headed over to Lomé to film Arc performing some of the songs we...
WOMEX Prep: Urban World Christiania Mix
Next week we head to Copenhagen to schmooze with thousands at the World Music Expo. Among many, we'll finally connect with the fine people over at Urban World Records, who've invited bbrave to take part at their off-womex tropical party. Here's a live mix recorded...
Lone Stars Vol.1: Hipco & Gbema
One of the reasons why Akwaaba decided to relocate to Ghana was actually to be closer to Liberia. A country we seldom hear about for its music. But last year we were introduced to Liberian music at the Buduburam Refugee Camp just west of Accra, where Shadow and a...