Audio Programs
Afropop Classic June 6, 2024
Amazigh Rising
Berber history and music span from ancient sounds from the Atlas and Kabyle mountains to the latest pop fusions. In this, the first of Afropop’s Berber music series, we get the history and hear some of the extraordinary music that history has given us. Produced by Banning Eyre.
Hip Deep May 30, 2024
East African Taarab
Kelley Askew talks us through the history of East African Taarab music.
Afropop Classic May 23, 2024
Breaking Into Afrobeats
Fay Fay in Lagos reports on artists breaking into the Afrobeats music industry.
Hip Deep May 9, 2024
Ethiopia 2: Diaspora and Return
This Hip Deep program describes the Ethiopian musical diaspora around the world.
Hip Deep May 7, 2024
Ethiopia Part 1: Empire and Revolution
This Hip Deep program explores the role of the Ethiopian church and monarchy in building the country's unique brassy pop music.
Afropop Classic May 2, 2024
Amapiano to the World
South Africa is one of the biggest dance music nations, and now it seems like the whole world is dancing along to its amapiano (piano/yanos) beats, a genre that blends its kwaito roots with house, jazz and its signature log drum.
Planet Afropop April 30, 2024
Planet Afropop: Gino Sitson: Cameroonian Renaissance Man
On this episode of Planet Afropop, Georges Collinet interviews fellow Cameroonian Gino Sitson. Sitson is a maverick maestro who blends unique vocal techniques with sounds from classical instruments—cello, violin, double bass—with African traditional elements.
Afropop Classic April 25, 2024
Saving the Malawi Tapes
The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation recorded a goldmine of local music in the 1960s and 70s, but the tapes were neglected and close to ruined.
Afropop Classic April 18, 2024
Thomas Mapfumo Live in NYC at SOB's
A special recording from the Afropop archives finds Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited playing at SOB's in New York City back in 1991.
Planet Afropop April 16, 2024
Planet Afropop - Rachid Taha: African Punk Ghost
In this episode, producer Elodie Maillot in Paris reviews the career of mercurial Algerian-French singer, composer and activist Rachid Taha, who died in 2018.
Hip Deep April 11, 2024
Thomas Mapfumo 1: The War Years
Part 1 of Afropop Worldwide's HIp Deep audio biography of Thomas Mapfumo focuses on his upbringing, musical education and the bands that lead up to the Blacks Unlimited. These are the war years, when Zimbabwe was fighting to throw off the burden of the racist Southern Rhodesian regime. This episode documents the birth of "chimurenga" music in the voices of those who made that history, many of whom have now joined the ancestors. Produced by Banning Eyre.
Afropop Classic April 4, 2024
From Nashville to Nairobi: A History of Country Music in Kenya
Country music is big in Kenya. This show tells the story.
Planet Afropop April 2, 2024
Planet Afropop - ARB: Nigeria’s Alternative Reflective Beats
In this episode, Planet Afropop’s Lagos correspondent Fay Fay profiles a unique multi-generational band on the Nigerian scene: Alternative Reflective Beats (ARB).
Afropop Classic March 21, 2024
Women's History Month: Afropop's Women Warriors
Angelique Kidjo, Toshi Reagon, Shungudzo, Toshi Reagon and Fatoumata Diawara showcase activist music created during the pandemic.
Planet Afropop March 19, 2024
Planet Afropop: Singeli Jumps and Rumba Swings in Tanzania!
Tanzanian music veteran John Kitime guides the Planet Afropop team through highlights of singeli and Swahili rumba in 2024.
Planet Afropop March 5, 2024
Planet Afropop - South Africa in the Green Room: Bongeziwe and Bakithi
On the cusp of a world tour, genre-bending South African artist Bongeziwe Mabandla sits down with Planet Afropop's Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe. Mabandla, a true maverick, draws on his country's rich musical history but forges his own path.
Afropop Classic February 29, 2024
Women's History Month: Afropop Women of Note
DJ Kix returns by taking us on a musical journey across Africa, showcasing some of the continent’s formidable women who are quickly rising in the industry and making their presence known.
Afropop Classic February 22, 2024
Black History Month: The African-American String Music Tradition
This program looks back on the history of African American string band music with Howard Armstrong.
Planet Afropop February 20, 2024
Planet Afropop: Mas Carnaval in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Planet Afropop: Mas Carnaval in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe with Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe
Afropop Classic February 15, 2024
Black History Month: The Black History of the Banjo
We trace the history of this most American of instruments from its ancestors in West Africa through the Caribbean and American South and into the present, as a new generation of Black women artists reclaim the banjo as their own. Rhiannon Giddens, Bassekou Kouyate, Bela Fleck and more talk claw-hammers, trad jazz, Appalachian folk, African ancestors and the on-going story of American music, which would be woefully incomplete without a Black history of the banjo.
Planet Afropop February 6, 2024
Planet Afropop: Syli D’Or Winners And Artists For Aid
Every winter, starting in February, the organizers of the annual Nuits D’Afrique festival put on a battle of the Afropop bands.
Hip Deep February 1, 2024
Black History Month: The Ring and The Shout
This Hip Deep episode presents the stunning radio premiere of "Oh, David," the traditional song of the annual Easter Rock in Winnsboro, Louisiana.
Planet Afropop January 23, 2024
Planet Afropop: Moh! Kouyate: A Conversation with a Global Griot
Banning Eyre speaks with Moh Kouyate about his new album, Mokhôya.
Afropop Classic January 18, 2024
The Nyege Nyege Villa - East African Hub of Electronic Underground Music
The Nyege Nyege Villa - East African Hub of Electronic Underground Music
Afropop Classic January 11, 2024
Calypso, Reggae and Jab-Jab Soca: Musical Resistance in Grenada
Calypso, Reggae and Jab-Jab Soca: Musical Resistance in Grenada.
Planet Afropop January 9, 2024
Planet Afropop: A Conversation with Okwy Osadebe
Explore the vibrant legacy of Nigerian Igbo highlife through a captivating conversation with Okwy Osadebe, son of highlife legend Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe, featuring insights into his life in the U.S., his new album 'Igbo Amaka', and exclusive tracks from both father and son on WOWD Radio.
Hip Deep January 4, 2024
The Fertile Crescent: Haiti, Cuba and Louisiana
Ned Sublette and Gwendolyn Midlow Hall explore the French, Spanish and African origins of New Orleans culture.
Afropop Classic December 28, 2023
Spiritual Journeys: Randy Weston: A Jazz Life With the African Ancestors
Randy Weston, a jazz icon, uniquely embraced and delved into the profound ties between American music roots and African heritage, solidifying his legacy as a trailblazer who passionately bridged cultures and musical traditions.
Planet Afropop December 27, 2023
Planet Afropop: Year End Special
Planet Afropop closes out 2023, focusing on celebratory music from the Democratic Republic of Congo. First, Mukwae notes some of the year's trends in global African pop. Then we go to the streets of Kinshasa with live music from Kin’Gongolo Kinyata, recorded at WOMEX 2023 in Spain. We end at the 35th Anniversary Dance Party at SOB’s in New York City with Samba Mapangala and Soukous Stars. It's a rollicking finale to an eventful year in African music.
Afropop Classic December 14, 2023
The Soul of Mbira
This program explores Shona mbira music from Zimbabwe through a historic 1999 U.S. tour by the Mbira Masters of Zimbabwe, organized by Paul Berliner.
