American stand-up comedian and actor, Lil Duval tweeted, “afrobeats might be the death of hip hop as we know it” creating a frenzy and Afrobeat vs. Hip Hop debate on Twitter. In episode 13 of Ijele Express: The Podcast – join host and your co-passenger, Nneka discusses the tweet plus a larger conversation on black music across the Diaspora.

Listen to Ijele Express every Friday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

Do you consider yourself a global music ambassador? Our lives and musical influences no longer come from our immediate communities alone. From TikTok to Instagram Reel trends, we're always hearing new sounds, artists, genres, and even dance trends. What does this mean for music lovers, companies, and artists worldwide -- especially in African and Middle Eastern markets?

Join your host and co-passenger, Nneka Mogbo as she recaps her published article from the Music Business Journal: The Global-Local Approach to Growth in Africa at Large.

Listen to Ijele Express every Friday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

The Grammy Award timeline is indisputably the most prestigious award in music. From its inception, it's been offering an opportunity for great artists to showcase their talents on a global platform. While there have been glimmers of excellence, what has stood out consistently over the years is the 'Global Music' category. Is it time to switch things up? Was Burna Boy snubbed this year? Is it time for more categories?

Join host, Nneka Mogbo as she discusses the Global Music categories and breaks down big moments of the 2023 Grammys.

Listen every Friday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

Ijele Express: The Podcast is back again with Season 2 and an all-new episode with recording artist, producer, and creative director of Ozone Creation, – an Afro-centric creative collective based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: Obi Original. And Kion Rose, rapper, singer, and songwriter. We discuss building community as an artist and the importance of music as a medium to effect change.

Catch up with Kion Rose and Obi Original here:

Show Notes: urucollective.co/media/10-building-community-as-an-artist

Listen every Friday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

What were your favorite books as a kid? In this podcast episode, we speak with Nancy Adimora, a publishing consultant and founding editor of Afraeda. Together, we unpack the importance of storytelling, who drives the experience, and why we all need to be involved in telling our own stories.

For more from Nancy:

As mentioned in the episode:

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

Are you interested in learning another language or strengthening your skills in a language you already speak? We’re here to help! In this episode we discuss why we started learning different languages and the techniques we’ve found to be the most helpful for maintaining proficiency and learning new material. Between the two of us, we speak Spanish, Arabic, French, Igbo, and English. We’ve been around, and we hope fellow language lovers find this episode useful.

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

We’re back after a short break because . . . Nneka moved to Algeria! In this episode, we talk about her move and briefly discuss the new movie The Woman King.

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

This podcast was recorded one day after Nigeria’s 62nd Independence Day. (Several of our relatives were alive to see the first one.) We spent the episode reflecting on the different definitions of the word “independence,” the ways we celebrated Nigerian Independence Day growing up, and how much space we personally feel comfortable taking up in discussions about Nigerian independence.

Books mentioned by Chinyere in this episode: “Glory” by NoViolet Bulawayo and “If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English” by Noor Naga.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/592441/glory-by-noviolet-bulawayo/

https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/if-egyptian-cannot-speak-english

Artists Nneka mentioned during the episode: SOLU, Owo, Tobes44, Luh BlessedChild, and Asake.

SOLU: https://www.instagram.com/soluverse_/

Owo: https://www.instagram.com/owoofficial/

Tobes44: https://www.instagram.com/tobesff

Luh  BlessedChild: https://www.instagram.com/luhblessedchild/

Asake: https://www.instagram.com/asakemusic/

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

We hope you enjoy Ijele Express’ first song show-n-tell. Nneka introduces the audience to South African rapper and producer, Nasty C, and talks about recent accomplishments that have brought him international acclaim. She shares her favorite lyrics from “Eazy,” a hype song she listens to in the gym.

Meanwhile, Chinyere nostalgically reminisces on Duncan Mighty’s album titled Legacy (Ahamefuna) which came out in 2011. She shares lyrics from his hit song “Obianuju” and reflects on the flamboyant flirting style of West African men.

“Eazy” by Nasty C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFwu8Z83eP4

“Obianuju” by Duncan Mighty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nho-FCsZXE

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.

It’s book review time! This week we discuss the novel The Scent of Burnt Flowers by Blitz Bazawule. The plot centers on a black couple from the US South who flee to Ghana in 1966 after murdering a white man who attacks them in the middle of the night. Some topics we discuss include blinding jealousy, intergenerational trauma, and the different ways men and women are socialized to act in dangerous situations.

Listen every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts, and find the latest updates on our social media:

Ijele Express: The Podcast is a production of Uru Music Collective.

Music by bigvee from Pixabay. Song Title: Buju inspired.