Afropop Worldwide

The Danish human rights organization Freemuse has been on the cutting edge of cultural developments around the world for decades now. With its laser focus on strategies and tactics governments use to silence or suppress artists, especially musicians, Freemuse has (unfortunately) been kept very busy! This latest project is a creative milestone, an adaptation of Fela Kuti's immortal song "Zombie," featuring a terrific cross section of musicians from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Iran, Morocco, Gaza and Palestine/Israel. The song takes on new life in the hands of these passionate artists. For Afropop, it is fascinating that artists from this part of the world would turn to the Nigerian Afrobeat icon for inspiration. And we note that a number of artists here (including Ramy Essam and Arabian Knightz of Egypt, and Moe Hamzeh of the Kordz) have been featured in our Hip Deep programs in recent years. We also note that the musical mastermind behind this project is Hip Deep scholar Mark LeVine. Kudos to all. The track kills. A full history of the project and free download of the song available here.