Feature Articles |
Black Stars – Ghana’s Hiplife Generation’ out nowSource: ilkamedia.com
Today, more than fifty years later, Ghana is known to be one of the most peaceful and stable countries in Africa (host to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations) and attracting thousands of tourists each year, especially African-Americans coming for inspirational trips to trace their roots and visit the former slave forts scattered along the coast. Read more |
Reconnecting the African Diaspora Through Musicby Veronica Henry Imagine a world without music. Can't do it, right? Music is such an integral part of our lives, it's almost an exercise in futility. From Rock n' Roll to Samba, Jazz to R&B, the African influence: the history, the instruments and rhythms is evident.
Inspiration for the business came to Joe as he perused the aisles of a friend's music store. A native of Nigeria, he was surprised to find an udu drum there. “ I was surprised and I asked the owner how he acquired the drum. He explained that an Italian American gentleman in NY made it,” Joe recalls. In Nigeria, udu means pot. It's used not only for carrying water or wine, but also to make instruments. The udu, a ceramic drum with a long cylindrical neck and a hole near the top, is indigenous to the Ibo, Joe's own ethnic group. He had already been doing some soul searching of his own and saw this as a sign of a new direction for his life. Read more |
Classical Musicians of African DescentCourtesy of AfriClassical.com The musicians at AfriClassical.com are a very small sample of the many accomplished Black classical conductors and instrumentalists of the past and present. James DePreist and Paul Freeman are the conductors; the other nine are performers. Conductors who are also composers are found in the Composers pages. A complete list of the Musicians pages can be found here. The site does not sell CDs, but catalog numbers are provided to make them easy to find at music stores or at Web sites such as www.Amazon.com or www.ArkivMusic.com Summaries of selected profiles are followed by an outline which includes composers who are also conductors or performers. A good source of information on singers of African descent, as well as vocal works of Black composers, is The African-American Art Song Alliance. It was founded in 1997 by Dr. Darryl Taylor, a countertenor and opera singer who is Associate Professor of Music at the University of California, Irvine: http://www.darryltaylor.com/alliance/ In response to requests posted in the Guest Book of AfriClassical.com, Dominique-René de Lerma, Professor of Music at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, is compiling a concise database of instrumentalists and conductors of African descent. He may be reached at: ddelerma@afgconsulting.org |
Music News & ReviewsAbout.com R & B Some of the more interesting news and rumors from the past week: Beyonce is scheduling a 2009 tour in support of her currently-untitled third solo album, due Nov. 18. She'll play... About.com R & B Even though he released an album just a couple of years ago, it seems like Avant has been away from the music scene much long than he has; it was like... About.com R & B September was the biggest month of 2008 for new, quality R&B and Soul albums, so October's bound to be a little bit of a letdown. There aren't a whole lot... |
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AllAfrica News: Music I'm Nubian and one of the grandchildren of the late Idi Amin Dada. My name is Ugly, Abbass Amin told Dennis D. Muhumuza AllAfrica News: Music A socio-political group based in Owerri, the Imo Democratic Congress (IDC), has condemned in strong terms Imo State government sponsorship of one year anniversary concert held in honour of Italian musician, Signor Pavarotti, an event which held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja penultimate week. AllAfrica News: Music ZIMBABWE Music Awards have scrapped the Chimurenga music category and replaced it with the socially conscious lyrics category, an official said last week. |
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UK top 10 Soul Songs Ever
- Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy
- Cymande - Bra
- Goldie - Inner City Life
- Atmopsfear - Dancing In Outer Space
- Soul II Soul - Back To Life
- The Specials - Ghost Town
- Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces
- Freeez - Southern Freeez
- The Style Council - Shout To The Top
- Omar - There's Nothing Like This
“Ghana is free forever”- these were the words of Kwame Nkrumah, the first elected president of the former Gold Coast, on the 6th of March 1957 when Ghana became the first African country to gain independence from colonial rule.
Music is one of the ties that binds the African Diaspora. Joe Agu recognized this. He is the founder of Rhythms Exotic, a manufacturer and seller of African musical instruments. Based in Santa Clara, CA, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Joe and his wife Cheryl have operated the business for twelve years.