like the moon
Continuing my tradition of posting “director’s cut” versions of the reviews I freelance from time to time, here’s the latest: a review of a recent compilation from Germany’s Outhere records, Ayobaness!, which showcases the rich, vibrant South African house scene. This one was an interesting endeavor, as my editor, Derek, pushed me to foreground a […]
Read More →Since I’m in a syllabus sharing mood, I figured I should finally get around to posting the one I put together in Spring 2008 for a course on “Global Hip-hop.” A series of case studies examining how hip-hop travels outside the US, what it carries with it, and how people adapt its forms to their […]
Read More →Botswana’s Ruff Riddims (now tweeting) have been putting in work lately. Now that the studio is up and running, they’ve been grinding out some promising stuff — a mix of kwaito and kwasa-kwasa, hip-hop and reggae — and they’re starting to reach out, nationally and internationally, to share their work with the wider world. Check […]
Read More →I still haven’t been able to send him those guitars, but Red Pepper has the Ruff Riddims studio up and running (and blogging!) — and it’s not like there aren’t guitars or guitarists in Botswana. Indeed, the first track I’ve heard out of the studio, “Dumelang” by Skeat (pronounced Skee-tee), is an ebullient bit of […]
Read More →altmuslim – Our Obama problem “Muslims have found the perfect candidate, but cannot vocally support him for fear that if they do, they may be the reason he loses. How is that for a wake-up call.” (tags: islam US politricks af-am racism election08 obama) Red Bull Music Academy :: Ready D & Shaheen – Can’t […]
Read More →Message from the Commander in Chief :: Castro Resigns “My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of ‘Reflections by comrade Fidel.’ It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be […]
Read More →Not long ago, w/r/t global gobbledecrunk, I referred to an interview I gave recently to a Brazilian journalist. The journo in question is Camilo Rocha, who doubles as a DJ (& has a fab disco mix over @ Spannered). The piece was just published in Folha de Sao Paolo, apparently Brazil’s biggest newspaper. I don’t […]
Read More →In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the entirety of a Province. In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guilds struck a Map of the Empire whose size was […]
Read More →I tagged a “raï-ggaeton” video over at my linkythinky a while back. A bit o’ chutney-ton, too. Both seemed interesting to me as rather explicit examples of the localization of global pop (and rton in partic), if not terribly compelling as specific things &, yeah, rather steeped in the odor of novelty. That’s not the […]
Read More →Even in the middle (or, at this point, toward the end) of some well-needed Beach Research, I’m happy to note that several dear interlocutors have been continuing the conversations here — and taking them in interesting directions. E.g., Raquel Rivera weighs in on “No Te Veo” herself, making reference to the vivrant discussion about it […]
Read More →On 8/2/07, Sonjah Stanley-Niaah, Dr wrote: And this one, check this out.. I am interested in your analysis of the dance and music… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKxhKhLhlb0 Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Ph.D. Lecturer, Cultural Studies University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Crossroads in Cultural Studies Conference 2008: www.crossroads2008.org Wadabagei: www.lexingtonbooks.com/Journals/wadabagei/Index.shtml To which I replied: This one’s (more) interesting […]
Read More →In a recent issue of the SEM Newsletter (March 2007, to be precise), Phil Bohlman addressed the issue of cultural translation and how it presents a paradox to ethnomusicologists — or perhaps more broadly, to those of us who mediate musical representations in myriad ways (including via links and mp3s): Should we understand our acts […]
Read More →Now that’s some footwurk — &here’s the Chi-town version: jukin over 80s power-ballad refixes —
Read More →them mans make mad money down south, no doubt (esp from a botswana perspective) … but who is this masked mzekezeke ?? bush? bin laden? mandela? tupac? watch and find out — (mp$)
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