CUL - Main Content

An annotated list featuring links to videos, via YouTube.com.

In English or French. Current news, interviews, lyrics, multi-media files, and promotional information on the latest artists and their work in African 'hip hop' culture. 'This web site, originally called 'Rumba-Kali' was initiated in February 1997 as a platform for information and discussion on hip hop from the African continent.'   
--See also: Hip Hop and Popular Culture in Africa below

This archived site offers information (with image, sound, and video files) on the musical traditions of the Ewe of Ghana, and of other West African societies. There are also descriptions of programs at UC--Berkeley.

"...founded in 1991, contains a collection of modern African music which is unique in Germany. It includes shellacs and vinyl-records, audio- and videotapes, CD’s and DVD’s."

A small library of discographies for musical stars and bands from Nigeria and Senegal.

The site includes links to publications or recordings on sale, announcements about educational programs, events, a newsletter, The Voice of African Music, and related links. "[Formerly 'The St. Louis African Chorus']...was founded to foster a better understanding of Africa's cultures through the musical arts...begun in 1994."

"Afropop Worldwide is PRI Public Radio International's weekly series showcasing the contemporary musical cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora in the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe. Hosted by international broadcast personality Georges Collinet from Cameroon.." This site offers information about the radio program; Afropop-sponsored events and trips; and, general information about the music of Africa and the African diaspora.

"...a media project dedicated to the idea that music is a key to understanding everything...Hip Deep has been created and maintained with major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities...you can access the entire archive of Hip Deep radio programs, and read interviews and narratives...discographies, images, videos, and links to music and other resources."

A personal "blog" celebrating a wide variety of rare and lesser-known music recordings from Africa by an American collector. The site features free downloads (MP3 format) of selected tracks.

Un site en français, en anglais, ou en tamazight-- qui célèbre les artistes dans le domaine de la musique amazighe de l'Afrique du Nord. Le site comprend un répertoire des musiciens avec une entrée biographique pour chaque artiste et une petite sélection des fichiers vidéos et sonores.

An extensive archive of discographies (without audio samples) on African musical artists from all over the continent -- in English or in French. This site includes information about festivals, CD reviews, links to artists' websites, and monthly updates on new releases!

The official web site --in English, Dutch, or in French-- for a new international opera in two acts with music composed by Zé Manel. Wasis Diop is the artistic director and wrote the libretto with Koulsy Lamko. The opera, sung in Bambara, Malinké and Wolof, premiered in Bamako, Mali, in February 2007, performed in May 2007 in Amsterdam, in Paris in October 2007, and in Palermo in 2018.
--See also: Excerpt: Act 1 of "European premiere" (2007) (Mali Buzz TV, 2014; via YouTube.com)

General information about the center, its director -- John Gray, and related links. "Founded in 1989, the Black Arts Research Center is an archival resource center dedicated to the documentation, preservation and dissemination of the African cultural legacy. Resources include some 2300 recordings, cassettes and videotapes, 1300 books and journals, 500 clippings files and a bibliographic database with more than 50,000 entries. These materials now offer one of the richest resources ever on the Black presence in the performing arts."

"A reference guide for finding recordings, music, and information on classical music written by black composers."

John Collins, the renowned scholar of Ghanaian highlife and other forms of West African popular music, edits this site which features downloadable articles and books in PDF format and music clips in MP3 format. There is also details about the BAPMAF music archive first established in 1990.

This blog site features music videos and news about trends in Tanzanian hip-hop music and other forms of contemporary East African youth music with Swahili lyrics.

The home page of the 98.4 FM radio station in Nairobi, with weekly pop music charts in East Africa, programme schedule, and other general information on the contemporary cultural scene in Nairobi.

"Established in 1983 ...the CBMR holds collections that highlight the role of black music in world culture with materials originating or representing black music in the United States, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean."

The home page of a Boston-based American "world music ensemble" lead by kora player David Gilden ; plus related links on the kora, educational programs, and concerts.
-- See also: Selected Kora Masters on the Internet

Duggy Tee est un co-fondateur du groupe rap sénégalais très célèbre "Positive Black Soul".
Veuillez voir aussi: Didier Awadi ci-dessus.

Articles and discographies on the popular music of Kenya, Tanzania, and the Congo. The author of this site is a cultural anthropologist, who also has a radio program in the Seattle area.

This is an "About the Artist" web page, with a link to a full length video of the "International Refugee Day" performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Sur ce site officiel du festival, on peut trouver les informations les plus utiles à propos de cet événement annuel. De plus, on peut lire des petites lectures générales sur quelques artistes qui ont donné des représentations au festival dans le passé.

Sous le thème "Economie créative : perspectives en Afrique = Strengthening the Pan African Creative Industries Through Entrepreneurship". Cette biennale panafricaine, a été créée en février 1998, lors de la 67e session des ministres de l'OUA.

"The Global Music Archive is a multi-media archive and resource center for traditional and popular song, music, and dance of Africa and North and South America, with particular emphasis on the African Diaspora." The web site features a searchable database of the holdings of the digital collection of "East African recordings" (mostly Ugandan), streaming access to the recordings, a short bibliography, and a few related paper presentations.  The archive has an on-going collection-fieldwork component in Uganda--"under the direction of Mr. Centurio Balikoowa, one of East Africa's most respected musicians of traditional Ugandan musical performance."
--See also: Papers

A Masters' thesis project on the history and cultural traditions of the Gnawa, with maps and suggested readings in print and on the web.

"The blog [and podcast series] is currently being maintained and updated by students in the Hip Hop and Popular Culture in Africa course in the African Studies Department at Howard University. We also host a monthly podcast on social issues and hip hop. That podcast features interviews and music from around Africa."
--See especially: Podcasts (iTunes format)

The site includes information about research and teaching programs, related links, and publications--including: African music journal. (Online), 1954-2008."Founded in 1954 by Hugh Tracey, ILAM is the greatest repository of African music in the world. A research institution devoted to the study of music and oral arts in Africa, it preserves thousands of historical recordings going back to 1929 and supports contemporary fieldwork."

An extensive collection of texts, bibliographies, and links to information about the history, cultures, and "traditional" music of up to 32 different cultural groups ("tribes") in Kenya, with a clickable map and audio files (excerpted from cassette tapes recorded or purchased in the country during 1998-99). The author is a traveller, photographer, and author.

This site features an extensive library of lyrics of Kenyan popular contemporary music (in English, Kiswahili, Sheng dialect, and other African languages--many with English translations), music industry news, blog section, biographies of Kenyan musical artists, and links to audio and video clips.

A blog site --in German and in English-- offering commentary, web links, and a selection of audio files of contemporary music from Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan, with brief descriptions, a bibliography on the literature about music from the Horn of Africa.

A commercial site offering a catalog of African instruments, with useful illustrations and sound files.

Official web site of the very popular South African reggae music artist, with biography, discography, videography, song lyrics, press cuttings, and a few short audio files.

Part of a larger collection: Références sur la Musique de Madagascar / References on Malagasy Music: an extensive bibliography compiled by the same authors.

A directory of information about the bala or balafon, musicians, and related Mande cultural history.

Le site offre les renseignements les plus utiles sur les artistes et les groupes centrafricains, plusieurs résumés de l'histoire des musiques traditionelles et contemporaines, les dates concerts et soirées, etc. "Maziki.Net créé en septembre 2003 est un site désormais consacré à la promotion de la Musique Centrafricaine sous toutes ses formes. 'Maziki, mozoko'ou encore 'N'gombi'en la ngue nationale de Centrafrique le 'Sango', veut dire tout simplement Musique."

A portal for African music news and commentary--in English or in French. The site consists of: "a Directory section (of musicians, institutions, record labels etc); a Magazine section (featuring dynamic content such as news, overviews of African music scenes, feature articles, reviews etc); an Education section (dedicated for educational content); a Resource section (where one can read and learn more); and a Music Discovery tool that allows users to discover and listen to African music."

This website features popular music industry news, photographs, music reviews, and related links for Uganda and Africa in general.

A collection of audio files and brief texts on "Highlife" and "Soukous" styles of music from West Africa; plus links to other African music sites--including the "African Music Webring" and a short list of recommended books. The "pages" are part of a larger collection on Jazz and other forms of music of interest to the webmaster, a Scottish-born musician.

"A digital media platform" featuring current and recent news on the latest trends in African music, art, film, literature, and politics, as well as interviews and reports on African artists in the USA and elsewhere in the diaspora.

An open access, web documentary site --in French and some English-- featuring videos of over 50 interviews with participants in the 4 key international pan-African festivals in Africa during the period 1966-1977: FESMAN--First World Festival of Negro Arts (Dakar, 1966); PANAF--First Pan-African Cultural Festival (Algiers, 1969); Festival Zaïre 74 (Kinshasa, 1974) ; and FESTAC--Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (Lagos, 1977).

A commercial site with catalog of selected African music artists, organized by genre or country, downloads of excerpts from albums, and order information; plus free 24/7 Internet Radio.

"Founded by Chimurenga in collaboration with musician and composer Neo Muyanga in 2008, the Pan African Space Station (PASS) is a periodic, pop-up live radio studio; a performance and exhibition space; a research platform and living archive, as well as an ongoing, internet based radio station."
--See especially: PASS Blog -and- PASS Radio Archive --via M-X Cloud

A blog essay on "sabar" drumming and dancing in Senegal, West Africa, with photos and links to videos and other web sites.

"...a visual archive of rare and sometimes unusual South African audio documents as artifacts. The aim of the project is to provide a searchable database as a resource for those researching South African audio history."
--See also, two "sister projects", the blog sites called: flatint -and- Electric Jive

Ce site offre les actualités et les liens sur les divers événements culturels au tour du monde francophone.

Download music files (with RealPlayer) of performances by Sudanese artists: Mohamed Wardi, Ali Ibrahim Allahu, Hussein Shendi, Shar Habil Ahmad, Abidah Al-Sheikh, Hamad Al-Rayah, and others. See also, the Sudan.Net Home Page for a "weekly" music feature.

A promotional web page about the group, with links to audio and video files. "Sunduza in Ndebele means 'let us push'. They come from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Sunduza have been pushing their beautiful scintillating harmonies, percussive rhythms and high energy dances internationally. The productions reflect a wide range of Southern African dance normally displayed in a context to which international audiences can relate. The performances are upbeat and reflect modern and traditional issues in Southern Africa. They are unique. Lead vocalist, choreographer and composer Simon Banda has given their sound a special harmonic difference.

"Music Sheets on Swahili Music Notes are uploaded by registered users from all over [Tanzania]...(and the world)."

[Established in 2002]...the only music school in Zanzibar. The academy preserves, develops and promotes the unique musical heritage of Zanzibar and the Swahili coast."

The site offers current news and opinions about the contemporary music and arts scene in Africa and in the African diaspora; plus three online radio channels.

"...a custom-built interface to digitized radio programs (1966-1996) and the associated scripts (if available)."
--See also: "Leo Sarkasian's Music Time in Africa: U-M Archivist, Anthropologist Revive Popular Voice of America Show, " November 14, 2019. University of Michigan, Office of the Vice President for Communications. (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

"Music Time in Africa is VOA's longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on what's happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music."

"...bringing together diverse artists and audiences and building appreciation for East African music...The 16th edition will take place in Stone Town, Zanzibar from 7th -- 10th February 2019...According to festival director Yusuf Mahmoud the theme for this year’s edition targets to fight corruption because they believe artists can use their voices to fight this vice as they celebrate the wealth and diversity of African music."