Afropop Classic August 9, 2018
Closeup July 31, 2018
Afropop Classic July 26, 2018
Afropop Classic July 19, 2018
There's an exciting new sound exploding in Durban, South Africa: Gqom! In this program, we explore the music and meet the young generation of artists creating it.
Closeup July 17, 2018
Afropop Classic July 5, 2018
Closeup July 3, 2018
Afropop Classic June 28, 2018
Afropop Classic June 21, 2018
Closeup June 19, 2018
Hip Deep June 14, 2018
Afropop Classic June 7, 2018
Closeup June 5, 2018
Afropop Classic May 31, 2018
Afropop Classic May 24, 2018
Closeup May 22, 2018
Afropop Classic May 17, 2018
Hip Deep May 10, 2018
Hip Deep May 3, 2018
Beneath the gloss of Nigeria’s contemporary pop, older roots styles, mostly derived from Yoruba tradition, still thrive.
Afropop Classic April 26, 2018
Afropop Classic April 19, 2018
Afropop Classic April 12, 2018
Afropop Classic March 29, 2018
Hip Deep March 15, 2018
Afropop Classic March 8, 2018
Afropop Classic March 1, 2018
Afropop Classic February 22, 2018
Hip Deep February 15, 2018
Afropop Classic February 8, 2018
Closeup February 6, 2018
Hip Deep February 1, 2018
Afropop Classic January 25, 2018
As Afropop turns 30, we take a stroll down memory lane to enjoy some of the extraordinary live recordings we brought to the public radio community in the 1990s including Thione Seck in Dakar, Gerardo Nunez in New York, Abdel Aziz el Mubarak in London, Lobi Traore in Bamako, a carnival comparsa in Cuba and David Rudder in New York. Co-hosted by Georges Collinet, Siji Awoyinka, and Sean Barlow.
Closeup January 23, 2018
The songs of Betsayda Machado, the leading voice of Afro-Venezuelan music, address many of the most painful topics of daily life of her country: hunger, poverty, shortages of basic medicine, and deadly street riots – stemming from the current economic and political crisis in Venezuela.
Afropop Classic January 18, 2018
Paris has been one of the most important incubators of African music on the planet. On this program, we look back on 30 years of adventures with African music in Paris.
Hip Deep January 11, 2018
This program presents a musical portrait of Bamako in the wake of crisis. We explore the precarious lives of griots in today’s Bamako, focusing on the upbringing and education of children in these hereditary families of historian-entertainers.
Closeup January 9, 2018
Amal Hussein and Hamdi Mohamed have a lot in common. Both were born in Kenya, where their parents fled as refugees during the Somali Civil War, and both came to Boston when they were just a few years old. They’re both poets — and equally important for this story — both their grandmothers are poets...
Afropop Classic January 4, 2018
Alex Wolfe, director of the film "Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata" brings us live ambience and stories of bachata stars Luis Vargas, Antony Santos, Luis Segura, Adridia Ventura.
Afropop Classic December 28, 2017
In hard times and boom times, people in Ghana know how to party. In this program, we hear the regional pop and neotraditional music that animates festivals, funerals and community celebrations across the county.
Closeup December 26, 2017
Underneath the streets of New York City, in the tunnels and stations of the busiest subway system in the country, there is a thriving music scene. Amidst the noise of passing trains, we meet Papa Fara, a Cameroonian xylophonist and singer, who plays for tips and captures the love of strangers and makes friends with his quick, warm smile. But, behind the smile and beautiful melodies, something is troubling Papa Fara. There’s a reason he’d rather be underground.
Afropop Classic December 21, 2017
In this program, we explore the new "Afropolitan" sounds of Paris, from concert halls to studios, from the heart of the city to immigrant neighborhoods in the banlieues.
Hip Deep December 14, 2017
In recognition of the end of Robert Mugabe's 37-year rule in Zimbabwe, we are rebroadcasting our program on the career of Thomas Mapfumo during the Mugabe years.
Closeup December 12, 2017
We examine how the unresolved issues that triggered the devastating Biafran War in the 1960s still resonate and persist in the Niger Delta today on this Afropop Closeup.
Afropop Classic December 7, 2017
It's time once again for Georges Collinet and Banning Eyre to spin through our favorite African and African diaspora releases of the year.
Afropop Classic November 30, 2017
Back in the day, host Georges Collinet and producer Sean Barlow (A.K.A. Prince Segue Segue) dragged stacks of vinyl all over the country to deejay for station-produced Afropop Dance Parties. We'll dig into the past to retrieve some of our favorite gems from the Congo, Zimbabwe, Colombia, Brazil and Cote d'Ivoire.
Closeup November 28, 2017
Kizito Mihigo is one of Rwanda’s most beloved singers, yet he is currently imprisoned, serving a 10-year sentence for treason. In 2014, Mihigo released a song which criticized the wartime actions of Rwanda’s governing political party. The song went viral, sparking a nationwide dialogue around the genocide, and weeks later, Mihigo was arrested on charges of conspiracy to assassinate the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.
Afropop Classic November 23, 2017
Funk is a perennial favorite. In this panoramic history of the grooviest of genres, we hear track after track of absolute boogie-down classics.
Afropop Classic November 16, 2017
Here’s Afropop’s annual roundup of great live recordings we’ve captured over the past year but haven't found time to air.
Closeup November 14, 2017
Sound clashes have been a mainstay of reggae culture for decades. Mobile sound system teams face off to see who can best move the crowd with their selections of records and exclusive "dub plate" jingles. On a recent late night in Queens, seven sounds competed for the U.S. champion title, and many were surprised by the winner. We meet the sound-system operators and talk to fans about why they love the clash scene. Produced by Noah Schaffer.
Hip Deep November 9, 2017
Hip Deep November 2, 2017
Closeup October 31, 2017
Hip Deep October 19, 2017
Closeup October 17, 2017
Ghanaian-Greek rapper Negros Tou Moria is carving out new territory and challenging stereotypes with rap music that is deeply rooted in Greek language and culture.
Afropop Classic October 12, 2017
Contemporary Nigerian artists and others recall the man, the music and the legacy of Nigeria's greatest musician.
Afropop Classic October 5, 2017
Closeup October 3, 2017
Two very different Bay Area artists, Meklit Hadero and Zena Carlota, use their music to explore what it means to live on two sides of a hyphen: African-American, black-artist, Ethiopian-American, female-musician, to name a few.
Afropop Classic September 26, 2017
Afropop Classic September 21, 2017
Closeup September 19, 2017
Afropop Classic September 14, 2017
Afropop Classic September 7, 2017
Closeup September 5, 2017
Hip Deep August 31, 2017
Hip Deep August 24, 2017
Afropop Classic August 17, 2017
Closeup August 15, 2017
Here we encounter the musical and philosophical movement called rapso–an infectiously danceable rhythmic oration style that comes with a philosophy championing a Trinidadian identity in the face of a colonial history and a globalized present.
Hip Deep August 10, 2017
This week, Afropop revisits the home of styles such as merengue and bachata, but this time we’ll be looking towards the most deeply African side of Dominican music—little known outside of the island.
Afropop Classic August 3, 2017
This program ventures into corners of Africa we hear from rarely, guided by adventurous field recordists and crate diggers.
Afropop Classic July 27, 2017
This spring, Afropop returned to Fes, Morocco, for the 23rd annual World Sacred Music Festival, a sumptuous spread of music from across the globe that blurs the boundaries of what is sacred.
Closeup July 25, 2017
In a context of ongoing violence and N.G.O. intervention in Eastern Congo, a festival culture is emerging based on the concept of “peace-building” through the arts.
Hip Deep July 20, 2017
Every year on Sierra Leone’s Independence Day in late April, musicians and revelers descend upon Freetown from throughout the country.
Hip Deep July 13, 2017
This program will initiate listeners into one of the most enchanting and mysterious musical practices in Africa, BaAka people music.
Hip Deep June 29, 2017
Afropop Classic June 22, 2017
Closeup June 19, 2017
A lightning tour of some of the most important groups that helped pull together the often-overlooked Afro-Lusophone sonic universe.
Hip Deep June 1, 2017
Closeup May 30, 2017
Afropop Classic May 25, 2017
Closeup May 16, 2017
Hip Deep May 11, 2017
Hip Deep May 4, 2017
Closeup April 25, 2017
Afropop Classic April 20, 2017
Hip Deep April 13, 2017
Closeup April 11, 2017
Afropop Classic April 6, 2017
Afropop Classic March 23, 2017
Afropop Classic March 16, 2017
Closeup March 14, 2017
Hip Deep March 9, 2017
This Hip Deep edition explores the sonically vibrant realm of Afro-Peruvian music, a young genre identification that has flourished since the 1950s and has now produced artists of international renown, such as singer Susana Baca, and the black folkloric company Peru Negro.