After a bit of a break, here's the seventh feature in a series we call “Fresh Cuts.” It’s a selection of newly released tracks and videos from across Africa and the diaspora, featuring established and up-and-coming artists, and everything in between. Today we’ve got, among other things, Colombian bullerengue, Somalian hip-hop, ebullient Ugandan dance music, and some hot fire from the Lusophone world: funk from Brazil and futuristic electronic dance beats from Portugal. In case you missed them, also check out our previous “Fresh Cuts.”
Here’s the full playlist on YouTube and Spotify (be mindful that these won’t include every song listed here due to the variety of platforms artists are using to share their music). Scroll beyond to read all about each artist. Enjoy!
YouTube Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playli...
Spotify Playlist:
Magin Diaz: “Rosa”
At a sprightly 96 years old, Magin Diaz has at last released his first solo album, El Orisha de la Rosa. The nonagenarian Colombian legend has recorded with many Colombian musicians over the years and has written some of the country's most iconic songs, but this is the first time where he is front and center. This phenomenal, dynamic record is a product of three years of research and recording, made in collaboration with 25 different musical guests from all over, including the legendary Colombian singer Totó la Momposina, Bomba Estereo’s Li Saumet, the inimitable Monsieur Periné and the technicolor music/visual collective Systema Solar. Diaz is a bearer of the Afro-Colombian culture, maintaining the country’s magnificent and tenacious folk music, bullerengue, which, like the country’s Afro-Colombian communities, has survived near constant marginalization and discrimination over the centuries. Diaz says, “Singing for me is as if someone injected me with life… If I do not sing, I'd die.” Keep an eye out on Afropop for more on this record.
