A Favorite 'One Tribe, Many Voices' Podcast Artist

Cheikh Lo

Related articles

• Cheikh Lô: Senegal's Sufi guitarist gets nostalgic (guardian.co.uk)

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 129

Rasheed in Bahia

This WeeK: Brasil...The Different Faces of Samba

intro: Me Toca Samba / Mitoka Samba

Set one:

1. A Semente / Bezerra Da Silva / Meu Bom Juiz
2. Uma Bofetada / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

Set two:

1. Batucadas / Mitoka Samba
2. S.P.C. / Zeca Pagodinho
3. Meu Dinheiro Nao Da / Portela

Set three:

1. Batuque Toque / Mitoka Samba
2. Elefunky / AncheFunky / Percussion Project
3. Beijos Azuis / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

Set four:

1. Ze Fofinho de Ogum / Bezerra Da Silva / Meu Bom Juiz
2. A Saida do Ile / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
3. Lafro / AncheFunky / Percussion Project

Set five:

1. O Acaraje / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Que Dia Bonito / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
3. Na Serenidade / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
4. Tira Uma Flor / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 128

This week we celebrate Brasil, the centre of the African Diaspora in the Americas.

Intro: Kirimba / Mitoka Samba

Set one:

1. A Chamada da Bahia / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
2. Se Manda / Mitoka Samba
3. Aguaxire / Carlinhos Brown / Candombless

Set two:

1. Tres Coruna / Carlinhos Brown / Candombless
2. Tambores da Liberdade / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
3. Capoeira Medley / Mitoka Samba

Set three:

1. A Cara Que o Mundo Ve / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Marafolia / Mitoka Samaba / Percussion Project
3. Pao e Circo / Mitoka Samba

Set four:

1. Neguinha, Pretinha / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
2. A Canoa / Mitoka Samba

Set five:

1. Nao Precisa Ainda Nada / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Nego Lotou / Fuzue / Percussion Project
3. Saudacao a Oxossi / Carlinhos Brown / Candombless

Follow the 'One Tribe, Many Voices' Podcast on Twitter!

One Tribe, Many Voices is now reconnected to Twitter!

Though we opened a Twitter account in 2008, it had fallen into abandonment over time.

Now that Twitter has finally gotten its wings, we have decided to link the One Tribe, Many Voices

podcast to Rasheed's Rain People Twitter page. You can expect to get Tweets from the studio when

we do the show. So, please follow the One Tribe, Many Voices podcast radio show on Twitter. We're going to have lots of fun.

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 127

Toure Brothers: Ismaila (L) and Sixu (R)

Part-five (the final chapter) of our annual Ramadhan month-long series.

This week we concentrate on World Music pioneers; Toure Kunda.

Intro: Mamadiyo / Toure Kunda / The Celluloid Records Years Compilation

Set one:

1. Sisi / Issa Bagayogo / Timbuktu

2. Salya / Toure Kunda

Set two:

1. Casa di Mansa / Toure Kunda

2. Manoir / Toure Kunda

3. Ninki Nanka / Toure Kunda

Set three:

1. Toure Kunda

2. San Ka Na / Salif Keita

3. Natalia / Toure Kunda

Set four:

1. Amadou Djilo / Toure Kunda

2. Tcheni Tchemakan / Issa Bagayogo / Mali Koura

3. Sante Yalla / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall

4. Sidi Yella / Toure Kunda

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 126

Issa Bagayogo

Part-four of our annual Ramadhan month-long series.

This week we concentrate on the Muslim heartland of West Africa, Senegal & Mali.

Intro: Sama Duniya / Baaba Maal / Lam Toro

Set one:

1. Cheikh Anta Diop / Dudu NDiaye Rose / Rose Music
2. Senegal- Brasil / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall

Set two:

1. Xamsa Bopp / Super Cayor de Dakar
2. Ndelorel / Baaba Maal / Lam Toro
3. Bamako / Youssou N'Dour / The Lion

Set three:

1. Mani Djindala / Oumou Sangare / Ko Sira
2. Toroya / Issa Bagayogo / Timbuktu
3. Koukou / Salif Keita / Moffou

Set three:

1. Dugu Kamelenba / Oumou Sangare / Ko Sira
2. Saye Mogo Bana / Issa Bagayogo / Timbuktu
3. Gouye Girl / Africando / Trovador

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 125

This week's show is part-3 of the month-long celebration of the Islamic element in African Diaspora music.

As a Muslim, I am driven by a desire to expose people to another reality where Muslim musicians flourish and create. This is to counter the negative reality expressed by the Taliban and other Wahhabi-influenced people who condemn musical performance and enjoyment.

Sometimes the wrongheaded are given a platform to broadcast their wrongheadedness far and wide. Often times people will pay great attention to (as the Japanese say) "the nail that sticks out". Such is the case with those who espouse a doctrine of extremes.

Would the Taliban silence the singing birds? I was given a gift and I can make my instruments sing the praises of The Most High, the universal oneness and beauty of pure creation. Others may serve something else but I know that my gift of music is a service and a healing to those in need. Art can be a wonderment and an inspiration to those in darkness. A gift must always be shared.

This week we feature a gifted man from Senegal who sings like a bird: Ismael Lo, one of the sweetest voices from a country with many sweet voices.

Intro: Sofia / Ismael Lo / Jammu Africa

Set one:

1. Takou Deneu / Ismael Lo
2. Dinaha / Rachid Taha

Set two:

1. Nafanta / Ismael Lo
2. Zaama / Rachid Taha / Ole, Ole
3. Dibi Dibi Rek / Ismael Lo

Set three:

1. Viola, Viola / Rachid Taha
2. Sarama / Vieux Farka Toure / Fondo

Set four:

1. Njilou / Baaba Maal / Firin' in Fouta
2. Jammu Africa / Ismael Lo
3. Call to Prayer / Baaba Maal
4. Helalisa (Nubian Song) / Hamza El Din

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 124

Part Two of our Month-long Celebration of Islamic Music of the African Diaspora

Intro: Papa Ndiaye / Orchestra Baobab

Set one:

1. Sidiki / Baaba Maal / Firin' in Fouta
2. Unicef / Zouley Sangare

Set two:

1. Saalimoun / Baaba Maal
2. Gompele / Zouley Sangare
3. Teugein / Pape Fall / African Salsa

Set three:

1. Mbaye / Baaba Maal
2. Sasa Sinaye / Culture Music Club / Taarab:Music of Zanzibar
3. The Game / Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan / Mustt-Mustt

Set four:

1. Tiedo / Baaba Maal
2. Gurus of Peace / A.R.Rahman & Nusrat Ali Fateh Khan
3. Bouyel / Baaba Maal / Baayo

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 123

Annual Ramadhan Special (Part One)


Intro: The Good Lord / Brother Ali


Set One:


1. Ililagh Tenere / Abdallah Oumbadougo / Desert Rebel


Set Two:


1. The Invocation / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / The Empty Vessel Speaks
2. Zikroulah / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall
3. Baye Faal


Set Three:


1. The Brotherhood /Rasheed Ali & Rain People / The Empty Vessel Speaks
2. Moulay Abdalla / Gnawa from Marrakech
3. The Call / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle


Set Four:


1. Sabu Yerkoy / Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate / Ali & Toumani
2. Sailing Home / Sabah Habas Mustafa / Jalan Kopo
3. The Lost Tribe / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle

Set Five:

1. Koroko / Oumou Sangare / Seya

2. Nyari Gorong / Mapathe Diop / Sabar Wolof

3. As in a Mirror / Youssou N'Dour / Nothing's in Vain

4. The Trance / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 122

("Not So) Distant Relatives"...Part Two: Cuba & Puerto Rico, foundations of the Rumba.

Intro: El Santissimo / Los Nani / Espiritistas a Cantar
         La Inspiracion / Patato Valdes

Set One:

1. Descarga Rumbera / Gregorio Hernandez / La Rumba es Cubana
2. Hola / Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos
3. Cabiosile / Los Munequitos de Matanzas / Oyelo de Nuevo

Set Two:

1. Abakua / Los Rumberos de Cuba
2. Manana es Domingo / Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos
3. Que Vendes Tu? / Los Munequitos de Matanzas / Oyelo de Nuevo
4. El Chino / Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos

Set Three:

1. La Calabaza / Los Munequitos de Matanzas / Oyelo de Nuevo
2. Llorona /  Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos
3. Tres Veces / Los Nani / Espiritistas a Cantar
4. Aserende / Gregorio Hernandez / La Rumba es Cubana

Set Four:

1. Guayama / Cachete Maldonado y Los Majaderos
2. Terra de Hatuey / Los Munequitos de Matanzas / Oyelo de Nuevo
3. Viene un Ser / Los Nani / Espiritistas a Cantar

Set Five:

1. Cuando de Africa Salli / Gregorio Hernandez / La Rumba es Cubana
2. Nadie me Hablo / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Agua Santa

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 121

This week's show theme is: "(Not So) Distant Relatives"

As two of the larger islands of the West Indies, Puerto Rico & Jamaica have both been at the forefront of Caribbean people's migration to the urban centers of the United States. Large numbers of Caribbean people  first fled the region during the depression of the late 1920s. The 'Harlem Renaissance' was a cultural and political phenomena largely fueled by this influx of free-thinking Caribbean immigrants. Among this mix of people were a new breed of Afro-centric intellectuals, people like Marcus Garvey, Arturo Schomburg, J.A. Rodgers and Claude McKay.

The first-generation of newly urbanized Caribbean immigrants also contributed greatly to the birth of another cultural phenomena in New York City; the birth of Hip Hop in the South Bronx. It is no coincidence that this area of the city featured a high concentration of first-generation Jamaican and Puerto Rican youth.

There are many parallels in the development of these two islands, both yesterday and today.

Just as Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico has been greatly influenced by an English-speaking culture, so to has English-speaking Jamaica evolved in the shadow of Spanish-speaking Cuba. If anyone listens to the strains of Mento music it is hard not to recognize the strong Spanish cultural ties in Jamaica. Any careful listener will be able to note the strong similarities between the Cuban Cha-Cha and Reggae music.

As two of the more economically developed islands of the Caribbean region, both Jamaica and Puerto Rico have had to deal with the ugly consequences of gangsterism and drug cartels. The urbanization of both cultures has proceeded at an alarming rate in the last half century.

Still, when it comes to the musical aspects of culture both islands have had a strong presence beyond their size.

Jamaica's biggest export, Reggae, has found a sharp resonance in the entire Caribbean basin and Puerto Rico has reflected upon Reggae's influence in a big way. Reggae music's popularity greatly surpasses that of any outside musical form on the island. Just as Brasil incorporated Reggae into the Samba to create the ever-popular Samba-Reggae, so to has Puerto Rico created Reggaeton.


intro: En mi Puertorro / Andy Montanez & Cheka / Salsaton


Set one:


1. Now That We Found Love / Third World
2. Chillin' / Tego & Don Omar
3. Hey Girl / Damian Marley


Set two:


1. Como me llamo Yo! / Tego Calderon
2. Bogle Dance / Buju Banton
3. Qua, Qua, Qua / Rasheed Ali & Rain People


Set three:


1. Payaso / Tego, Voltio & Eddie D.
2. Nah' Mean / Daimian Marley & Nas
3. Shine Eye Gyal / Shabba Ranks & Mykal Rose
4. Beautiful / Damian Marley & Bobby Brown


Set four:


1. There for You / Damian Marley
2. Count Your Blessings / Damian Marley
3. Solo Por Ti / Jowell & Randy-Cultura Profetica

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 120

This week: Part Two of Male Voices of the African Diaspora
                              ("Stories of Love")

intro: Que Dia Bonito / Rasheed Ali / Beijos Azuis

Set one:

1. Turmalina / Ivan Lins / AwaYio
2. Venha Ca / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

Set two:

1. Beleza / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
2. Ela Nao Gosta de Mim / Agbepe / Brasil Classics 2
3. A Linguagem do Amor / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
4. O Acaraje / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

Set three:

1. Sonhos / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Duas Almas Perdidas / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
3. Cade Voce / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

Set four:

1. No Mar do Amor / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Flor da Bahia / Dori Caymmi / Brasilian Serenata
3. No Meio do Mar / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 119

This week we feature Male Voices of the African Diaspora: "Stories of Women"


For centuries men have sung songs of passion, love lost and yearning. This is part one of a two part mini-series.

Intro: Original Woman / Shabba Ranks / A Mi Shabba


Set one:


1. Mae Preta / Ile Aiye / Canto Negro
2. Mama Kiyelele / Ricardo Lemvo / Retrospectiva
3. Su Mama / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Agua Que Va Caer


Set two:


1. Mariana D'Angola / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle
2. Ay Valeria / Ricardo Lemvo / Retrospectiva


Set three:


1. Donde Esta Mi Negra / Eddie Palmieri /El Rumbero del Piano
2. Prima Donna / Ricardo Lemvo / Retrospectiva
3. Neguinha, Pretinha / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra


Set four:


1. Beijos Azuis / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
2. Rumberita / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Agua Santa
3. Prepara a Boca / Olodum
4. Eu Sou O Seu / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
5. Qualquier Situacao de Amor / Gonzaguinha / E

Here is the new 'One Tribe, Many Voices Podcast Player.

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 118

Photo: Saddi Khali

9th Edition of Female Voices of the African Diaspora.

intro:

Obbatala Ayacuna / Maraca feat. Yoruba Andabo
I Wanna Dance / La India & Eddie Palmieri / Llego la India

Set one:

1. Djaze / Patience Dabany
2. Mi So / Neyma

Set two:

1. Women's Song / Music of the Dan People
2. U.N.I.T.Y. / Queen Latifah / Black Reign
3. By Your Side / Sade / Red, Hot & Riot

Set three:

1. N'Diya Ni / Oumou Sangare / Worotan
2. Diso Be (Very Wrong) / Tarika / Son Egal
3. Agua / Zeep feat. Nina Miranda

Set four:

1. Forever / Tarika / Son Egal
2. Kote Dan / Rokia Traore / Bowmboi
3. So Be It / Kelis / Red, Hot & Riot
4. Djorolen (remix) / Oumou Sangare / Worotan

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 117

photo: Saddi Khali

Female Voices: the 8th Edition in the on-going Series.

A couple of times every year One Tribe, Many Voices will devote an entire show to the celebration of extraordinary Female Voices of the African Diaspora. This 8th edition features the mercurial work of Telmary. 

TELMARY has been called "dangerously charismatic" by NOW Magazine. A product of the new 'alternative' music movement in Cuba, Telmary channels a variety of influences including hip-hop and Cuban jazz, from trova and son to latin pop and electronica, she has created a totally unique live presentation that has won over audiences in Cuba, Canada, Spain and Brazil. 

MeShell Ndegeocello

We also wanted to take another look at one of Hip Hop's true rebels: MeShell Ndegeocello and her exquisite breakout 1993 CD: Plantation Lullabies. MeShell is an exceptional bass player and overall extreme talent who deserves much wider recognition.




Intro: Rezo / Telmary / A Diario


Set one:


1. Rumba 'pa Ofenderle / Telmary / A Diario
2. I'm Diggin' You (like an old soul record) / MeShell Ndegeocello / Plantation Lullabies


Set two:


1. Ah! / Daude
2. Slippery Sidewalks / Bajofondo feat. Nellie Furtado / Mar Dulce
3. Picture Show / MeShell Ndegeocello / Plantation Lullabies


Set three:


1. Marilu / Telmary feat. Los Van Van & Interactivo / A Diario
2. On & On / Erykah Badu / Baduizm
3. Zingara Rapera / La Shica feat. Elsa Rovayo


Set four:


1. Libre / Telmary / A Diario
2. Dred Loc / MeShell Ndegeocello / Plantation Lullabies
3. Pa' Que Vuelva / Telmary / A Diario


Set five:


1. Untitled / MeShell Ndegeocello / Plantation Lullabies
2. Sola / Telmary / A Diario
3. Nothing / Jill Scott / Beautiful Human Words & Sound vol.2

Bonus: I Think it's Better / Jill Scott / Who is Jill Scott?

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 116

Moroccan musicians

Puerto Rican musicians

This week we connect the dots: From Dar Magreb to the Caribbean by way of Andalusia.

The area of North Africa that was dubbed "Dar Magreb" (The West), by those of the Arabian peninsula, is a swath of present day Southern Portugal and Southern Spain that was once known as Andalusia.

For nearly  a thousand years, Andalusia was a melting pot society that had a distinctly African-Berber culture. Both Spain and Portugal were transformed forever by the centuries of Islamic cultural imprint. Today, there are over 10,000 Arabic words in Spanish & Portuguese. The Arabic-speaking Africans brought string instruments, castanets and drums that would forever change the music of these two African border states.

Yet, the people in the northern regions of Spain and Portugal would one day unite and overthrow the Africans in the south. By the year 1492, fortunes had changed dramatically for the Muslims and Jews of Andalusia. That year the Spanish decreed the famed "Spanish Inquisition" that sought to purge Spain of all outside influences from Africa and the Orient. Not coincidentally, 1492 was also the year that a crafty mercenary named Cristobal Colon would buy maps from West African sailors that he would use to "discover the New World". Ironically for the Muslims and Jews who needed to flee from Spain's new Draconian policies, that New World would provide a safe haven for them. Sadly, for the West Africans, those maps would prove to be the beginning of a trade in human beings that would forever change the Old World and the New World. The first enslaved Africans that were transported in large numbers would be those very same Muslims from Senegal, Guinea and Yoruba Land.

If we fast forward to present times, we see that of the Three Sister Islands of Spain's Colonial Empire (Cuba, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico), Puerto Rico has the most African-Berber cultural traces. One cultural marker can be seen in the (3) pandereta drums. These simple frame drums are not musically prominent anywhere else in the Caribbean. These drums (as seen above) provide a direct link from Puerto Rico to North Western Africa. The Plena rhythm that is played by these drums is the exact same (4)-beat pattern that is played through the Arabic-speaking world.

Today, there are at least sixteen Muslim mosques on the island as a process of reversion to Islam gradually moves across the former Spanish colonies. There is also a growing Palestinian immigrant population that feels right at home on the island.

Olga Tanon

Intro: Ah Ya Albi / Olga Tanon & Hakim

Set one:

El Salamu Alaikum / Hakim
Tool Omri / Nawal Al-Zoghbi

Set two:

Morena, Gitana / Rasheed Ali & Rain People
Baila, Baila, Baila / Hakim
Salsa Rai / Faudel feat. Yuri Buenaventura

Set three:

Tigy, Tigy / Don Omar & Hakim
Ala Habibi / Hakim
Besma / Hanan

Set four:

Sif Safaa / Mohamed Mounir
Ole, Ole / Rachid Taha
Hana, Hana / Cheb Khaled
Africa / Songhai feat. Toumani Diabate and Katemah

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 115

Another Special Tribute to Fela Anikulapo Kuti!

Thanks to a generous donation from my son Rohan Ali, I now own some 45 recordings that were previously unreleased outside of Nigeria.

I always do an annual Tribute to Fela show but this one is special because there are new frontiers to explore with this great African master musician.

Intro: Lazaro Ros, Gil Scott-Heron / The Revolution will not be Televised

Set one:

1. Colonial Mentality / Fela Kuti (1977)

Set two:

1. Africa, Center of the World / Fela Kuti feat. Roy Ayers (1980)

Set three:

1. Noise for Vendor Mouth / Fela Kuti (1975)

Set four:

1. Mattress / Fela Kuti (1975)

Set five:

1. Sense Wiseness / Fela Kuti (1976)

Thoughts on Preparing for Episode 115...

Carnival in Santiago de Cuba

Yoruba

As I prepare for my show, sometimes I wonder how much I can explain without separating myself from some members of my audience. After all, the purpose of the show is to celebrate the oneness of the African Diaspora not fragment it. So, I never want to make too many distinctions as far as what I know because I’m a Caribbean member of this Diaspora.

What I wrestle with sometimes is the actuality that not everything that I know is common knowledge. For instance, planning this show on Fela means connecting the dots from present day Nigeria to the legacy of the Yoruba religion and culture. That sounds simple enough in theory but the idea of the Yoruba legacy outside of Africa is so vast and complicated that I realize there is a huge void of understanding between those of us who grew up with these core African themes and those who do not.

Mainland America, with maybe the exception of certain Deep South communities, was successfully purged of the unadulterated African concepts. Obviously, the Africans were not totally de-Africanized but the missing elements that survive outside of North America are pure enough to separate the cultural outcomes of South American and the Caribbean members of The Diaspora.

Just 90 miles separates Cuba from the United States of America but as far as African cultural elements, there is an ocean of separation. The faces in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are just like the faces in La Habana, Santiago and Matanzas but there is no rumba in Alabama. So, when I think about Chango, Obatalla, rumba and guaguanco I must explain to my audience from North America that African ideas were not a daydream in the Caribbean. The shackles that bound our bodies were the same but the shackles that restricted our souls were not. If I find myself talking a lot about traditional African religion on this show, it’s because it totally shaped our worldview. The drum and the music that it symbolized are not an African influence, as I’ve heard so many educators say, they are Africa!

Who influenced whom? We, after all, represent the first world culture. There is no coincidence that the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies stand out as the bastions of African Cultural preservation. Their proximity to Africa meant they were already unable to resist the influence of Africa. The English, Dutch, Danes, Germans and French were much more resistant to the African’s influence. Maybe, it was merely the affectations of a lack of geographic proximity.

Sometimes there seems to be resentment in some of us, when North and South American Afro-descendents get together. Yet, that which was preserved must be shared by whoever was entrusted with guarding it.

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 114

Intro: Ake Bo Je /Bukky Leo & Black Egypt (feat. Tony Allen) / AfroBeat Visions

Set one:

1. Kelle Magni / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall
2. Dreamer / Bukky Leo & Black Eygpt / AfroBeat Visions

Set two:

1. Don't Go Away / Bukky Leo & Black Eygpt / AfroBeat Visions
2.  Alaye / 37th State (Feat. Tony Allen) / Afrikya, Vol. 1-A Musical Journey Throug\
 Africa

Set three:

1. N'Galula / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall
2. Fogo Fogo / Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band / Chopteeth
3. Don't Follow Fashion / Oghene Kologbo & Afrobeat Academy/ Remember Fela Anikulapo Kuti
4. Lies / The Afromotive / Scare Tactics

Set four:

1. Kelle Magni (encore) / Cheikh Lo / Lamp Fall
2. O.D.O.O. / Fela Kuti

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 113

 

Intro: Ni Fu Ni Fa / Tego Calderon / El Abayarde Contra-Ataca

Set one:

1. Beiba (Go Away) / Andy Palacio / Watina
2. Combination / Jali Bakary Konteh / Konteh Kunda

Set two:

1. Amasoka / Jabu Khanyile & Bayete / Africa Unite
2. Toro / Baaba Maal / Lam Toro
3. Gnangran / Issa Bagayogo / Sya

Set three:

1. Madan / Salif Keita / Moffou
2. Dance or Die / The ArchAndroid / Janelle Monae
3. Dambalou / Issa Bagayogo / Timbuktu

Set four:

1. Ja Funmi / King Sunny Ade
2. Tiyisselane / Zebra / Mozambique Relief

Set five:

1. Amor de Muito / Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi / Afrociberdelia
2. Jah People / Majek Fashek / Spirit of Love

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 111

This week's show is Part-4 in the series: Exploring the Africanization of Black America Music.

"The Godfather of Soul Africanizes the World".

intro: Always There / Ronnie Laws  / Pressure Sensitive

Set one:

1. On the Goodfoot / Rasheed Ali
2. Bang, Bang / Joe Cuba / Wanted Dead or Alive

Set two:

1. Mother Popcorn / James Brown
2. Se Na Min / El Rego et Ses Commandos / African Scream Contest
3. Give it up, Turn it Loose / James Brown

Set three:

1. Ghana'e / Willie Colon w/ Hector Lavoe / La Gran Fuga
2. I Got the Feeling / James Brown
3. It's  a Vanity / Gabo & Orchestra Poly-Rhythmo / African Scream Contest
4. Super Bad / James Brown

Set four:

1. Get Up (Sex Machine) / James Brown
2. Wait for Me / Roger Damawuzan / African Scream Contest
3. Hot Pants / James Brown
4. Keleya / Moussa Doumbia / World Psychedelic Classics

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 110

Our Annual Earth Day Special! 


Featuring Part Three of 'Africa in America'.


This week's featured artist is Earth, Wind & Fire, once again.


intro: Biyo / Earth, Wind & Fire / Spirit


Set one:


1. Faces / Earth, Wind & Fire / Faces


Set two:


1. Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing / Stevie Wonder / Inner Visions
2. La Cancion del Amor / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Agua Que Va a Caer
3. The Ghetto / Donny Hathaway


Set three:


1. Drum Song / Earth, Wind & Fire / Open our Eyes
2. Voodoo / The Neville Brothers / Yellow Moon
3. In the Marketplace / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All


Set four:


1. Happy Feeling / Earth, Wind & Fire / That's the Way of the World
2. Wake Up / The Neville Brothers / Yellow Moon
3. Power / Earth, Wind & Fire / Last Days and Time
4. Earth, Wind & Fire / Earth, Wind & Fire / Spirit

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 109

One musical group has embodied the Africanization of the American beat: Earth, Wind and Fire.
This week's show focuses on the special musical and cultural contributions of Earth, Wind and Fire.

This is actually the second part to last week's show celebrating 'Africa in America', or the Africanization of Black music in the United States. To some readers, referring to the Africanization of Black American music may seem like an odd reference. Yet, from my African-Caribbean mindset and viewpoint, the lack of real African drums and traditional rhythms created an unusual musical identity in the United States. The beat of the drums underwent a transmutation and was hidden in a new syncopated version of European styled music.

Painting: Varnette P. Honeywood

I can recall when I was younger, hearing Afro-Americans reluctant to connect any part of themselves or culture to an African identity. Kids would declare: "I aint no African!" To them, Africa was a primitive, foreign identity. That attitude has not really disappeared from the American mindset, it has just morphed into a new one that identifies African culture as that of US immigrants. So, now African culture is something new that comes from Nigeria, Ghana or Senegal. For those of us from the tropical zone, our Africanisms are much more difficult to deny. Though the same affliction of shame abounds in the minds of the African Diaspora where ever they reside. Still, whether confusion of 'what to call ourselves' exist or not, everyone knows that Calypso, Reggae, Merengue, Samba and Guaguanco are all African musical expressions and forms. Earth, Wind and Fire connected the dots between Africa,Brasil, the Caribbean and America.

Intro: Evil / Earth, Wind & Fire / Head to the Sky

Set one:

1. Partido Alto / Flora Purim & Airto / The Colors of Life
2. Fair but so Uncool / Earth, Wind & Fire / Open our Eyes

Set two:

1. Ponta de Lanca Africana / Jorge Ben
2. Time is on Your Side / Earth, Wind & Fire / Last Days in Time
3. Caramba / Jorge Ben
4. Let me Talk / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All

Set  three:

1.Runnin' / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All

Set four:

1. Cru-Cre Corroro / Ivan Lins / Awa Yio
2. Serpentine Fire / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All

Set five:

1. Brazilian Rhyme Interlude / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All
2. Ponta de Areia / Wayne Shorter w/ Milton Nascimento / Native Dancer
3. Bird of Paradise / Stevie Wonder / Fullingness First Finale
4. Brazilian Rhyme / Earth, Wind & Fire / All n' All

5. Fica no Brasil / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 108

This week's show is a reminder that the journey of African-Americans in the United States towards acceptance of their African identity has been a long and winding road.

There have been waves of Afrocentricity that have ebbed and flowed through the courses of US history. This desire to learn more about a forgotten legacy often at odds with a desire to "move on" and become an accepted member of a uniquely American identity. For many in the United States there was a legacy of shame and denial made easier by the absence of a strong, easily identifiable African culture. Surely, the Africanisms are present in the expressions of a US culture but the dots were never really connected to Africa. Instead, these cultural affectations were heralded as being the fabric of a uniquely American expression. Jazz, blues, gospel, rhythm and blues all being viewed through the prism of a post-slavery expression. Though there may have been some resignation that Africa was too distant a memory to uphold for the formerly enslaved, the slave masters certainly promoted this concept to their benefit.

Unlike the Caribbean and parts of South America, the playing of the traditional African drums were banned in the United States. This might seem to some as a civil ordinance rather than the evisceration of an identity. To those who think the drums are merely musical instruments, it is not easy for them to understand that the drums occupied such a central force in the spiritual lives of Africa's people. the drum was an instrument for communicating with the divine. The drums and their usage also drew lines between African tribal and ethnic groups. For instance; taking away the Ashanti drums from the Ashanti meant taking away a language that separated them from their neighboring states and ethnicities. For those who see Africa and Africans as a mass of Black People, this subtle nuance of history is lost. Of course, the Africans south of the Rio Grande River overcame this by merging some universal aspects of their differing cultures. As in Brasil and Cuba, were elements of Yoruba, Ashanti, Dahomey and Congo cultures forged a sometimes indistinct musical and liturgical mixture. It was certainly more advantageous to preserve a collective African identity than to quibble over the details of ethnic delineations.

In the US, the African ceased to exist as an African, they were transformed into Blacks. The monolithic concept of Africans as Blacks that still persist in America has also been promoted as a worldwide concept. Africans never referred to themselves in this way. Africa was never monochromatic, this false identity became a real detriment to the cultural understanding of the African Diaspora in the US.

This false identity continues to be promoted in the image of Black History in the US. As a public school teacher I have participated in many Black History Month Celebrations and the content is always focused on a post-slavery reality.

As a Caribbean-African I have no desire to down play the fact that my Caribbean culinary diet, musical expression, cultural nuance and syntax are heavily African in identity. While this pride has often been resented by those of the African Diaspora of the United States, it must be expressed unabashedly.

There is a need to celebrate any surviving African identities rather than merely celebrating surviving slavery. There are African cultural identities to be found in the US, if you look hard enough.
The culture and people of the Mississippi Delta have been looked down upon by many in urban America. Yet, much like the Caribbean and Brasil, this region of the US represents a fertile crescent of African culture that should be revered. In looking back to Africa we must not forget where to look for Africa in America.

intro: The Drum / Sounds of Blackness / Africa to America


Set one:

1. Took Away the Drum / Mighty Mo Rodgers / Blues is My Wailing Wall
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings / Branford Marsalis / Buckshot LeFonque

Set two:

1. Going Back to My Roots / Lamont Dozier /


Set three:

1. Say it Loud / James Brown
2. Black Man / Stevie Wonder

Set four:

1. Africa / Rasheed Ali & Rain People
2. Ngiculela, Es Una Historia / Stevie Wonder

Set five:

1. A Change is Gonna Come / Neveille Bros. / Yellow Moon
2. Blues is My Wailing Wall / Mighty Mo Rodgers
3. Looking for Ekwiano / Rasheed Ali / Thunder in the Jungle
4. I Will Cry for You / Rasheed Ali / Thunder in the Jungle

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 107

  Special Headphone Mix: A Day at the Beach with Rasheed*

Photo: Kareem Ali

Relax and enjoy a day at the beach with Rasheed Ali & Rain People...

intro: 1. Criollo / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Agua Santa


2.  Sereia (The Mermaid) / Rasheed Ali w/ Bennie Maupin / Thunder in the Jungle
3.  Tiburon (Shark) / Ruben Blades / Greatest Hits
4.  Come to My Island / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle
5.  Sandy Lane / Rasheed Ali w/ Carl Kizine / Rain People
6.  Yemaya / Francisco Aguabella y su Grupo Oriza / Bembe
7.  No Mar do Amor (The Sea of Life) / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Beijos Azuis
8.  Amarteifeio / Alphonso Johnson w/ Flora Purim / Moonshadows
9.  Pescaria (Fishery) Medley for My Father / Dori Caymmi / Brasilian Serenata
10. Nao Pode Ser (It Can't Be) / Rasheed Ali / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
11. Las Olas (Waves) / Flora Purim / Everyday, Everynight
12. No Meio do Mar (In the Middle of the Sea) / Rasheed Ali / Beijos Azuis
13. Midnight at the Beach / Rasheed Ali w/ Jeff Nathanson / Rain People


*To really enjoy this show I recommend listening with closed-ear headphones so that you can enjoy the virtual beach re-creation. Being an island boy means loving the beach, it's one of my favorite places on earth!


Notes: I've always been in love with sound design (creating life-like soundscapes) and virtual reality imaging with sound. On all of my CDs I've used live remote recordings that I've done outdoors to help add dimension to a musical story.  I've always been in love with the little details and nuance you can appreciate while listening to headphones with the lights off. Stevie Wonder would always said that to really appreciate his landmark '70's recordings you should hear them the way he does...with headphones in the dark. I've grown up with that idea as a guiding principle when I record. If I can lay back with some headphones in the dark and be lifted into a fantasy, then I've done my job as a composer.


On all of my seven CDs I've experimented with ambient sound, whether recording the street vendors in Brasil on Beijos Azuis or making multiple stereo recordings of a rain storm for the debut Rain People.
I'm probably most proud of my "slave ship" re-creation for the song "I will Cry for You" on Thunder in the Jungle, which included creating a virtual sail boat with items found around the house.


I hope you enjoy this show as much I did creating it. It's the first sound design experiment I've done since last year's Virtual Live Festival Concert Series.

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 106

The animated feature: "Chico & Rita" is fantastic!

If you haven't heard of the animated Cuban feature: "Chico & Rita" you need to go out and see it by any means necessary! It has to be the most incredible work of art I've seen in quite some time. I'm not sure how many people know about this indie film but it resonates in the same way "Black Orpheus" ("Orfeo Negro") still resonates for me.

"Chico & Rita" is a subtle slither of Afro-Caribbean culture captured on film, a chance for those of us of the African Diaspora to see ourselves portrayed lovingly as cartoon characters. How cool is that? Ironically, it embodies roughly the same time period as "Black Orpheus", which was released in 1954.

"Chico & Rita" presents a window to a long-ago, pre-revolutionary Cuba. It is so rich in the subtleties of Afro-Caribbean culture that you forget you are watching an animated, cartoon reality. I cannot say that I've ever seen anything quite like this film, I've instantly installed this it among my All-Time Favorites.

Like "Black Orpheus", it is the power and presence of the music that carries this film deep into your psyche. Identical to "Black Orpheus" in that it is a love story that features a musician as the central character. In this case, "Chico & Rita" goes one step further since Chico is a pianist-composer and Rita is an evocative singer and his muse. Go see this film or buy it, you will find yourself falling in love with these richly tinted brown cartoon lovers.

intro: Quem me Guia / Almir Guineto

Set one:

1. A Linguagem do Amor / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra
2. Camina y Ven / Celina Gonzalez
3. I Faram Gami I Faram / Mulatu Astatke / Mulatu Steps Ahead

Set two:

1. llego el Sabor / Oscar D'Leon Y Jose "El Canario" Alberto / Exitos Eternos
2. Sin Cadena / L'Essentiel Faudel / Faudel w/ Yuri Buenaventura
3. N'Zambi / Andres Mingas / Telling Stories to the Sea

Set three:

1. Radio Belize / Deep Forest (Eric Mouquet & Michel Sanchez) / Comparsa
2. Khaled / Alech Taadi / N'ssi N'ssi
3. African Woman / Baaba Maal / Firin' In Fouta

Set four:

1. Epelo / Papa Wemba / Molokai
2. Vuela la Paloma / Conjunto Rumbavana

3. Santa Massa Chegou / DJ Dolores e Santa Massa / Contraditorio
4. Sabu Yerkoy / Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate / Ali & Toumani



"Chico & Rita" Official Site.

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 105

Afro-Colombian folk dance

Intro: Africano / Rasheed Ali & Rain People / Thunder in the Jungle

Set one:

1. Agua Que Cae del Cielo / Omara Portuondo

2. Para Chango / Oscar D'Leon / 15 Exitos de

Set two:

1. Me Voy pa' Cali / Oscar D'Leon / En Vivo 

2. A San Lazaro / Yolanda Rayo

3. Galeron Con una Negra / Tambor Urbano / La Rumba

Set three:

1. Yo Me Siento Como en Casa / Oscar D'Leon / Tranquilamente

2. El Mensaje / Sol del Almendro / Ruta Tropical

Set four:

1. A Quien No Le Va a Gustar / Tambor Urbano / Solo Exitos

2. Yo Te Canto / Eva Ayllon 

3. Burundanga / Celia Cruz

Set five:

1. Yubakere / Sol del Almendro / Ruta Tropical

2. Canto de Pilon / Tambor Urbano / Solo Exitos

3. Agayyu / Francisco Aguabella  y Su Grupo Oriza / Bembe

4. Oriza Eh / Tambor Urbano / Que No Se Pare la Rumba

Today's show illustrates the unbridled energy of African music that exists in the Spanish-speaking Americas. Though largely invisible in media portrayals of what Latinos look like, the African presence in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean cannot be ignored. The connections between Africans of Latin America are more profound than those of the dominant Euro-centric Hispanics. Music, culture, dialect and syntax, dance and food easily cross the borders that separate New World Africans.
Though separated by more than 54,000 merchant slave ship voyages, the Africans cultural expressions were inseparable. Listen to an Afro-Venezuelan musician call upon Chango in the same way that a Cuban or Boricua does. Listen to the sameness in the spiritual language of Afro-Peruvians and Afro-Colombians. Forget the hyphen, we are New World Africans of the African Diaspora. Children of the holocaust. 

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 104

   

Intro: Columbia pa' Miguel Angel / Venissa Santi / Bienvenida

Set one:

1. Latin Goes Ska / Skatellites
2. El Quarto de Tula / Eliades Ochoa / Cuban Essentials

Set two:

1. Agua / Zeep / Far Out: Chill Brazil
2. Agua Que Va a Caer / Rasheed Ali & Rain People
3. Bensema / Afro-Cubism

Set three:

1. Showroom Dummies / Senor Coconut
2. The Model / Seu Jorge & Almaz**
3. Bem Querer / Seu Jorge / Cru

Set four:

1. Fanm Kreyol / Belo / Care for Haiti (Benefit CD)*
2. Besteira / Clara Moreno / Far Out: Chill Brazil
3. Prestame La Bicicleta / Ruben Gonzales / Cuban Essentials

Visit: Care For Haiti Website*

**Click the link to see the Seu Jorge & Almaz Short Films

"One Tribe, Many Voices" Podcast Episode 103

intro: Bakwetu / Papa Wemba / Molokai

Set one:


1. Oba Oyebade Lipede / King Sunny Ade / Classics Vol.3
2. Mifono Yami / Papa Wemba / Molokai

Set two:

1. Masvingo Netara / Robson Banda & The New Black Eagles / Zimbabwe Frontline
2. Erelu Dosumum / King Sunny Ade / Classics Vol.3

Set three:

1. Neg yo Danjere / Boukan Ginen / Rev An Nou
2. Shofele / Papa Wemba / Molokai
3. Omo Lododo Eye / King Sunny Ade / Classics Vol.3

Set four:

1. Nyamutamba Ne Mombe / Thomas Mapfumo / Zimbabwe Frontline
2. Kouman Sat' A Ye / Boukman Esperyans / Kalfou Danjere
3. Image / Papa Wemba / Molokai
4. N' Vunda Ku Muceque / Ricardo Lemvo / Retrospectiva
5. Afrika / Boukan Ginen / Rev An Nou

Bantu

The word Abantu itself, incidentally, simply means "human beings". These tribes all have ntu as a core language in common, while their own languages usually comprise many dialects and variations. 

They are part of the Niger-Congo language group and have strong ancestral affinities with a group of languages being spoken today in southeastern Nigeria.

They came from Central Africa, from where they began to expand to other parts around 2000 BC. These migrations are believed to have been the result of an increasingly settled agricultural lifestyle: although needing little land (far less than herding cattle use), land had to be fertile and well watered for cultivation to be a viable alternative. Population pressure in Central Africa may therefore have prompted the first Bantu migrations.

They had entered southern Uganda probably by the end of the first millennium A.D. and they had developed centralized kingdoms by the fifteenth or the sixteenth century. Pioneering groups had reached modern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa along the coast by 300 A.D., and the modern Northern Province (formerly called the Transvaal) by 500 A.D.

The Bantu expansion was a millenia long series of physical migrations, a diffusion of language and knowledge out into and in from neighbouring populations, and a creation of new society groups involving inter-marriage among communities and small groups moving to communities and small groups moving to new areas.