AfriPOP! shares tunes with two of music’s most revered crate diggers – Bobbito Garcia and Rich Medina Arriving in South Africa in 2000 was a trip for Bobbito Garcia. (He even tells the folks at friends we love so). Hosting his legendary WCKR Hip-hop radio show with Stretch Armstrong he had some idea about its global reach. But touring with fellow New Yorkers, DJ/producer Mr. Len (Company Flow) and Jean Grae [...]
MC Shad, lyricist from Rwanda via Canada, Master’s student and AfriPOP star is our new Hip-hop hope For almost the entire final quarter of 2008 I wondered what had gotten into me. I’d spent the majority of that year ignoring rap music. My favourite Hip-hop album was the most non-rap one out there. It was also the most hated. And I understood why: Auto tune is wrong, Kanye is no singer, [...]
In the fifth season of TV’s “Project Runway,” Korto Momolu showed the world that black women are capable of participating in reality shows without threatening to “beat b***es up.” She let her gorgeous designs do the fighting and came in a close second after what was arguably the most impressive Bryant Park show in “Project Runway” history. Korto’s personality is a reflection of her design aesthetic. Like the clothing she [...]
South African R&B Singer eyes UK success If, like Loyiso Bala, my brother had masterminded one of the most successful Kwaito groups in South Africa, and I had the chance to be part of it, then that would have been my career path made. Much easier than carving an R&B niche out of the local music landscape, which is what he did instead. Just because it’s one of those genres [...]
UK Production Duo Change The Future Of Music By Erica Montolfo What better way to spend an L.A. evening than sitting down for cocktails at The L’Ermitage with two handsome blokes with British accents known as Future Cut. Their proper names are Darren Lewis and Tunde Babalola. The former DJs made their debut as artists alongside singer Jenna G in the band Un-Cut. But they have since taken a different direction, [...]
As promised, the finished version of Adesiji’s music video to Yearning For Home. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZYOVvflO20] Siji facebooked us the rationale behind the clip which, filmed in Brooklyn, New York makes his directorial debut: “The concept of the video was to shed light on my constant longing for my ancestral homeland Nigeria where I grew up. It was thus crucial for me to convey the sense of nostalgia we immigrants come to feel [...]
Lyrical Healer On March 20 2009, the cream of musicians from South Africa will gather in the nation’s capital for a day of prayer and performances ahead of Human Rights Day the day after, and the national elections in April. Amongst them will be revered Hip-hop lyricist Zubz. Helen Herimbi had a chat with him in between takes on the set of his new music video.
We’re digging Adesiji’s Yearning for Home and can’t wait to check out the music video for it, which he says he’s working on. For now, we’ll live with the snippet here and the behind-the-scenes vid [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwLXg6DBYAE].
LIVING RICH Nigerian electro hip-pop group Christian Rich gets its shine on By Mawuse Ziegbe Chicago-via-Nigeria twins Kehinde and Taiwo Hassan began as a production team that has crafted records for artists like Lil’ Kim, Fabolous, The Clipse and Raekwon. Taking their name from famed French designer Christian Dior, the brothers are stepping out from behind the boards and assailing the music scene with their cheeky, genre-averse jams. Their [...]
Afro Saxons co-directed by Rachel Wang Celebrating women of African descent on screen and behind the scenes, the fifth annual Images of Black Women Festival runs between 27 – 29 March 2009 at the Tri-cycle theatre. See the full programme here. Directors and screen writers making really significant contributions to today’s film industry will be on hand to host screenings of their various pictures: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire (Johnny Mad Dog), Ayoka [...]
