…forget ‘world music’ – this is the real music of today’s world…

OUT NOW on Manteca/ Union Square Music (MANTCD048)

UK-based Nigerian act JJC & 419 Squad are amongst the 14 artists featured on this brand-new hip-hop compilation with a difference. JJC is of course also known as Skillz, producer and founding member of Big Brovaz but the track on this CD (‘Ewajo’ meaning ‘Come and dance’) is a Nu Flow of a different kind: African hip-hop fusion with Anglo-Yoruba lyrics like you’ve never heard it before.

Hip-hop is arguably the most popular music in the world today. From Mexico to Mali, Turkey to Tanzania … every country, every culture, has their own version. And here we present some of the best, most cutting-edge hip-hop acts - a gateway to the world of urban tradition with sassy hip-hop beats.

Building on the work of pioneering black American rappers, their names tell the story: the ‘419 Squad’ (after the Nigerian ‘419’ law intended to curb internet scams); ‘Sonido Acido’ (Acid Sound) from Chile; ‘Câmbio Negro’ (Black Exchange) from Brazil; ‘Positive Black Soul’ from Senegal; ‘Delinquent Habits’, a cross-cultural collision between Mexico and the United States … all are hip-hop, all are unique.

Tracklisting:
1) Deliquent Habits – Return Of The Tres (US/Mexico)
2) Positive Black Soul – Blaw (Senegal)
3) Sultan Tunç– Deliloy (Turkey)
4) Daara J feat. Sgt. Garcia – Esperanza (Senegal)
5) Câmbio Negro – Esse É Meu País (Brazil)
6) Sonido Acido – El Cantante (Chile)
7) JJC & 419 Squad – Ewajo (UK/Nigeria)
8) Sona Family – Indian Style (UK/India)
9) Clotaire K – Beyrouth Ecoueree (France/Lebanon)
10) Yéli Fuzzo – Ladji Kabako (Mali)
11) Zombo – Coming Home (South Africa)
12) 113 feat. Oumou Sangaré – Voix Du Mali (France/Mali)
13) X Plastaz – Aha (Tanzania)
14) Sadahzinia – Mayiatiko (Greece)

Compilation and notes by Phil Meadley, journalist, DJ and cross-cultural collusionist.

For review copies and more information on JJC & 419 Squad please contact:
Ilka Schlockermann, BACKBONE MUSIC
PO Box 31876, London SE17 2ZB
Email: ilka@jjc2uk.com Tel: + 44 (0)79 3206 6624
Please visit www.jjc2uk.com
Also check out JJC's African hip-hop page on
BBC's Africa On Your Street website at
www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/africaonyourstreet/jjc.shtml

For more detailed information on the CD please go to www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk
or www.unionsquaremusic.co.uk/titlev4.php?ALBUM_ID=450&LABEL_ID=2 or read on:

No comments Yet » Read Full Article: GLOBAL HIP HOP: Beats And Rhymes - The Nu World Culture

Continuant à surfer sur son credo de promotion des artistes sénégalais, le Centre Culturel Français sait aussi s'ouvrir à d'autres horizons. Ainsi, dans son nouveau programme qui s'étalera jusqu'à la fin mars, le monde francophone est particulièrement à l'honneur. Du cinéma martiniquais à la musique québécoise, c'est la Francophonie dans son ensemble qui sera célébrée.

Le nouveau programme du Centre culturel français débute par la prestation d'une troupe de danse en provenance de la Réunion qui présente, le 27 février, son spectacle intitulé " Kalla, le feu ". Revisitant la Genèse, cette oeuvre écrite et mise en scène par Philippe Pelen Baldini, sera jouée dans toute l'Afrique de l'Ouest, dans le cadre d'une tournée régionale organisée avec le soutien de l'Association Française d'Action Artistique (AFAA).

Le programme, très riche, se poursuit avec la présentation du spectacle monté avec les enfants par Patricia Gomis, et prévue pour le 3 mars. Peu de temps après, le 5 mars, le CCF ouvre ses portes au " Festival Jazz en Fête ", avec un concert spectacle au Théâtre de Verdure. Les jazzmen sénégalais y revisiteront l' histoire de leur musique. Une semaine après, c'est au tour des rappeurs de prendre leurs quartiers au CCF. Le "Saian Supa Crew" (France), le "Native Deen" (USA) et PBS Radikal, le nouveau groupe de Didier Awadi, s'y produiront, en prélude au " Festival Sénérap".

No comments Yet » Read Full Article: Nouveau du CCF : pleins feux sur l'espace francophone

Très bien connu, touché de loin par le public jazzy sénégalais, le plus grand pianiste-soliste de toute l'histoire du jazz, Keith Jarrett, est annoncé pour le prochain Dakar-Gorée Festival prévu du 16 au 19 avril 2004 sous l'égide du Centre culturel français de Dakar. En attendant de le toucher de près, le public sénégalais se délectera sur écran du concert exceptionnel au Japon de ce virtuose du piano.

Brême et Lausanne en 1973, mais surtout Cologne (The Köln Concert) deux ans plus tard. Les amateurs de jazz comprendront. Il joue Bach depuis l'age de 20 ans et a pratiqué le clavecin pendant huit années, avant d'enregistrer les variations de Goldberg. Ce phénomène pour qui les critiques les plus virulents reconnaissent unanimement la singularité du son, se nomme Jarrett. Keith Jarrett. Le présenter n'est pas combler une ignorance, mais annoncer le premier événement (sa présence physique et scénique) qui va marquer cette nouvelle année 2004 dans l'histoire du Dakar-Gorée Jazz Festival, qui aura lieu du 16 au 19 avril prochain. Comme Herbie Hancock et facture Evans, Keith Jarrett est un des pianistes de jazz les plus influents à émerger, après Thelonious Monk. Sur scène, ses explorations prolongées d'improvisation et d'intensité émotive, instaurent un climat hypnotique et profondément lyrique, oscillant entre un romantisme imbu de musique classique européenne et l'influence du gospel, avec un mélange du folklore américain et de la musique d'avant-garde, le tout s'inscrivant dans la grande tradition du piano jazz.

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For promoting their new album "Dakamerap" which will release internationally in march 29th, Alif will do a tour in Europe:

Austria:

5.3. St.Pölten/Bühne im Hof

6.3. St. Jakob im Rosental

8.3. Wien/Flex

11.3. Salzburg/Arge Kulturgelände

12.3. Wels/Schl8hof

13.3. Kufstein/Kulturfabrik

14.3. Meran/altes Theater (tbc)

17.3. Bad Ischl/Lehartheater

18.3. Bludenz/Remise

19.3. Innsbruck/Südwindmagazin (Interview und Diskussion)

20.3. Innsbruck/Treibhaus

Germany/CZ:

24.03. München, Backstage

25.03. Donauwörth, Kolping Bildungszentrum, Adolph Kolpingstr. 2, 20:00h

26/27.03. Prag, ABATON, Na Kosince 8, Praha 8.

28.03. Pirna, Kulturverein UNIwerk, Schmiedestraße 55

29.03. Altenkirchen, Haus Felsenkeller

31.04. Stuttgart, Café Merlin, Augustenstraße 72, 20:00h

01.04. Nürnberg, Desi

02.04. Kassel, Kulturzentrum Schlachthof, Mombachstr. 12, 21:00h

03.04. Chemnitz, Voxxx, Horst Menzelstr. 24, 22:00h

The following dates are still free for booking: 9.3./10.3./15.3./16.3./30.03.
If you are interested in booking ALIF please contact:

Valentin Reinbold Kulturmanagment
Kantstrasse 10
34121 Kassel / Germany
Tel: 0561-28610917 / Fax: 0561-28610918
Mobil: 0177-7722838
E-mail: valentinreinbold@web.de
Website: http://www.valentinreinbold.de
Photo: ALIF, © Tina Wunsch / SeneRAP.org

Note: updated

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Jeudi, le 26 Fèvrier:

20:00 Discussion avec Daara-J et Björn Döring

21:00 Le Concert

à "Kesselhaus der Kulturbrauerei"
Schönhauser Allee 36
10435 Berlin
Tel.: 030.44.315.0
URL: www.kesselhaus-berlin.de

Prix: 10 €
Visites www.musikundpolitik.de pour les tickets

Musicalité
Ce qui frappe d’emblée à l’écoute du nouvel album de Daara J, c’est sa grande musicalité, inhabituelle dans un tel contexte et pourtant indissociable de la démarche de N’Dongo D, Aladji Man et Faada Freddy, tant il est vrai que ces trois-là ont toujours placé la mélodie en tête de leurs préoccupations musicales. « Dans notre musique, la mélodie est toujours le point de départ. » A leurs débuts, faute de moyens, cela signifiait rapper sur quelques instrumentaux de rap français ou américain compilés sur une K7, quand ce n’était pas avec le seul soutien d’un beatbox ou de quelques percussions. En ce cas l’un d’entre eux chantait les parties mélodiques. Qui a parlé d’apprentissage à la dure ? Mais à toute chose, malheur est bon, car dans ce contexte ingrat, N’Dongo D, Aladji Man et Faada Freddy ont appris à exploiter tout ce qui leur tombe sous la main. Un enseignement précieux qu’ils appliquent toujours aujourd’hui. « Si La Vie N’est Pas Belle » commence ainsi par une harmonie empruntée à la musique zoulou ; « Boomerang » par une mélodie traditionnelle mandingue et pour l’occasion, Rokia Traoré, l’une des plus grandes divas de la musique malienne leur donne la réplique.

No comments Yet » Read Full Article: Festival: "Musik und Politik 2004" avec Daara-J et Mellow Mark

Xuman de Pee Froiss prépare un album solo pour cette année. Connu pour son engagement et son franc-parler, le rappeur promet, à coup sûr, de ne rien laisser qui puisse émousser sa verve.

On y verra tout de même une continuation de ce qui se fait dans le groupe : "Beaucoup de politique parce que c'est quelque chose qui me colle le plus à la peau, être la voix des sans voix, comme on dit, la caméra cachée de la société. Hormis cela, il y aura des thèmes relatifs au social, mais aussi beaucoup d'humour", assure le rappeur lui-même qui n'en pense pas moins qu'il faille aujourd'hui utiliser une autre manière de faire passer le message. Ce sera un album différent de ce qui se faisait auparavant sur la scène du rap, dit-il. Egalement, il y a les albums solo de Kocc 6 et Dj Gee Bays qui sont en vue.

Le Pee Froiss est en train de préparer un album qui sortira tant sur le plan national que celui international. Le groupe travaille en ce moment sur les "pré-maquettes". Il a une grande tournée européenne pour l'année 2004, prévue pour l'été. Mais elle sera précédée par la sortie de son album. En ce qui concerne ce dernier, Pee Froiss ne compte pas adopter un autre ton ni un autre style. "En ce qui concerne le style, assure Xuman, il ne changera pas. Nous avons depuis nos débuts essayé d'avoir une vision objective de la société. Je crois que cette vision est devenue de plus en plus aiguë. On est comme on est". Pee Froiss s'inscrit aussi dans une autre voie : l'encadrement des jeunes rappeurs se cherchant une place au soleil, avec comme projet la production d'une compilation. "Cela s'inscrit dans le sillage de l'émission Natty dread que j'anime sur Walf Fm", déclare Xuman.

© Wal Fadjri (www.walf.sn)
Photo: Xuman de Pee Froiss, © Sandro Winkler / SeneRAP.org

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   Scenes from the Movie: Alif and Pee Froiss live

A Video Presentation of Hans Jörg Heinrich (72 Min.)

Wednesday, February 2nd, 9.15 pm and February 11th, 9 pm
3001-KINO
Schanzenstr.75 (im Hof)
20357 Hamburg
Tel.: 040 / 437679

Contact:
Hans-Jörg Heinrich
Susettestr. 4
22763 Hamburg
Tel. 040-396474
Mail: hajo.hei@gmx.de

No comments Yet » Read Full Article: Movie Presentation in Germany: "SENERAP: HipHop in Westafrika"

Feb 8th 2004 Nomadic Wax and the Knitting Factory present:
The African Underground® ongoing series
NYC’s Premier African Hip-Hop event.
The showcase will be featuring 3 MCs from Africa and 3 Jamaican Dancehall MCs.
Feb 8th 2004
Knitting Factory
Leonard St,
NY, NY 10013
1-212-219-3132

Nomadic Wax is proud to present the second African Underground series.
African Underground is NYC’s first and only African hip-hop showcase to unite African MCs with other MCs from around the world. This Feb 8th 2004’s African Underground will be uniting three MCs from Africa with three Jamaican Conscious Dancehall MCs. The event is the first of it’s kind to unite these two powerful forms of political/social resistance music in one showcase.

Talent will include:

Shiffai (feat Baaboo Rhymz and DJ Nomad): "Shiffai is a legendary MC from Dakar, Senegal and has been living in the United States for 2 years. Since then he has been rocking crowds with his mind-bending flows over dope beats by Brooklyn based producer Nomad"

Dola: "Dola is Tanzania’s old school legend. One of the oldest and most respected MCs in Tanzania, Dola rocks his crows almost exclusively in Swahili."

Chosan: "Hailing from the Ghettos of war torn Sierra Leone this MC has made his way around the from England to Harlem kicking it with his wicked English accent."

Rob Symeonn: "NYC’s premier conscious roots MC. Rob has been performing and spreading the message of Rastafarai for years. He has performed with a variety of different groups including performances with NYC dub warriors Dub is a Weapon. "

Ruff Skot: "Ruff brings to the stage old school conscious Dancehall in a dub style. His socially conscious message and positive vibe has been winning NYC reggae heads over all across the 5 boroughs"

DJ Ras Kush: "Ras has been the man behind the wheels of steel at almost every dub, dancehall, roots party in NYC for years. His collection and deck skills have earned him a reputation as NYC’s top Jamaican roots DJ.

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Hip hop in the motherland has a history of over twenty years, not counting the lineage of rap as a form of oral tradition which can be traced back to precolonial Africa. Only in recent years has some of the huge amount of rap produced throughout these two decades started to surface on the international level. At last in 2004 the first truly pan-African rap compilation cd becomes available as the Rough Guide to African Rap drops on 2nd February. Read along as you can win free copies at Africanhiphop.com!

Over the past ten years or so we have been blessed with a handful of international album releases of artists who usually represented the tip of the iceberg of a lively hip hop scene. But it's taken remarkably long for the pattern of hip hop developing across the continent to be noted by record labels in the west. Labels specializing in hip hop for long have been focusing mostly on English or French spoken raps recorded by western artists.
Typically it's not a rap label which has come to release the first pan-African hip hop compilation cd but World Music Network, an English label responsible for the eclectic Rough Guide series of compilations. Related to the travel guides under the same brand, the Rough Guides are more or less authoritative introductions into musical styles such as highlife, rai and soukous. There's also a number of Rough Guide books giving an indepth introduction to reggae and other styles.

Rough Guide to African rap: the tracks
Fortunately the Rough Guide isn't just another collection of diluted rap or dance tracks sold under the hip hop moniker to please a somewhat conservative world music audience - there have been some good examples of those in the past.
This collection does have a broad focus which is not strictly African hip hop: it includes music by Mozambique group Mabulu who play a fusion of rap and marrabenta music, and Cameroon's jazz musician Manu Dibango who teamed up with British rapper Mc Mello in 1991.
But most of the tracks take root in the hip hop traditions of their countries, with a number of legendary groups such as Kenya's Kalamashaka whose revolutionary lyrics of 'Ni wakati' stand alongside Senegalese rap classic 'Boul Fale' by Positive Black Soul, presented here in the very rare promo-only Yard mix. The selection gives a historic and cross-genre insight into the diversity of hip hop across the motherland. Old school tracks like Prophets of da City's 'Township dwella' (1993), 'Blast nuff' by Tanzania's Hardblasters (1996) and more recent ones like Angolan Das Primeiro's 'Liberdade' or 'Msimu kwa msimu' by X Plastaz from Tanzania (see our other news for their video) make for diverse listening.



Africanhiphop.com's favorites
Liner notes and the compiling were done by Graeme Ewens, a seasoned English music journalist who wrote a number of books on African music. The track listing and liner notes received much attention, with over half of the tracks previously unavailable on cd. Africanhiphop.com was involved in the research for this compilation, searching for tracks, info and contacts. Africanhiphop.com contributed five proposed tunes, including the all-time favorite 'Eye Mo de Anaa' by Ghanaian hiplife icon Reggie Rockstone.

Impact
Because this is the first pan-African rap compilation released in the west, we expect this album to have a lot of impact in terms of artists being invited over to tour or to get record deals with bigger labels. While the ground work has been done by releases such as last year's Senegambian compilation 'Africa raps' and by websites such as Africanhiphop.com and Senerap.org, it's high-profile releases such as this which can really break the ice with journalists, promoters and the audience.
Since the Rough Guide is not exclusively targeting a hip hop audience, there will doubtlessly be other releases this year which will go even deeper and focus on more hardcore or old school tracks. Obviously with 14 tracks, this cd is only giving a quick look at what's happening on the continent, and omissions such as any music from Nigeria, Algeria or Madagascar leave room for a second volume or another compilation to be put out. The idea is to let the library grow, and hopefully availability of the music will include the far corners of the continent. As we speak, at least three labels are working on their own African hip hop compilations and in the future Africanhiphop.com will release its own mix cd.

Competition: win a free copy!
Africanhiphop.com gives away three copies of the Rough Guide to African Rap. To participate, simply answer this question:

Why do you think it's important for African hip hop heads to know what's happening in the hip hop scenes of other African countries?

E-mail the answer to roughguide@africanhiphop.com
The three most inspired replies will receive a free cd. Winners will be notified through e-mail. The best entries will be published at Africanhiphop.com in February.

Order the album
If you want to be sure to get a copy first, you can pre-order through the web from:

Amazon America ($14.98)

Amazon UK (£7.99)

Amazon Germany (€ 15,99)

Amazon France (€ 10,45)

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Jan 15th 2004, the Five Spot Supper Club and Nomadic Wax productions invite you to "African Underground" the first ever African hip-hop showcase to unite MCs from all over Africa as well as like minded MCs from NYC. The event is the first of its kind and is an attempt to bring together not only hip-hop talent from all over Africa but also to unite African MCs with their American counterparts. The event will be hosted by the legendary hip-hop/spoken word poet, Toni Blackman who not only has traveled all over Africa working with MCs but also served as the the official US hip-hop ambassador under the Clinton Administration. The event will be featuring MCs from Senegal, Tanzania and Sierra Leone as well as MCs from Brooklyn, Harlem and Chicago.

Jan 15th 2004 8pm
At The 5 Spot Soul Food Café
459 Myrtle Ave, Brooklyn
www.fivespotsoulfood.com

Radio link: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/10016

Talent will include:
(Hosted by: Toni Blackman)

Shiffai (feat Baaboo Rhymz and DJ Nomad): "Legendary MC from Dakar, Senegal. Shiffai has been living in the United States for 2 years rocking crowds with his mind bending flows and dope beats by Brooklyn based producer Nomad"

The Dug Out: "NYC’s premier hip-hop kingpins blending old and new school flows and beats with a twist"

Nemiss: "Chicago’s number one female MC. Recently relocated to Brooklyn this is one female MC to be reckoned with."

Dola: "Tanzania’s old school legend. One of the oldest and most respected MCs in Tanzania, this cat rocks his crowds almost exclusively in Swahili."

Legacy Star: "A new hip-hop star on the scene representing NYC with mad skills and style. "

Chosan: "Hailing from the ghettos of war torn Sierra Leone this MC has made his way around the from England to Harlem kicking it with his wicked English accent and mad flow."

No comments Yet » Read Full Article: African Underground: African and NYC Underground Hip-Hop