What Happened to the African Renaissance?
Last week’s assaults on the tombs of saints, scholars and prominent ancestors in Timbuktu punctuated a long, leaden moment in Mali's crisis.
Mali
Suffering and Smiling
Mali’s rebel armies, their shifting alliances and their fans make for quite a spectacle.
Mali: Soldiers Acting Like Children
It's very hard to figure out what the soldiers who took power in a coup in Mali, have in store for the country. Or if they even have a plan.
Don’t Talk About Somebody’s Mama
Malians have little patience for Amadou Toumani Touré, Mali’s former president, deposed in a coup on 22 March.
Uganda, now you have touched the women
In October 2011, the Ugandan government sent Ingrid Turinawe to the infamous Luzira Prison–Uganda’s Guantánamo–for the treasonable act of walking to work. This week, the State, again, attacked Turinawe and other women activists for the “crime” of standing, speaking out, driving, and generally being. Big mistake.
Why is so much coverage of the Mali crisis so bad?
We mean the kind of bad that comes from being caught in a Beckettian loop of either saying nothing at all or having nothing to say.
Bamako-sur-Seine
A sense of how the Malian diaspora experiences the political tensions and instability back home.
The Racial Politics of Tuareg Nationalism
Historian Greg Mann is not a big fan of Tuareg group, Tinariwen. The music is alright, he agrees, but the politics is rancid.
Tinariwen speaks on the coup in Mali
Tuareg musicians Tinariwen, on tour in Europe these days, spent some time in Belgium this weekend. Belgian public broadcaster VRT [they’ll do a feature on Mali blues once a year, usually at the end of June, covering the one high-profile ‘world music’ festival Brussels has in summer, squeezing them into a one-minute slot alongside performers […]
Mali’s Democracy–Down but not out
Is the adoption of a new constitution by Mali's military regime a starting point for getting the soldiers back under civilian rule? Let’s game this out a little bit.
Mali’s Coup–‘Politics is Bad’
The idea that because the coup happened, it's no longer worth taking positions on it is wrong-headed and dangerous. We should ask why, and why now.
They talk a lot. Let them talk.
That first line is one by Tunde Adebimpe (joined by fellow TV on the Radio musician Kyp Malone) from his collaboration with Amadou & Mariam on ‘Wily Kataso’. The second line is the title of Spoek Mathambo’s latest single (and music video):
Mali’s coup—First Thoughts
A few things are worth saying about the mutiny and the coup that rocked Bamako over the last few days.
The coup against democracy in Mali
Here’s video of the coup announcement in Mali. Ridiculous. The screen is dark at first — they were having technical difficulties — but the image appears after 30 seconds or so. See the scene. As for the speech, it’s the usual pompous nonsense, poorly delivered by a junior officer out of his depth.
Music Break. Mokobe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd6W5jjOgRA Mokobe commentates on the actions of Rihannon, Naomi Campboule, Rachida Beckham and friends over a Coupé-Decalé riddim. The music production is pretty standard, but the video is at least funny. Update (3/19): Following heated reactions from fans, Mokobe took down the music video. In vague terms, he explains why he decided to do so […]
Music Break. Rocket Juice and the Moon
Another tune off the Tony Allen—Damon Albarn—Flea conglomerate project Rocket Juice & The Moon. “Follow-Fashion” plays like a horn-flanked afrobeat progression, featuring heavy slap bass from Flea, Damon on the vertical piano, sensuous croons from Mali’s Fatoumata Diawara and verses from Accra MC M.anifest.
The University of Gnawa
The new video for the song “Alf Hilat” by Moroccan lute player and singer Aziz Sahmaoui (he made his name playing jazz with the late Joe Zawinul), off ‘University of Gnawa’, his album (it came out late 2011) of “African” sufi devotional music from the border regions of Morocco and Algeria.
Music Break. Vincent Segal & Ballaké Sissoko
French cellist Vincent Segal and kora master Ballaké Sissoko (from Mali) recorded the 2009 ‘Chamber Music’ album in Salif Keita’s Moffou Studio. Three years later, this is their Take Away Show. (First part here.)
Tuareg Nationalism
A quick survey of Western media suggests Tuareg nationalist claims don’t carry the same weight as Malian, Nigerian or Algerian claims on Tuareg territory. For example, the current violence in Niger and Mali are covered as either a humanitarian crisis (sympathy for Tuareg refugees), Gaddafi’s legacy (rumored weapons support for the rebels from his fallen […]
Music Break. Kaba Blon
http://youtu.be/afO9RSfdVEA Thinking about Mbalax Dub, got me wanting to share some more of Kaba Blon. It doesn’t seem like they have uploaded anything online yet, and the only song available for purchase I believe is Moribayassa. But, Mo Laudi was playing me some more of their tracks the other day. He had gotten them from a […]