#congo drum song

[uutempirenj]

The Mad Mage's Congo Drum. Congo is a chill yet up tempo, versatile piece of music that is safe for any adult occasion. Background music, Freestyling, Cleaning, or just nodding your head and moving your hips to.

[kemetic-dreams]

Long before it arose in New York City and became an influential style of music around the world, salsa music has its seeds in African rhythms and traditions that came to the Caribbean through the slave trade. Centuries of enslavement caused many cultural changes in Cuba, including the music that led to salsa.

Some people know Bobby Day’s 1958 “Rockin’ Robin” or Michael Jackson’s remake but the origin of the song goes back to the days of slavery.

The majority of the Africans that were enslaved and brought to the Americas were of West African descent where the drum was used as a form of communication. In the Americas, enslaved Africans used the drum in the same way — communicating with the enslaved on distant plantations and ultimately planning uprising.

The enslavers caught wind of this and enacted a ban.

It is absolutely necessary to the safety of this Province, that all due care be taken to restrain Negroes from using or keeping of drums, which may call together or give sign or notice to one another of their wicked designs and purposes. — Slave Code of South Carolina, Article 36

That ban went down in 1740 and soon spread throughout Colonial America.

But the beat is in the heart of the African.

We soon found other ways to imitate the sound of the drum; stomping, playing spoons, washboards, or anything other household item. We also “slapped Juba” or played “hambone” where the body became an instrument where the player slaps their thighs and chest for the drum beat. (How did young boys in 1980s Park Hill, Denver know “Hambone?”)

Although we kept the beat, we lost the tradition, a cultural marker snatched away from us.

While the American enslaver worked feverishly to destroy any vestige of African culture, the Spanish enslaver of Cuba felt that it was in his best interest to allow the enslaved African to maintain his culture. In support of that, the Spanish allowed the Africans to organize Cabildos (or social groups) based on their nation of origin. Thus you had the Abakua (or Ekpe) from the nations known as Nigeria and Cameroon, the Madinga (or Malinke) from Sierre Leone, etc.

Our focus is primarily on the Lucumi, the Cabildo founded for the Yoruba of Benin and Nigeria. This lineage would be the cornerstone and origin point for what is now called “Salsa.” And what is this “Salsa?”

When we spoke of the drum being forbidden among the enslaved Africans in America, we forgot to mention that there was one place that didn’t enact that ban. That place was the port city of New Orleans, Louisiana — some even call New Orleans the Northernmost Caribbean city.

Similar in the way that the Spanish allowed for Cabildos in Cuba, the Louisiana enslavers permitted Sundays off and were okay with the dance and celebration so long as the enslaved African did so outside of the city limits in a place called Place des Negres (eventually known as Congo Square).

After the Civil War, Africans in America were able to get a hold of surplus brass instruments and shortly thereafter began composing music based on the popular music in the Caribbean at the time, the Cuban Habanero. Many say that this is one of the foundations of jazz music itself and the basis of the habanero, the tressilo, can be heard in second lines. Self-proclaimed jazz inventor, Jelly Roll Morton had this to say:

Now take the habanero “La Paloma”, which I transformed in New Orleans style. You leave the left hand just the same. The difference comes in the right hand — in the syncopation, which gives it an entirely different color that really changes the color from red to blue. Now in one of my earliest tunes, “New Orleans Blues”, you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can’t manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for jazz. Jelly Roll Morton

Because of those qualities, a young musical prodigy from Cuba, Mario Bauzá recognized the similarities between jazz and Cuban music straightaway. Bauzá fell in love with jazz having heard it on Cuban radio but it was his trip to Harlem, NYC in 1927 that convinced him that New York was where he wanted to be and jazz was the music that he wanted to play.

Bauzá returned to New York in 1930, immediately found work, eventually landing a gig in the Cab Calloway band. Here he brought on the legend in the making, Dizzy Gillespie, and the two became fast friends. Bauzá attempted to play his “native” music to many in the band but they dismissed it as “country” music. Gillespie, on the other hand, embraced it.

For the next eight years Bauzá played in predominately African jazz bands having seen discrimination from white Cubans. Yet he longed to start a group that incorporated the music from his home and his second love, jazz. He shot this idea to his childhood friend/brother-in-law and in 1939 at the Park Palace Ballroom the Machito Afro-Cubans would debut.

“I am Black, which means my roots are in Africa. Why should I be ashamed of that?” Bauzá said in reference to the name.

Bauzá replaced the drum kit, which at that time had only been around for 20 years, with the hard to find congas, timbales, and toms. “The timbales play the bell pattern, the congas play the supportive drum part, and the bongos improvise, simulating a lead drum”. In the 40s these drums could only be found at Simon Jou’s bakery, La Moderna, locally known in East Harlem simply as Simon’s.

Next, the Afro-Cubans needed a home and they would find that not in Harlem nor the Bronx, but instead in Midtown Manhattan, a club called the Palladium.

Salsa is a set of Afro-Caribbean rhythms fused with jazz and other styles. The truth is that its origins have always been much debated, although as a general rule it is mentioned that it comes from a fusion that came from Africa in the Caribbean when they heard European music and wanted to mix it with their drums

These origins focus especially on mambo, danzó, cha cha chá, guaracha and son montuno, later enriched with instruments such as saxophone, trumpet or trombone.

It was the Cuban exiles and those from Puerto Rico who popularized salsa in New York back in the 1950s. But it wasn't until the last third of this century that salsa dancing began to take off all over the world.

Cuba played a leading role in the origin of salsa. Already in the 1930s, melodies and rhythms from Africa were playing on the Caribbean island. Among them was the danzón, a musical piece acquired by the French who had fled Haiti.

History tells us that it was these first rhythms that were then mixed with rumbas such as guagancó and sonero to begin to create their own Afro-Cuban rhythms, including Afro-Cuban jazz, mambo, guaracha, Cuban son and montuno.

The exquisite melody of these new rhythms soon set in other Latin American countries. Puerto Rico and Colombia were the first to welcome these new sounds from the Cuban country.

However, it was not until their appearance in the United States, and more specifically in the Bronx neighborhood of New York, when these rhythms acquired a greater impact. It was the moment in which new musical instruments were added that today form an indissoluble part of salsa.

The great Cuban musicians who moved to New York along with the wave of these new rhythms created the famous tumbadoras, congas or son montuno, and were responsible for introducing trombones and guaracha.

The Origin of the Salsa Dance Steps

Once salsa was defined as a musical genre in the 1970s, the movements and steps of its dance were collected through a fusion of the African with the European.

These steps and movements of salsa fundamentally reflect the influence of the dances that the Africans brought to the Caribbean and the European dances that have been danced in Cuba since the 1930s.

So much so that the basic steps of salsa are precisely the same steps as the Cuban son, just as it also includes steps that can be seen in rumba, danzón and mambo.

The origin of these variants is in the regions where this style comes from, which are the ones that developed each dance, always under the same umbrella of the term salsa.

It is not surprising, then, that salsa is defined as the result of a series of social conditions and the evolution of a series of rhythms and melodies from Cuba, which were developed and achieved repercussion in the United States.

There are those who assure against this mixture that salsa is neither a rhythm nor a style, but rather a term that serves to represent all the music of Afro-Cuban origin that emerged in the first decades of the twentieth century.

In short, the origin of salsa has always been, and will continue to be, much discussed. American musician Tito Puente was right when he said, "Salsa doesn't exist. What they now call salsa is what I have played for many years, and this is mambo, guaracha, cha cha chá and guagancó".

[theunderestimator-2]

Kid Congo Powers (literally) on fire:

here captured by Larry Hardy while playing for the Cramps on July 25th, 1981, at The Roxy Theatre, Hollywood, CA, with the Gun Club opening, Kid's hair caught fire during the show.

"If I wanted to make an impression on the hometown crowd, then the show on the second night would not be forgotten in a hurry. Halfway through our set, we’d play Lux and Ivy’s song “I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” which would segue into a version of Dwight Pullen’s “Sunglasses After Dark.” While the audience was hypnotized by an assault of feedback, rhythm, and flashing strobes, Nick Knox would duck down behind his drums to retrieve a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on, and Lux would yank his out of his pants, giving him an opportunity to do one of his favorite things onstage—expose himself. Ivy and I would turn our backs to the audience and walk toward our amps, on top of which we had votive candles and our prop sunglasses. Then we would all turn around again and reveal ourselves, cast in shades. That night, I leaned just a little too far over my amp to fetch my sunglasses. A spark leapt up from the candle onto my hair, and, whooosh, it all went up in flames, igniting the Aqua Net Extra Super Hold hair spray I’d used to make my Ronnie Spector hairdo even more voluminous. The whole outer shell of my hair was now alight, like a flaming wig-hat. Except I didn’t know I was on fire because, one, I couldn’t see the top of my head, and two, I was wearing sunglasses. Girls in the audience started screaming. Wow, this is so great, I thought. Who would know the Cramps would inspire something like Beatlemania in LA? Seconds later, Bradley Field, who was tour-managing for us, put a damper on things by running out from the wings and showering me with beer. Then Nick Knox jumped over his drums and beat me on the head with his sticks. Wait a minute, I thought. Was I playing that badly? What did I do to deserve this? By the time I realized what was happening, the flames had been extinguished. The smell of burnt hair lingered, wafting through the entire venue like a funeral pyre of human flesh. The screaming turned to cheering. Without missing a beat, Lux, great shaman that he was, announced to the audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, the days of miracles have not passed. We present to you Kid Congo . . . the burning bush.” Kid Congo, “Some New Kind of Kick”

(via)

[dustedmagazine]

Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds — That Delicious Vice (In the Red)

That Delicious Vice, or Ese Vicio Delicioso, is the Spanish title for Kid Congo Power’s autobiography (in America, it’s called Some Kind of Kick).  It’s quite a story, as the protagonist moves in and among late 20th century rock and roll’s most illustrious bands—Gun Club which he founded with Jeffrey Pierce, the Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds—and through harrowing periods of addiction. That Delicious Vice, the album, feels like a companion piece, revisiting the colorful characters and milieus of Powers’ life story, with long-time friend and fellow traveler Alice Bag in tow.

The album’s first half is its best half, a rollicking set of surf/rockabilly/garage rock ragers, all tied loosely to Powers’ awakening to gayness, to underground music, to drugs and to a very alternative lifestyle. “Wicked World” rides a spare rocketing beat, the low buzz of keyboards seeping through a spoke-sung chant about life and its dangers.  Both singers, Bag and Powers, have landed on the far side of youth more or less whole, but the song acknowledges that that was not always a given. “This is a wicked, wicked world/and you’re not supposed to be here anymore,” they bark out gleefully, but it sounds like they’re glad to have beat the odds.

Powers’ music is almost primally simple, but the lyrics are wildly impressionist and evocative; he might be a better poet than a tunesmith. You hear this best on the intricate “A Beast, A Priest” with its absurdist imagery, knitted together by strong internal rhymes and inherent rhythms. “A beast, a priest, these are the things we need the least,” he sputters, as the bass bumps and the whammied chords fly, and the words have their own music.

The best cut, though, comes almost exactly halfway through in the semi-title track, “Ese Vicio Delicioso,” a raucous, mambo-drummed, drunken sing-along about walking through the rock-and-roll portal into another world entirely. “By the age of three, I knew what I wanted to be, a record spinning round, all over town,” Powers declares. Here’s to knowing what you want early—and going for it.

After that, things get slow and weird and, honestly, a little dull, though there are spooky, mystical, reverb shrouded moments in “The Smoke Is the Ghost,” which drifts through a possibly haunted house to the sound of latin claves, surf guitar licks and another singer (Bag?) shadowing Powers’ narrative in Spanish. “The Murder of Sunrise” is similarly ghostly, but much longer, exploring floating textures of gothic surf for nearly 18 minutes. It’s so lengthy and eventless that you wonder if Powers just had tape to fill and kept going until it was used up.

Still any new material from Kid Congo Powers is worth celebrating. Like many of our older relatives, he goes on for a little too long sometimes but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have plenty to say.

Jennifer Kelly

[rustbeltjessie]

God, that EP. It is, to me, near-perfect. It’s so garagey, raw and beautiful, with poetic, narrative lyrics. There’s a definite post-punk Kid Congo Powers-era Bad Seeds vibe, but it also harks back to older, bluesier, Rolling Stones-ier rock’n’roll. Starts out with “The Search for Cherry Red” (from the lyrics of which come the EP’s title); there’s that drone of the organ, the angular yank of the guitar, boom-shatter drums, mesmeric noise, and here comes Stewart Lupton’s voice: by turns breathy-raspy, then so down-low-deep you don’t so much hear it as feel it in your guts. —from "The Search for Cherry Red"

My most recent Substack is the first installment of These Fucking Songs, a new series I'm starting. Each installment will be about music I have loved for a long time. Some will be about one specific song, others about an album, and still others will be about a band or artist’s entire discography. This installment is about Jonathan Fire*Eater.

[burlveneer-music]

Witch - Waile - a new single from Zamrock legends (2 original members + a band of Europeans from Mauskovic Dance Band, Whitefield Brothers, & L’Eclair)

“Waile” is WITCH’s first original material since 1984, as well as the band’s first release with co-founder and vocalist Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda since 1977. "Waile" is built on a xylophone groove, with feverish bass, storm-cloud fuzz and funk guitars conjured around it. The track marauds through percussive rhythms into guitar solos and heavy snare fills, with powerful female choral refrains shifting the mood from triumph to anguish. Jagari’s lyrics touch on the struggles entwined in the histories of migrants in Zambia, Angola, the Congo and other nearby countries: “there’s a lot of death, sickness, poverty, and misery,” he says. “The song is lamenting that pitiful situation, that’s the Waile — it’s a word in the Lunda and Luvale language.” “'Waile' was one of the songs that I brought to the WITCH when I joined in 1978,” continues keys genius Patrick Mwondela. “While it was played live often back in the day, it was never recorded until the new formation of the band picked it up 43 years later during a rehearsal on an island in Kenya, where the band embraced it and made it their own. A few months after that, they gave it a new lease of life by recording it in Lusaka’s legendary dB Studios (site of the original WITCH 70s recordings). Sang in my native language Luvale, the subject matter is a nostalgic wailing for home of ancient African tribes that would eventually settle in Zambia." WITCH: Jagari Chanda – Vocals Patrick Mwondela – Keys & Synths Jacco Gardner – Bass & Synths Nico Mauskoviç – Drums & Percussion Stefan Lilov – Guitar JJ Whitefield – Guitar Featuring: Theresa N'Gambi - Backing vocals Hanna Tembo - Backing vocals Recorded live to tape at DB Studios which was equipped with the same machinery that recorded Lazy Bones in 1975 and brought back to life for the occasion for the first time in decades by Zamrock Engineer Peter Musungilo and his trusted partner Michael Linyama.

[carolinafish]

My song was Lament for the Congo. As I was listening to the song, I realized I was drawing a scene. At first I was drawing a bunch of colors flowing into each other, then made it into a dress, then the dress turned into a person. I made the song into a person, I guess because whenever I draw, I typically draw people. The song sounded as if it was mysterious but also it draws you in due to that mystery. And the lines around the person represent the drum beat, where I drew long lines and dots.

[tvstool]

Album Name Generator

Afro Hip Pop Trap Rock Jazz Blues Pop Country Reggae Generate Album Names Copy Selected Clear Selection Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Use our album name generator to come up with a name for your record that will entice listeners to hear your songs immediately. An online tool that can give you the newest and most beautiful album names is an album name generator.Any genre of music album, including AFRO TO HIP POP, TRAP, REGGAE, and others, can be produced by this tool.

How is this tool to be used?

This is a basic tool. With this tool, even an 8-year-old can come up with the best names; all you need to do is tell it how many album names you want it to provide. Hip-Hop Albums- The Urban Chronicles - Street Symphony - Rhyme and Reason - Beats and Bars - Urban Legends - Mic Check - The Concrete Jungle - East Coast Echoes - West Coast Waves - Southern Swagger - The Golden Era - Underground Vibes - Lyrical Legacy - The Cypher Sessions - Rap Renaissance - Flow Dynamics - Hip-Hop Hymns - The Beat Laboratory - The Game Changer - True to the Streets ... (and so on, up to 200) - African Rhythms - Afrobeats Evolution - Lagos Grooves - Naija Vibes - Afro Fusion - African Pulse - Sahara Sounds - Afro Harmony - Tribal Beats - African Dream - The Afropolitan - Drum Circle - African Spirit - Sahara Soul - Congo Rhythms - Afrobeat Odyssey - West African Waves - East African Echoes - Afrobeat Anthems - Melodies of Africa ... (and so on, up to 200) - Country Roads - Honky Tonk Heartache - Nashville Nights - Southern Stories - Rodeo Rhythms - Hillbilly Highways - Cowboy Chronicles - Bluegrass Bliss - Twang and Twirl - Heartland Harmony - Western Whispers - Country Classics - Backwoods Ballads - Country Comfort - Barnyard Ballads - Lone Star Legends - Appalachian Anthems - Fiddle and Steel - Country Carousel - Prairie Tales ... (and so on, up to 200) - Delta Blues - Chicago Soul - Electric Blues - Blues Revival - Memphis Groove - Texas Blues - Blues Legends - Soulful Serenade - Blues Chronicles - Midnight Blues - Blues Highway - Jazz and Blues - Blues Ballads - Louisiana Blues - Slide Guitar Stories - Piedmont Blues - St. Louis Blues - Harmonica Heaven - Chicago Blues Revisited - Blues Fusion ... (and so on, up to 200) - Trap Tunes - Urban Trap - Trap Evolution - Atlanta Vibes - Trap City - Hood Chronicles - Trap Kings - Southern Trap - Trap Symphony - Bass Boosted - Trap Legends - Street Trap - Trap Essentials - 808s and Heartbreaks - Trap Dynasty - Dark Trap - Trap Anthems - Ratchet Rhythms - Trap Dreams - Trap Fusion ... (and so on, up to 200) - Smooth Jazz Sessions - Bebop Brilliance - Swing City - Jazz Fusion - Saxophone Serenade - New Orleans Notes - Cool Jazz Chronicles - Jazz Standards - Piano Jazz Journeys - Latin Jazz Legends ... (and so on, up to 50) - Classic Rock Chronicles - Alternative Anthems - Hard Rock Heroes - Psychedelic Dreams - Indie Inspirations - Progressive Pulse - Punk Revolution - Grunge Grooves - Rock Ballads - Stadium Anthems ... (and so on, up to 50) - Pop Perfection - Bubblegum Beats - Electro Pop Echoes - Dancefloor Divas - Synth Pop Sensations - Radio Ready - Billboard Buzz - Teen Pop Triumphs - Pop Pioneers - Global Pop Grooves ... (and so on, up to 50) - Ambient Atmospheres - Techno Tunes - House Harmonies - Trance Transcendence - Dubstep Dynamics - Drum and Bass Drifts - Synthwave Surges - Chillwave Chronicles - Electro Essentials - IDM Inventions Read the full article

[reasoningdaily]

Enox J. Rios became an Iyawo this past April. And so for a year and seven days he must only dress in white. He is to eat all his meals on the floor. He is forbidden from looking into a mirror and cannot be outside after dark. He’s also not allowed to make any physical contact with the uninitiated. That means no handshakes.

As Yawo, Rios is a newly ordained priest of an ancient diaspora religion brought to Cuba by Congolese slaves. From Cuba it spread throughout the Caribbean, to the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, and later to the US. It’s called Palo Mayombe, and its dark rituals involving human and animal remains and even grave robbing, is practiced in extreme secrecy. Like another Afro-Caribbean religion, Santeria, thousands of Latino New Yorkers are adherents of this syncretic faith which involves ritual dance, song, and drumming.

Botanica Babalu in the Bronx. Photo by Neil Giardino.

Rios is the owner of Botanica Babalu, a folk medicine shop in the Bronx that sells spiritual herbs, candles, and statues of saints. It’s a one-stop for Palo accessories including medicinal plants for aura cleansing. “This is a place I like to think of for healing and guidance,” he said.

As a palero, Enox said he has been ordained or “crowned” ocha. This means that an Orisha, or holy being of his faith, is aligned with his inner head. In essence, it gives him the ability to act as a spiritual medium.

“It’s very dark. Very draining. But if it’s used for the betterment of the people and for protection, it is amazing,” said Rios.

The spirits that paleros are in contact with are both ancestral and of the natural world. Worship for paleros like Rios centers on communication with these deities by using iron or clay pots called ngangas. The nganga is to a palero what an alter is to a Catholic priest. Palo means stick in Spanish. And that’s what goes into the pot along with earth and bones. But that’s not all that goes into a gnanga.

“You want the spirit to keep you safe from a gun, to keep you safe from a machete, from a blade, somebody pulling out a blade on you. So we implement all those things in the pot,” explains Rios.

Palo faithful believe that a spirit of the dead also lives inside. The spirits of Palo communicate through ordained mediums like Rios. Earthly items like guns or knives help the palero channel these spirits and summon protection from them. Clients pass through his doors seeking spiritual cleansing. He offers spiritual baths with medicinal herbs. Rios claims his prices are lower than other botanicas. “I’m here to give back. I remember having cancer, looking for some kind of positivity, some kind of light, some kind of hope to keep me going. And so that’s what I try to do.”

One patron needs a blessing before a job interview. Another isn’t coping with a death in the family. Some are trying to keep their marital vows sacred. Requests to keep husbands or wives faithful are common. Rios said instead he focuses on light and healing. But he explains that some paleros not only overcharge in times of crisis, but also use the spirits in their ngangas recklessly, to harm or worse.

A scale for medicinal herbs is hung above a holy statue at Botanica Babalu. Photo by Neil Giardino.

“You can kill with a nganga. That’s how dark it is. It’s like a dog. Somebody comes into your back yard and your dog is trained. If that dog gets loose, who knows what you’re going to be in by the time they get the dog off of you,” he said.

Palo is almost always linked to Santeria. And ritual music and dance is fundamental to both. There is one main distinction: Santeria comes from the Yoruba people from Nigeria and Palo Mayombe comes from the Congo. Since Congolese slaves were brought to the Caribbean much earlier than the Yoruba, it’s harder to trace their music and culture directly back to Africa. In other words, Palo’s African origins are darker and more mysterious.

Peter Manuel is a professor in the department of Art and Music at John Jay College who has written extensively about music of the Caribbean. “Palo songs have some Congolese words in them, but mixed with a lot of Spanish. It’s just more syncretic and more acculturated,” he said. Manuel added that although the often feverish dance, pounding drums, and call and response incantations of Santeria and Palo are similar, tracing Santeria to the Yoruba is much easier because these Nigerian slaves were brought to the Caribbean as late as the 19th century. That direct line between Palo and the Congo is much more indistinct.

One similarity in both Palo and Santeria is ritual sacrifice. Every so often news about sacrifice of animals makes headlines in Greater New York City. When asked about this, Enox J. Rios is unequivocal. “This is an Afro-Caribbean religion and it’s one of the oldest religions. This is the way it’s been done. It’s tradition. But there’s room for growth.” he said.

And as an initiated Yawo of Palo Mayombe, Rios will now embark on his year and seven days of austerity as an ordained palero. He acknowledges the darkness of his religion, but says he’ll continue to use it for the sake of wellness and healing.

“There is bad and there is good in everything. Palo is heavy but at Botanica Babalu it’s used for love, stability, and everything that is positive.”

[tunezpop]

Tunezpop Features Naija Music: Celebrating the Vibrant Sounds of Nigeria

Nigeria, known for its rich cultural heritage and diverse musical landscape, has produced some of the most influential and talented musicians in Africa. At the forefront of this musical revolution is Tunezpop, a platform dedicated to showcasing the best of Naija music to a global audience.

Tunezpop has quickly become a go-to destination for music lovers seeking the latest and greatest tunes from Nigeria. With its finger on the pulse of the Naija music scene, Tunezpop features a curated selection of tracks that span the spectrum of genres, from Afrobeat and Naija Pop to Nigerian Hip Hop and Afropop.

One of the standout features of Tunezpop is its commitment to promoting emerging Naija artists. Through its platform, up-and-coming musicians have the opportunity to showcase their talents to a wide audience and connect with fans from around the world. This dedication to supporting local talent has helped Tunezpop become a breeding ground for the next generation of Nigerian music superstars.

In addition to its focus on emerging artists, Tunezpop also pays homage to the legends of Naija music. From the iconic sounds of Nigerian Highlife to the infectious rhythms of Naija Reggae and Nigerian Dancehall, Tunezpop celebrates the rich history of Nigerian music and its impact on the global music scene.

But Tunezpop is more than just a music platform; it's a cultural hub where fans can immerse themselves in the sounds and stories of Nigeria. Through its in-depth interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive content, Tunezpop offers a glimpse into the lives of the artists shaping the Naija music landscape.

In conclusion, Tunezpop is not just a platform for Naija music; it's a celebration of Nigerian culture and a testament to the power of music to unite people from all walks of life. Whether you're a die-hard fan of Nigerian music or just discovering the sounds of Naija, Tunezpop is the ultimate destination for all things Naija music.

Top African Musicians That Tunezpop Features:

Here are 20 African musicians whose songs, lyrics, albums, and DJ mixes are featured on Tunezpop:

Burna Boy (Nigeria)

Wizkid (Nigeria)

Davido (Nigeria)

Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)

Yemi Alade (Nigeria)

Olamide (Nigeria)

Nasty C (South Africa)

Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania)

Sauti Sol (Kenya)

Stonebwoy (Ghana)

Fally Ipupa (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Sarkodie (Ghana)

AKA (South Africa)

Femi Kuti (Nigeria)

Patoranking (Nigeria)

Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania)

Tekno (Nigeria)

M.anifest (Ghana)

Harmonize (Tanzania)

Teni (Nigeria)

These artists represent the diverse and vibrant music scene across Africa, and their music can be enjoyed on Tunezpop, along with their lyrics, albums, and DJ mixes.

Nigerian Trending Music on Tunezpop:

"Rock" by Olamide

"Cash App" by Bella Shmurda ft. Zlatan & Lincoln

"Kilometre" by Burna Boy

"History" by Cheque ft. Fireboy DML

"Zoom" by Cheque

"Maserati" by Olakira

"Focus" by Joeboy

"Highway" by DJ Kaywise ft. Phyno

"Godly" by Omah Lay

"Majesty" by Peruzzi

"Essence" by Wizkid ft. Tems

"Ginger" by Burna Boy ft. Wizkid

"Feeling" by LadiPoe ft. Buju

"Loading" by Olamide ft. Bad Boy Timz

"Infinity" by Olamide ft. Omah Lay

"Rush" by Bella Shmurda

"For You" by Teni ft. Davido

"Koroba" by Tiwa Savage

"Pronto" by Ajebo Hustlers ft. Omah Lay

"Bounce" by Ruger

South African Trending Songs on Tunezpop:

"Jerusalema" by Master KG ft. Nomcebo Zikode

"Love Nwantiti (South African Remix)" by CKay ft. Gemini Major, Tshego

"Sponono" by Kabza De Small ft. Wizkid, Burna Boy, Cassper Nyovest, Madumane

"John Wick" by De Mthuda & Njelic

"Mapara" by Mapara A Jazz ft. Ntosh Gazi, Calona

"Umsebenzi Wethu" by Busta 929 & Mpura ft. Zuma, Mr JazziQ, Lady Du, Reece Madlisa

"Ke Star" by Focalistic ft. Vigro Deep

"My Dali" by TNS ft. Indlovukazi

"Ilog Drum" by Daliwonga ft. DJ Maphorisa, Kabza De Small

"Ngwanona" by MFR Souls ft. Sha Sha, Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa

Tunezpop offers a comprehensive music experience, providing free online music downloads, music tips, lyrics, songs, music videos, and albums.

[blackwomanvibes]

In-Depth Travel Review| New Orleans (Nola)| Episode4|BlackWomanVibes

#Nola #NewOrleans #Travelvlog In-Depth Travel Review| New Orleans (Nola) Review| Episode4|BlackWomanVibes 

The footage from this 7-episode series is from my New Orleans (Nola) travel vacation from Nov 23 2023 to Nov 28 2023. The commentary and opinions from these videos are my own. 

 Episode four I take y’all to the 300+ year old African Drum Circle at Congo Square! This tradition began with enslaved Africans during the colonial period under the Black Codes. This tradition continues every Sunday as a method of cultural-heritage connectivity, communing, ancestor worship and artistic expression. I then refreshen for a night out at the jazzy Blue Nile! I emerged myself in some Nola live Jazz performed by The Soul Rebels! You know you’re good when you can play Juvenile’s Back That Ass Up to a funky jazzy beat! Lastly, I had to fill my watermelon margarita stomach up with Willie’s Chicken Shack! One chicken meal from Willie's will sweep up any loyalty from Chick Fil A, Wendy’s, Popeyes, Burger King and the infamous mediocre McDonald’s. Cap NOT detected. Comeback for episode 5 next week and complete the 7-episode series! 

P.S. Please check out all these artists whose songs are featured in these episodes. They are deadass the soundtrack to my life! Like the content? 

Support the content creator cashapp: $BlackWomanVibes 

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#asexual #asexuality #Nola #NewOrleans #Travelvlog #travelblog #travelreview #cajun #louisiana #DrumCircle #FrenchQuarter #WilliesChickenShack #solotravel #solotraveler

[theindyreview]

Check This: Kiazi Malonga - MFIAWUKIRI

Check This: @KiaziMalonga - Mfiawukiri Oakland-based #Congolese drummer's latest single is a jubilant tribute to the important people in his life @RedtoneRecords #KiaziMalonga #congolesedrumming #drumming #afropop #afrobeat #congo #dance

Artist: Kiazi Malonga Song: “Mfiawukiri” Album: Zu Dia Ngoma (release TBD) Label: Redtone Records Genre: Congolese Drumming, Afropop Since the age of six, Oakland-based Congolese drummer Kiazi Malonga has been deeply-rooted in drumming and dance. He joined his father’s Fua Dia Congo Performing Arts Company, beginning a lifetime of learning, performing and teaching. Last year, Malonga…

[neworleans-in-thearts]

The "aura" of Jazz throughout the years

Jazz- the music you think of when you see New Orleans.

Jazz heavily relies on improvisation, highlighted in solos. A person who plays in a jazz band can sound entirely different from another person in a band. Everyone has their style.

You know its jazz if it has a "swing" to it and you hear the "blue" notes. Speaking of instruments, it always sounds like one instrument is responding to another. Having a little conversation.

Jazz artists love to play renditions of songs. A popular song might have like 10 different versions.

Historically, Jazz did gain its popularity in New Orleans and formed as a combination of ragtime, blues, and march bands. Jazz itself has its own versions like traditional, swing, bebop, and cool jazz.

The first recordings of Jazz began in the late 1910s, but its predecessor, ragtime, began in 1817 at the Congo Square as the official place for slaves to play music and dance.

Lets start our journey with Mamie Smith's "Crazy Blues" from 1920.

Ooh I can hear the crackle of the recording. Feels very authentic. I can hear the instruments talking with her. I think I hear the clarinet here, its very high pitched and I'm not used to hearing it in jazz. What a good deep voice she has. She's really looking for that man.

The most traditional you can get with Jazz.

A little bit later, we got this absolute classic. "When the Saints Go Marching In." From 1935.

That man's voice though. Love the gruff and charm to it. He uses a female voice as an instrument. The classic trumpet (solo) is here and it has such nice energy. I love how he says he was happy to have "swung" the song to the audience. The clarinet here makes more sense. This is a iconic set of instruments here.

I feel like I can snap my fingers and "swing" to this song all day.

Now onto a duet from the 1950s!

This man's voice just, wow.

Okay now this is what think of when I picture Jazz. The light piano, the drum tapping with metal brush, the bass violin. Have you heard the Charlie Brown soundtrack? Sounds exactly like this. Pretty sure this is "cool" jazz.

Finally, we get to one of my favorite Jazz songs. From the 1960s.

There goes that clarinet and piano again. A bit more instruments in this song. This has that "big brass jazz band" sound- because its exactly what that means. Big band, lots of brass. It's identified by the rising sounds of the brass instruments, usually heightened at the end.

Lets move into the tech future of the 80s and listen to "All I Need is You" by David Sanborn.

So this is the first Jazz piece so far with no lyrics (Except a few words). People would call this elevator music nowadays. Immediately, I notice a new instrument- synth! That artificial piano with its light airy keys, even the bass sounds very different than previous songs- I think that must be an electric guitar too. Its super airy, and much more higher-pitched than the other songs- its really happy- and feels almost the opposite of cool jazz.

Jazz had been around for so long now. By this time, Jazz had to adapt to keep being relevant. So in response, new technology was used. And man, this fits the 80s so so well.

Lastly, lets finish off by traveling to the 21st century to see what Jazz is today.

Sound quality is astounding. Her vocals shine here. There are still the same instruments: piano, voice, drums, etc. However, this song is a jazz rendition of "Dreams" from Fleetwood Mac. Jazz renditions are popular in the 21st century, since its hard to come up with something completely original in the jazz style. This album "Beautiful Life," won a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Everything in this song is so crisp!

Overall, after listening to all these songs- what was lost and retained in the "aura" of Jazz?

I can say that no instrument has really disappeared over the years. Since there are many styles of Jazz, every style calls for different instruments. The back and both conversations between instruments has been mostly retained. In short, we know there is a thread that ties all Jazz together, so not to loose the "aura" so much that we can't call it Jazz anymore.

What might have been lost is certain styles of Jazz, like the "cool" Jazz style or big brass bands, which we didn't see much in the late 20th century. If people want to hear that style of Jazz, any artist can learn the older Jazz songs and play it, as long as the license to play the song is free.

Jazz has always been about improvision, and yes, this means remediation of Jazz songs is bound to happen. But this helps keep Jazz alive.

Jazz is what you- the artist- make of it.

Thank you, for taking this tour with me!

[gddmgttsu]

Balamb Garden/Ami - Final Fantasy 8

(I was supposed to have a nice picture of the big gay rock from the Eden raids from FFXIV but I'm not subbed :P)

Literally 3 seconds after the reveal of Dawntrail for FFXIV I was inspired to do an arrangement with a more tropical/vacation vibe and at the time, I was just thinking about the Balamb Garden theme from FF8 (which is also Ami that also appears in FFXIV)

I think FF8 has a bunch of favorite specific songs more than let's say 7 or 9 from the PS1. My uncle played this game a lot when I was a kid and the music really stuck with me. Force Your Way is like my favorite boss theme from any Final Fantasy game.

You can imagine my delight when we beat Shadowbringers and immediately get hit with Ryne's Bizzare Adventure in the Empty. Blue fields, Force Your Way, Don't Be Afraid and a few more. However the moment Gaia pops out and helps save Ryne and Ami starts playing in the cutscene after; I just lose my mind.

Anyway, this arrangement was just a tiny experiment because I have come to notice that my arrangements are usually a bit heavy on the drums so I wanted to practice a bit more with using percussion substitutions with congos and a claves. It also just helps give that vacation feeling I want to express.

Please enjoy this little thing I made.

(props to my friend for giving me an idea to use Squall's stupid face as a bit)

[dustedmagazine]

Kid Congo Powers and the Near Death Experience — Live in St. Kilda (In the Red)

Live in St. Kilda by Kid Congo Powers & the Near Death Experience

On November 9th, 2019 — only a few years ago, and yet somehow another era altogether in the context of recent human experience — the irrepressible Kid Congo Powers, equal parts post-punk journeyman, visionary, prankster and icon, performed in the Australian city of St. Kilda, having accepted an invitation from Kim Salmon of veritable Aussie noise institution The Scientists, to celebrate the publication of his autobiography, Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand: Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge. Lacking a sufficient budget to bring his esteemed longtime collaborators the Pink Monkey Birds to the southern hemisphere, Powers was backed on this occasion by the Near Death Experience, veterans of gritty, saturnine acts like Crime and the City Solution and These Immortal Souls, who also happen to be previous tour mates of the Pink Monkey Birds. 

This impromptu collaboration, billed fittingly as Kid Congo Powers & the Near Death Experience, is documented in all of its wanton, ephemeral glory on the delightful live show document, Live in St. Kilda, with impressive clarity and crisp high fidelity. While the recording sometimes feels almost too clean to suit these raw, spirited interpretations of several generations of seminal scuzz rock — including tracks drawn from the Pink Monkey Birds’ and Near Death Experience’s cheeky repertoires, as well as covers encompassing the resoundingly influential oeuvres of Powers’ former bands The Gun Club and The Cramps, and a curatorially-eclectic range of other inspirations — the unctuous, pungent charms of this flamboyant performance nonetheless transcend its sometimes overly streamlined edges.

The songs themselves rollick and grind with garage rock authenticity in the venerable tradition of labels like In the Red and Crypt. In this band’s take on East LA Chicano rock pioneers Thee Midniters’ reimagining of the cheerily morbid children’s campfire song “I Found a Peanut,” Powers’ raucously declamatory vocals surf keyboardist Edwina Preston’s surging Farfisa (?) swells and drummer Clare Moore’s delirious drum fills. It’s a performance that might have mesmerized British Invasion-addled teenyboppers decades ago. The band’s rendition of the Pink Monkey Birds’ “Black Santa” has The Cramps’ brashly confrontational, unapologetically neanderthal snarl, with Preston’s spooky Moog accents and guitarist Harry Howard’s overamplified, indestructible riffs setting a tawdry, psychotronic go-go tone that would make Russ Meyer proud.

“La Llorona” is the Pink Monkey Birds’ retelling of the proto-Gothic Hispanic American legend, in which a woman who drowned her own children in a fit of romantic rage roams the coastline eternally, in a tortured state of unresolved pique. Here and elsewhere, while Powers does have a boisterous set of rock n’ roll pipes, the recording, and perhaps the performance itself, might be more compelling with a bit more murk, and thus, enigma shrouding the vocals. It may be as simple as pushing them further back into the mix. But throughout the record, the band’s atmospherics lend gravitas to the overall effect. Here, it’s the spidery No-Wave guitar lines, snaking out like shivery tendrils.  

Nonetheless, Powers’ endearingly manic singing, and his effervescent stage banter carry the show throughout. He’s a guttersnipe Elvis fronting a kindler, gentler incarnation of AmRep and Sub Pop label mainstays like the late, lamented Dwarves and The Hellacopters, in a performance that evinces, and executes a more expansive range of genre interests, but funnels them exuberantly through the garage idiom, as in the band’s cover of The Shangri-Las’ “Sophisticated Boom Boom,” and the bludgeoning, Dead Moon-invoking fuzztone static of Cramps cover “Garbage Man.” 

Does this music have the literary, lyrical aspirations of the Bad Seeds, or The Gun Club’s heady cultural cross-pollination? No. The set list is appropriate given the festive nature of the event, but it can feel skin deep thematically at times. Here and there, the vocal phrasing is clumsy, the arrangements verge on pastiche. But the band’s spirit cannot be contained, and nor can its capacity to surprise, which seeps periodically through these consummately professional, airtight renditions—like the Kraftwerkian churn that drives Suicide cover “Diamonds, Fur Coats, Champagne,” with its ominous vibraphonic plinks — a film score threatening to careen off the rails. 

And it’s the way the band, and Powers especially, set the interstitial moments off in particular, what Powers has described as a band’s artistic ethos, the distinctive style, the inimitable panache inherent in any larger-than-life rock act, that set this gig apart. Like Powers’ purgative burp, punctuating this one-off combo’s version of the NDE’s own “When He Finds Out.” Or the way he teases out the syllables in a sensuous neo-noir drawl in introducing “Diamonds…,” like a pulp fiction archetype’s incantatory reverie while on a sun-baked tear over a freshly paved two lane blacktop reeking of tar. By the time he refreshingly lampoons the idea of a stagey encore after a swaggering cover of The Gun Club’s “Sex Beat,” we’ve been long since won over.

Must have been a day to remember. 

Michael Wiener