Guinea's legendary dance band, Bembeya Jazz, are a pillar of modern West African history. Begun in 1961 in the flush of Guinea's independence and Sekou Toure's maverick presidency, the band played under the inspired leadership of guitar giant Sekou "Bembeya" Diabate. This program delves into Bembeya history with a focus on the band's 60s and 70s heyday, right up to more recent solo work by Sekou Diabate. In the current age of Afrobeats and digital production that is helping to supplant dance bands across the continent, Bembeya's music stands the test of time for its rich mesh of tradition and swing band drive.

Produced by Banning Eyre

APWW #427

In this episode, Afropop dives into a celebration of the blues--for some, the essence of the American experience and for others a link back into a lost history in Africa. For our program, we also went back through a number of key interviews we've done over the years where the subject of blues came up, particularly in reference to the genre's African roots. The notion that the blues has roots in Africa is obvious, but from there, things get complicated. Scholars and historians wrestle with the details, but for artists, the feel is everything. We are lucky to live in a time where musicians in America and Africa are retracing the pathways and making new music for a new time.

Originally produced by Banning Eyre in 2003

APWW #421

Afropop’s Banning Eyre published his prize-winning biography of Thomas Mapfumo, Lion Songs, in 2015. In this episode, he visits the Lion of Zimbabwe at his home in Eugene, Oregon, to discuss new music, the current state of Zimbabwe and more. We hear from Mapfumo’s latest album, Ndikutambire, and sneak previews of works in progress. We also meet 24-year-old Mary Anibal of Harare, a super-talented mbira player, singer/bandleader following in Mapfumo’s footsteps. Subscribers to the Afropop podcast stream, might remember this special episode from last year. In honor of Thomas’ 80th birthday this month, we are pleased to now share it on the radio!

Produced by Banning Eyre

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"Nollywood - Nigeria's Mirror" takes us to Lagos, the third largest film industry in the world. Scholars Jonathan Haynes and Onookome Okome serve as guides as we negotiate the intricacies and eccentricities of Nollyood's past and digital future. Nollywood films dramatize key tensions in contemporary Nigerian life, such as the relationship between tradition and cosmopolitanism. Distributed through pirate DVD networks across Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora at large, Nollywood films are a global phenomenon - and we'll find out why. We'll also be joined by Christopher Kirkley of the Sahel Sounds blog, who transports us to northern Nigeria and into the electronic sound world of Hausa film music.

APWW #646

The rumba and soukous of Congo-Zaire has infatuated listeners across the world for more than half a century. However, today in the neighborhoods of the capital, Kinshasa, there is a movement of musicians creating a new music that is at once more folkloric and rootsy as well as more innovative and cosmopolitan. Producer Nathaniel Braddock shares music and interviews from the months he spent in Kinshasa in 2024 working with musicians and instrument builders involved in creating new styles called "musique de recherche" or bofenia rock.

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Grammy nominated ngoni virtuoso Bassekou Kouyate and his 8 piece band Ngoni Ba wowed the crowd at Lincoln Center in 2011. Ngoni Ba re-wired the ancient ngoni to create a dense, 21st century sound. We'll hear the concert and talk with Bassekou about hunters, his precocious son, and his future plans. We hear a very different take on the ngoni from Sidi Touré who made his U.S. debut at BAM in Brooklyn. Sidi Touré is from the legendary city of Gao in northern Mali, the seat the ancient Songhai empire. Then we go to Egypt to hear how artists from Port Said are making music for instruments that go back to the time of the Pharoahs.

[Produced by Sean Barlow. Originally aired 11-09-2011]

APWW #626

This program ventures into corners of Africa we rarely hear from, guided by adventurous field recordists and crate diggers. The Zomba Prison Project is a set of recordings by inmates at a maximum security prison in Malawi, one of the poorest nations on earth. The project’s debut CD was nominated for a Grammy Award. Here, we speak with the producer, Ian Brennan, and hear tracks from a volume of soulful, even heartbreaking, songs from the prison. We then go back to the 1960s and ‘70s in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) to sample a gorgeous set recordings by Volta Jazz, Dafra Star, Les Imbattables Leopards and more. We hear from Florent Mazzoleni, the author and intrepid vinyl collector behind the new box set, Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta.

Produced by Banning Eyre

APWW #738

Host FayFay sits with two emerging Nigerian artists whose paths are as bold as their sound: Looking for Avala and Inima. Avala opens up about her journey from sneaking into open mics in New York to navigating motherhood and music in Lagos. She reflects on her identity, independence, and the power of trusting her own voice literally and figuratively.Then we meet Inima, a self-taught producer and vocalist from Port Harcourt, whose story is shaped by defiance, layered soundscapes, and a deep spiritual connection to music. These are stories of resilience without a roadmap, where making music isn’t just a career, but a calling.

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DJ Crew Zona Libre take a break from throwing genre-defying parties and producing their own live events and podcasts to team up with Afropop for another edition of Cuts from the Crypt. Frequent Afropop producer Morgan Greenstreet (modrums) and Brooklyn-based Puerto Rican DJ Ricardo Luiggi (tres dos) dig through Afropop's extensive vinyl archives, selecting Afro-diasporic music that defies borders and boundaries and sharing their digging experiences along the way.

APWW #797

We look into the rise and mysterious fall of the funky Bajan spouge beat which ruled the island in the ’70s, and discover a few underground musicians who are trying to keep it alive. Calypsonians Mighty Grynner and Red Plastic Bag detail their contributions to the lyrically potent kaiso scene. Soca stars Alison Hinds and Edwin Yearwood talk about the pros and cons of the island's competition circuit, and we learn about the hot "soca bashment" scene. Produced by Saxon Baird and Noah Schaffer.

APWW #746