African nationalism from an unlikely quarter;  rapper I-20 from Ludacris-owned label, Disturbing Tha Peace. Great hook too.  (Actually scrap the stuff about unlikely quarters.) via Bombastic Elements

Old Master Boubacar Traoré (also known as Kar Kar, “the one who dribbles too much”) has a new album out titled “Mali Denhou”. He has some advice for Mali’s youth in the above promo video. In the 2001 documentary I’ll Sing for You you’ll hear Ali Farka Touré say: “If the maximum is 5, I […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Df8yPn_bc&fs=1&hl=en_US] A little Luso Rap infatuation I’ve been harboring for a while has led me down interesting paths throughout the years.  The attention that I’ve given to sounds like Kuduro, House Angolana, and Tarraxinha has led me away from good old Hip Hop like Kid MC’s track above. Time to pay more attention.–Boima Tucker

Listen here.

Security Guard, World Cup, 2010, Soweto, South Africa.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM4tQ_w__RM] The new video for Nigerian Afrobeat funkster Bantu‘s tune “I’m Waiting.” It’s part of the soundtrack of the new film,”Relentless” (set in Lagos) directed by Andy Okoroafor. The single/video features Nneka. Via Emma Arrogundade.

Good biscuits at the UN social security forum at Cape Town International Convention Center, South Africa. December 2010. Explore Duran Levinson’s work here.  

I have this track (and video) on repeat. The Sway Machinery featuring Malian singer Khaira Arby, “Gawad Teriamou.” The video was filmed in and around the Malian capital Bamako, “… while the Sway Machinery was recording their [new] album [“The House of Friendly Ghosts, Vol. 1;” out February 8] with masters of African music including […]

Another one of those videos I was forwarded over the break. It’s become something of a rite of passage for rappers to visit Africa. For example this video of Busta Rhymes refusing to let go of an elderly Senegalese woman on Goree Island in Senegal, briefly went viral late last year.  In the video above […]