Closeup
![Closeup: Miss Pat Chin](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 13, 2021
![Art Is Freedom: A Conversation With Criolo](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup August 5, 2020
![Johnny and Sipho: A Friendship Made on Earth](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 21, 2020
![Bolsonaro Is and Isn't](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup September 10, 2019
![Closeup: French Afro-Colonial Memory and Music](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup August 20, 2019
![Barrio Colón to Brooklyn](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup August 6, 2019
![Doing it For the Art: Manolo Raps in Cape Verde](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 23, 2019
At the 2019 Atlantic Music Expo in Cape Verde, Afropop's Sebastian Bouknight met Manolo, a longtime rapper who is trying to find a foothold in the country's overcrowded music scene.
![Afropop Goes to the Grammys](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 9, 2019
![Lazarus: Messenger of Hope](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup June 26, 2019
![Gael Faye and the New Generation of Afropean Artists](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup October 9, 2018
![Kidnapped! Ambassador Osayomore Joseph](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup September 18, 2018
![We Are All Worthy of One Another](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup September 5, 2018
![Skippy White: A Vinyl Life](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup August 14, 2018
![Nha Mundo: The Sound of Cova da Moura](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 31, 2018
![Asante Drum Language](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 17, 2018
![Reggae Takes Root in Germany](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup July 3, 2018
![Thomas Mapfumo: The Enigma of Return](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup June 19, 2018
![Carnival Goes Digital](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup June 5, 2018
![Tobago's #MeToo Trailblazer: Calypso Rose](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup May 22, 2018
![What’s in a Nigerian Name?](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup February 6, 2018
![The Voice of Protest: Betsayda Machado Sings Against Hunger in Venezuela](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![“For My Ayeeyo:” Learning Somali Poetry From a Distance](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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...
![Underground](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Biafra at 50: A Wound That Does Not Heal](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Kizito Mihigo and the Politics of Music in Post-Genocide Rwanda](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Night at the Clash](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Shackled Love: LGBT Asylum Seekers in the U.K.](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup October 31, 2017
![Black, Greek and Proud: Negros Tou Moria](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Afro-Symphonic Folk: From the Coasts of Africa to the San Francisco Bay](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
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.
![Rushin’ to Bacchanal: When Caribbean Festivals Collide](/pgs/img/optimized/transparent.gif)
Closeup September 19, 2017