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VIDEO UPDATE- STREET BATTLE FOOTAGE FROM EUROPE

http://youtu.be/H7d5fBdvsUs You can see more battle footage HERE. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Os Kuduristas, the international road show featuring superstars from the worlds of Angolan music, dance, and fashion, kicks off in Amsterdam next week from October 3rd to 7th, and then heads to Paris Oct. 10-14. Kuduro, meaning “hard ass,” is the brash, playful electronic dance music out of Angola’s capital, Luanda. Emerging from decades of civil war, and hitched to the rocket of oil wealth, Luanda has developed into a hotbed of  innovation, and kuduro is among the cultural forms that best reflect its feverish pace of change. While best known kuduro inspired group (at least internationally) is Lisbon-based Baraka Som Systema, the Os Kuduristas organizers point out that they are presenting the real deal straight from Luanda—top stars Cabo Snoop, Francis Boy, and Os Namayer: President Gasolina & Principe Ouro Negro.

In addition, we are featuring all these kuduro stars (and more!) on this week’s “Hip Deep Angola, part 2: Kuduro and Beyond,” based on Ned Sublette’s reporting from Luanda this summer.  Check out our feature for pictures, and some of the world's most interesting music videos. In Amsterdam and Paris, Os Kuduristas will introduce the experience of the “quintal.” a large, informal dance party usually held in someone’s backyard, and featuring a DJ pumping out electronic music on a booming speaker system. The quintals in Amsterdam and Paris will also feature a show by top Angolan fashion designers, Projecto Mental.

President Gasolina of Os Namayer says, “Our mission, the mission of a Kudurista is to bring joy and harmony to our audience. It doesn’t matter if it is onstage or offstage….We have to always be ready to make our fans happy, to make them dance, to make them smile.” While some of the artists featured by Os Kuduristas now tour across Africa, this is the first time kuduro culture has ever enjoyed such a prominent platform in Europe. And we hope to see Os Kuduristas down the road in the U.S. Os Americanos have time to practice our own hard ass dancing! Keep an eye out for more information.... To read about Os Kuduristas in Amsterdam and Paris, and about kuduro in general: www.oskuduristas.com