Miriam Makeba Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in 1932, during a time of economic depression. Her mother, a domestic worker, was imprisoned for six months for illegally brewing beer to help make ends meet, and Miriam went to prison with her as she was just 18 days old. Makeba’s mother was also a sangoma, or a practitioner of herbal medicine, divination and counselling in traditional Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi (Nguni) societies of Southern Africa. After her father died, Miriam was sent to live with her grandmother at a compound in Riverside, Pretoria. Miriam began her working life helping her mother clean houses. Miriam Makeba began her music career singing for her cousin’s band, the Cuban Brothers, but it was only when she began to sing for the Manhattan Brothers in 1954 that she began to build a reputation. King Kong was about a boxer who kills his sweetheart and later dies in prison. Makeba said of people imitating her ‘look’: "I'm not a political singer”¦ I don't know what the word means.
Kimpa Vita, la Jeanne d'Arc d'Afrique - Regardsprotestants Premier portrait de notre série de l’été : chaque semaine, des portraits de femmes africaines qui ont marqué leur pays. Douze « amazones du Seigneur ». Tout a commencé avec Diego Câo, le capitaine de marine qui découvre l’embouchure du fleuve Congo en 1482. Une première rencontre s’opère dès la fin du XVe siècle entre Congolais et chrétiens européens, quelques années avant qu’un certain Christophe Colomb ne “découvre” l’Amérique. Première cathédrale au Congo en 1596 Pour les populations de la côte congolaise, ces explorateurs portugais, appelés mindele (blancs) sont associés à des revenants. Une prédicante de 20 ans L’instabilité politique grandissante et la prédation européenne va susciter, au début du XVIIIe siècle, une réaction prophétique et messianique. Ancienne prêtresse du culte Marinda, elle tombe gravement malade (1704). En moins de deux ans, elle affine un enseignement original, ancré dans un référent chrétien réinterprété, et met sur pied une Eglise.
African Music History - History Of Percussion Instruments History Made Interesting Knowing about African music history helps you better understand the continent itself. Because music is so deeply rooted in African culture. Apart from Africans themselves, this knowledge is usually restricted to ethnomusicologists and historians. On this page, I'll try to present it in easily understandable bits and in a way that's enjoyable for everyone. History Of Percussion Instruments Djembe Djembe drumming has gone through an enormous transformation under the influence of Western culture. Learn about the djembe tradition in its original context: The African villages. Djembe History Page Balafon The traditional xylophone of the Mande people is part of the cultural identity of this West African ethnic group. Myths and griots tell us about the origin of the balafon: The Sosso Bala with its supernatural powers! It's interesting to read, but wouldn't it be much cooler to actually experience the history of percussion instruments?
Youssou N’Dour | Biography, Music, Youssou N’Dour, (born October 1, 1959, Dakar, Senegal), Senegalese singer known for his extraordinary vocal range and for introducing international audiences to mbalax—a Senegalese popular music style that blends Wolof traditional instrumental and vocal forms primarily with Cuban and other Latin American popular genres. He served as Senegal’s minister for culture and tourism (2012–13). N’Dour was raised in a devout Sufi Muslim household by a mother who was of Tukulor descent and a carrier of the bardic griot tradition and a father who was Serer. Like most other residents of Dakar since the mid-20th century, however, N’Dour grew up culturally and linguistically Wolof. N’Dour’s impressive vocal range quickly propelled him to prominence within the Star Band, and in 1977 he and several other band members left the group to form Étoile de Dakar. After some personnel changes in the early 1980s, Étoile de Dakar was renamed Super Étoile de Dakar.
List Of Music Genres In Africa There's more to African music than it just being "African"! Music genres are plentiful on this continent. Here's a short list of just a few of them: AfrobeatFela Kuti created Afrobeat by fusing traditional Nigerian music, jazz and highlife. ApalaApala is a percussion-based style of the Muslim Yoruba people in Nigeria, West Africa. AssikoAssiko is a rhythmic dance from Cameroon. BikutsiThis dance music developped from the traditional music of the Beti in Cameroon. Benga musicPopular music in Kenya. Bongo Flava (Tanzania) Cabo-Love (Cape Verde) Chimurenga musicPopular style from Zimbabwe. Coladeira (Cape Verde) Coupé-DecaléPop music from the Ivory Coast/France with danceable percussion and deep bass. Desert BluesThe people living in the Sahara desert have been making blues music long before it got famous in the West. FujiPopular music genre from Nigeria, based on traditional Muslim Yoruba music. FunanaMusic style and dance from Cape Verde based on the accordeon. Gbema (Liberia) Hipco (Liberia)
Why West Africa's pidgins deserve full recognition as official languages The BBC World Service’s radio service of English-based Pidgin for West and Central Africa, BBC News Pidgin, is now a year old. And it’s thriving. According to the broadcaster it News Pidgin reaches a weekly audience of 7.5 million people in Nigeria and around the world on radio, online, Facebook and Instagram. Even though Pidgin hasn’t got the official status of a recognised language anywhere, it’s widely spoken across West Africa. Today, variations of pidgins are used in all spheres of life ranging from political campaigns, television and radio broadcast. Pidgin refers to what’s known as a trade language that emerged as a mixture of languages to help people who don’t have a common one to communicate with one another. Pidgin is used differently in different settings. The BBC’s decision to launch a service in Pidgin should be applauded. The history Trade and colonisation brought pidgin to West Africa. Some, if not all, of these pidgins have outgrown their status as pidgins.
Aux Trans Musicales, le rock dans tous ses états Les guitares ont parlé hier soir aux Trans Musicales. Plutôt discret lors des deux premières soirées d’un festival marqué jusque lors par la force des voix et la richesse des collectifs, le rock a tenu son rang samedi soir au Parc des expositions grâce à l’alignement de plusieurs groupes qui ont soudainement fait passer le volume dans le rouge. En forme de potion de jouvence pour fêter leurs 40 ans, les Trans ont ainsi misé avec succès sur la jeunesse de la petite bande new-yorkaise de Bodega. S’ils n’avaient que leur charisme pour eux, ces vingtenaires de Brooklyn feraient déjà un malheur rien qu’avec leur sex-appeal et leurs regards perçants. Al Qasar le 08 décembre à Rennes | RF / Chantepie Un peu plus tard au même endroit, c’est le combo Psychotic Monks qui a fait détonner ses déflagrations noisy dans une ambiance de plus en plus stridente. Arp Frique le 08 décembre aux Trans Musicales | RF / Schnee Nihiloxica le 09 décembre aux Trans Musicales | RF / Chantepie
African music History It is widely acknowledged that African music has undergone frequent and decisive changes throughout the centuries. What is termed traditional music today is probably very different from African music in former times. The material sources for the study of African music history include archaeological and other objects, pictorial sources (rock paintings, petroglyphs, book illustrations, drawings, paintings), oral historical sources, written sources (travelers’ accounts, field notes, inscriptions in Arabic and in African and European languages), musical notations, sound recordings, photographs and motion pictures, and videotape. In ancient times the musical cultures of sub-Saharan Africa extended into North Africa. Get unlimited access to all of Britannica’s trusted content. The cultures of the “Green Sahara” left behind a vast gallery of iconographic documents in the form of rock paintings, among which are some of the earliest internal sources on African music. Musical instruments