AfroPop Radio: Building a bridge of Music Arts and Culture

If you know me or follow me, then you know that I am building a bridge of music, arts and culture between Africa and America. In my travels to Africa and as a seasoned music and broadcast professional, I have found the music of Africa to be vibrant, exciting, innovative and worthy of showcasing here in the states.

I am kind of the Anthony Bourdain of African Music. I see and hear music that is incredibly dope, so I created this podcast to share this awesome music with my peeps around the world. I hope you enjoy it...
Listen to "Afro Pop Radio 1/24/17" on Spreaker.
Afropop Radio is heard each Tuesday Nite at 10pm on the Accelerated Radio Network (www.acceleratedradio.net), You can also get it on demand on various podcasting platforms (spreaker, podomatic, iheart, just to name a few)  (afropopradio.podomatic.com  )

In the meantime, if you'd like to join me on one of my excursions to Africa, just hit me up at Afrop Tours and Travel. My next group is headed to South Africa for the Capetown International Jazz Festival. We'll be announcing another trip for later this year headed to the South Africa Traditional Music Awards....

Thanks for listening and please enjoy Afropop Radio....

Journal of my trip to Zululand for the South African Traditional Music Awards

Its been a bit more than a month, but this is the first time that I have been able to sit down and formally document my last trip to South Africa. I was blessed to be invited to witness the 10th Annual South African Traditional Music Achievement Awards (SATMA). And in all of my sojourns to the beautiful nation of South Africa, this remains one of the most powerful and cultural experiences that I have had. 

I departed Los Angeles aboard the beautiful and elegant Emirates Airlines on a 15 hour marathon flight to Dubai. The Airbus A360 is a huge aircraft that is quite modern classy and even in economy has all of the tech gadgets. The entertainment alone features 200 channels of music, movies, games and the best maps of your flight experience. We flew northeast out of Southern California exiting the North American continent over Northern Canada. The flight took us over Nova Scotia, the tip of Iceland, Sweden, Russia, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and into Dubai. I was so surprised as I perused the in-flight map, because a lot of the cities we flew near were cities, in America were associated with the war on terror. wow...

Some would say, whew 15 hours is a long flight. It is. But with the state of the art entertainment system I was able to pass the time away by viewing selections form the movie menu, and the music menu. I started my entertainment delights with Ant-Man..... *sigh*  So after struggling through nearly half of that film, I changed over to the radio channel which featured several choices of African Music. After all, I was travelling to the Continent. Let me just say that Fela Kuti is one of the most awesome artists in the entire world. Then I saw a section entitled Box Sets. This is where I found Marvin Gaye. And Stevie Wonder. You know I was in heaven. When I selected Stevie, I listened to Music of my Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness First Finale, Songs in the Key of Life, Hotter than July, and A Time to love.... each in its entirety, back to back, chronologically. This made my flight complete Nirvana... 

As I descended into United Arab Emirates airspace, I would see the miles and miles of desert. I could see the magnificent lights of Dubai, A glittering oasis in a sea of desert sand. I would disembark my plane and sit out a 12-hour layover..... As I spent the night in Terminal 1 of the Dubai International Airport, I contemplated my new experience. As big as this place is, I felt a bit confined. I did not receive a hotel voucher so I had to wander about the terminal for half the night before settling in for a bit of sleep in a chair alongside hundreds of like travelers. This airport is huge! and it's a major shopping destination.. The Dubai Duty Free is one of the largest shopping malls in the world and it makes the airport terminal look like a shopping mall. It's a mall with airport gates!

The airport at Dubai is a monstrous location as Dubai is a major hub for all international destination of the east. And as I look around there are all kinds of people from the Afro-Asiatic diaspora. This is the United Arab Emirates so most of the people coming through here are Arab/Muslim. I can't help but reflect how Malcolm X felt when he went on his pilgrimage to Mecca. I've seen Muslims of all races.. Arab, black, black African, what looks to be white, Asian, southeast Asian.. all kinds of people. I'm also struck by the strong African presence in the airport. It is a powerful reminder that there are 54 countries on the continent of Africa and all of those nations are seemingly travelling through his airport.

I see the Muslim women dressed in the traditional head to toe garb, while a lot of these women's husbands are dressed in shorts, sandals and polo shirts.  This is a hodge podge of eastern society. And yes, this is a Muslim nation so I've heard the prayer calls. And I've noticed that just as there are directions to the restrooms, first aid, lost and found, etc., there are signs directing one to the prayer room. Yes. This is Dubai, gateway to the middle east. And now as I sit waiting for the flight to Durban, I grow anxious to see and hear the sights that await me in South Africa.

signs and sights of Dubai Airport

It is an 81/2 hour flight from Dubai to Durban. The flight departs the United Arab Emirates heading south along the eastern coast of Africa. We fly over Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, landing in Durban, a South African coastal city that is the center of the KwaZuluNatal Province - The Kingdom of the Zulus. It was raining and dark when we arrived at the King Shaka International Airport. After passing through customs I was me by mt driver Godfrey, whose African name I learned was Njinji. He took me to the Coastlands Hotel where we had dinner from a diverse buffet menu consisting of chicken, mutton, lamb, fish and steak. The next morning was drizzly but I awoke to a great view of the Durban area. After breakfast, our coordinator Sduzo took us to a mall that adjoined the hotel. Contrary to most American perceptions, South Africa's cities are cosmopolitan or Afropolitan as they call it. In my immediate area, we have KFC - yes. A Harley Davidson dealership and the Gatewood Mall. This mall features all the top designer stores and it makes you pinch yourself because the only indicator that we are still in Africa is the amount of black people and the languages spoken. The mall was very nice, we walked around a bit before meeting our police detail who would escort us throughout the rest of the trip. After all we were part of a delegation that featured Dr. Sarah Obama, the grandmother of President Obama.

We piled into the official vehicles and with sirens and lights blazing, we rolled onto the freeway headed to the center of Zululand. It was a two and a half hour drive to our destination which was in the town of Richards Bay, home of one of the world

patio area and honesty bar of Umhambi Lodge

s largest harbors. Once we hit town, the police escorted us to the beach. It was a hot day and understandably the beach was crowded. Our lodging was located about one mile from the waves in a charming bed and breakfast that had we cabins and an honesty bar. Yes, one goes to the bar and gets his own beer or wine, writes it in a book and settles up upon check out. Amazing!

We were taken to North Coast Radio - a community based station which broadcasts in Zulu and boasts a very active and responsive listener audience of about 150,000 in the immediate area. I say active because there were a few listeners standing outside when we emerged from the studio waiting to get a glimpse of these African Americans. We walked the adjoining shopping center to get a bite of lunch from Nando's, a restaurant chain that features chicken much like our own El Pollo Loco. From there we rushed to the University of Zululand which was the site for the SATMA Awards weekend.

I must admit that I was not ready for what we witnessed as we hit the red carpet for the opening night pre-show. We were greeted by thousands of screaming fans who chanted, screamed and even rushed our policed secured vehicles. It was impressive to see the love that the Zulus have for the Obamas - and us. It was overwhelming to hear and see that they were ecstatic that we were there.

opening choir breaks out in Nay Nay

At the pre-show, we were escorted to the fist row of the venue. The show was a mix of award presentations that would not make the national television broadcast and a comedy show. This was a first in my life.. I sat in a two and a half hour comedy show by some of South Africa's top comedians.... and didn't understand a WORD of what was happening. Meanwhile the 10,000 in attendance were rolling in the aisles with laughter.... The consolation for me as a lover of music, was that I was aware and familiar of some of the artists nominated. One category struck me and has elicited an opinion. In the Best Afro Soul category the nominees were Unathi, Choko, Simphiwe Dana and Moneoa. Coko won. I have all of these CDs and while each one has its own exceptional merit, I do not feel Choko should have won. That's not a diss. It's an opinion.

After the pre-show, we returned to the lodge and spent the warn late night at the poolside patio area. The place was humming with quiet activity as there was a party in the small events area next to the honesty bar. There were 18 of us from Kenya, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Swaziland, South Africa and South LA/Inglewood... The United Nations of Africa. It was a truly awesome experience kicking it with the diaspora. Good times, Good conversation, Good people.

it was incredible at SATMA

The Parade

The next day, we headed back to the venue for a day of activities and the main event. The nationally televised SATMA Awards. First, we event was ignited by a very traditional parade. The highlight of the experience , this parade featured a marching band and one thousand girls dancing and chanting in traditional Zulu garb. most were topless. yes. That's how they get down. The sound was ROCKIN and the energy was unlike anything I have ever witnessed in life. The direct connections to what we do here in America in terms of the HBCU bands and the dances were evident. It was an exceptional experience.

The Awards show was quite a spectacle. The opening number was a representation of every culture in South Africa. All the different tribes, the white folks and the Indian folks.. It was amazing! Everyone was dressed in traditional attire. There were high ranking government officials, local officials and provincial officials. It was a tremendous gatehring. And I have got to share how the huge choir in the opening number broke out in the Nay Nay during thier very traditional presentation.

SATMA Awards

All in all and while I have travelled to South Africa several times, This was hands down one of the best and deeply cultural experiences. It was not a touristy experience. It was deeply cultural It was awesome. It was antoher level.

I've been able to journal the experience and post it on this blog. If you would like to see the complete photo album, It's here on facebook

fascinating Zulu dancers at SATMA

SATMA Awards

Dance baby girl!!!

Village mothers

The village mothers marching in to salute Dr. Obama

Our caterer is a camera star!!

The village came out to salute Dr. Obama

Dr. Sarah Obama, Step-Grandmother of President Barack Obama

The village mothers came to salute Dr. Sarah Obama

The village mothers saluting Dr. Sarah Obama

Our host Dusami Goba sharing remarks 

Grammy Awards Contemplations

It is interesting that noted music, marketing and advertising impresario Steve Stoute would place a $40,000 full page ad in the New York Times as an open letter to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS). His letter strongly criticized the organization for perceived missteps in the presentation of the Grammy Awards. In Mr. Stoute's opinion, the Grammy Awards "have clearly lost touch with contemporary popular culture."

Stoute wonders how indie rock band Arcade Fire had the Album of the Year.. He says that Justin Bieber was clearly the year's best new artist as opposed to Esperanza Spalding. He wonders why hip hop artists who captured the imagination and pocketbooks of the American music buying public were snubbed award after award. He points out the contradiction that even as those artists were not winners, the Academy had the foresight to present them as performers - all in the name of generating ratings. You can read the entire Steve Stoute letter here, on the Huffington Post.

While I disagree with some of the examples Mr. Stoute uses in his critique of the Grammy Awards (The Joni Letters is absolutely the bomb!! and deserved the honor that year), I have to agree that the Grammy Awards seem a bit mis-directed. We should note here that the Grammy Awards is not a validation of one's popularity based on sales. It is an award presented solely as a result of votes cast by members of the Academy. It is indeed an award of the artist, songwriter, producer, technician's peers.

It also should be noted that the majority of awards in the rap, hiphop, urban, r&b and gospel categories are presented in a "pre-show" that takes place hours before the international telecast. Additionally, there are other categories that the masses of the people will never see. (Did you know that Tia Carrera won for best Hawaiian Album???) There are more than 100 categories and perhaps ten or less make it to the main telecast.

It is during this "pre-show" that I found the most profound disparities particularly in the traditional gospel category.


Patty Griffin
Best Traditional Gospel

In this category, the nominees were Pastor Shirley Ceasar- certainly one of Gospel's Hall of Famers, Marvin Sapp - without a doubt one of gospel's preeminent artists, Karen Clark Sheard - a Grammy Winner from one of gospel's most famous families, Vanessa Bell Armstrong - an renowned gospel artist who made a STRONG comeback, and Patti Griffin, a renowned country/Americana singer/songwriter who happened to make a gospel album. Ms. Griffin walked away with the honor that night.

It is shocking because the traditional gospel category was filled with time honored gospel nominees. And only a few, if any, familiar with the gospel music industry even knew who Patti Griffin was. No Airplay, no Internet buzz, no cognizant place in the gospel arena, yet, she won the Grammy for best Traditional Gospel Album.

So does this demonstrate that the Grammy Awards have lost touch with the cultural identity of the music the Academy purports to support? or is it a sign that the artists and those who labor in these categories do not participate with what the Academy has to offer? Did gospel peers step forth and vote? or did Patti Griffin benefit from her crew getting votes in and then slip away with a win?

Whatever the case, The Grammy Awards should review its process and do a better job of recruiting, retaining and motivating it's electorate because clearly, something is wrong.

For a complete list of Grammy Award nominees and winners, click here.

Music is Life is Music: Grammy Contemplations

THE 53RD ANNUAL GRAMMY® AWARDS PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS ARTISTS' MUSICAL JOURNEYS

Campaign Creative Features GRAMMY Nominees Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Cee Lo Green, and Katy Perry

Interactive Web site — MusicIsLifeIsMusic.com — and MusicMapper App Lets Artists and Fans Map and Share Their Musical Journeys Through Social Networking and Geolocation, While Augmented Reality and QR Codes Unlock Exclusive GRAMMY Content

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (January 24, 2011) — The Recording Academy® and TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles unveiled MusicIsLifeIsMusic, a cutting-edge and inventive promotional campaign for the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards®, airing live on CBS Sun., Feb. 13, 201l, 8 – 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. The campaign — which features print, outdoor, digital, TV, an interactive microsite (http://www.musicislifeismusic.com/), and the MusicMapper app — celebrates the songs that have had significance in one's life and the places connected to those songs. Utilizing social networking and geolocation, music fans can then map out their musical journeys and share them with others. This marks the fourth year in a row that TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles and The Recording Academy have partnered on the advertising for the annual GRAMMY Awards telecast.

The MusicIsLifeIsMusic Print and Out of Home creative broke last week (along with wild postings, digital and GRAMMY partner activation) and features GRAMMY nominees Arcade Fire, Justin Bieber, Eminem, Cee Lo Green, and Katy Perry. Earlier this month, 11-time GRAMMY winner and current 10-time nominee Eminem kicked off the first in a series of three GRAMMY promotional TV spots and the second one, with current four-time nominee Katy Perry, just debuted. The commercials are an illustrated interpretation of each artist's life and a journey through their musical and personal milestones. A third TV spot with another GRAMMY winner and current nominee will hit shortly.

"MusicIsLifeIsMusic tells the stories of both nominees and music fans, celebrating the songs that mean the most to us and the places where we connect with them," said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy. "This year's campaign really emphasizes the social and mobile music experience, and allows music fans to connect with each other in a way like never before. We are grateful to our friends at TBWA\Chiat\Day for their ongoing partnership and collaboration, and to HTC and Rdio for their support on this year's campaign."

Patrick O’Neill, Executive Creative Director at TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles said, "The best parts of our lives are connected to music, and amazing tracks help define those unique moments. The MusicMapper app brings geolocation and music together in a fresh, engaging way. It's like your audio autobiography."

Through musicislifeismusic.com and the MusicMapper application, which was developed in partnership with HTC MobilityNOW (www.htcmobilitynow.com), fans worldwide are able to connect songs with places and their special memories in a way never before possible. The mobile application — available now for Apple's iPhone and Google's Android — lets the user drop a virtual pin to a specific location using Google Maps, select a song through social music service Rdio (http://www.rdio.com/), and tag a note describing how that song and location defined a special moment in his/her/their life. This can then be shared by posting to a Facebook profile or Twitter account. The application also provides a direct link to each song within Rdio where users can add it to their collection or playlists, or sync it to their mobile phones for offline playback. Additionally, Katy Perry appears in a demo video showing users how the MusicMapper application works, and her musical journey on musicislifeismusic.com reveals some of the songs and artists that have had a memorable impact on her life and career, such as: how Queen's "Killer Queen" changed her life; how "Karma Police" reminds her of sneaking into a Radiohead concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl; how she was inspired to write "California Gurls" after hearing "Empire State Of Mind" at a party; and how she has the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song title "(Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For" engraved on the inside of her engagement ring.

Not only will users have the opportunity to map their own musical journey, they will be able to explore other MusicMapper tags through an augmented reality view that provides an innovative, real-life glimpse at how "music is life is music." By using a mobile device camera, users can see others' tags, Flickr photos, and Foursquare check-ins associated with a space when they enter said space. Additionally, fans have the ability to unlock exclusive GRAMMY content, based on their physical location as determined by SimpleGeo. Via a QR code reader on all print material and outdoor advertisements, users may access eight full-length GRAMMY performances from past shows including: Mary J. Blige's "No More Drama"; Coldplay's "Viva La Vida"; LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out"; MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This"; Ricky Martin's "La Copa De La Vida"; Radiohead's "15 Step"; Smashing Pumpkins "1979"; and Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It."

For more information on the 53rd GRAMMY Awards and the "MusicIsLifeIsMusic" campaign, please visit: http://www.grammy.com/ or http://www.musicislifeismusic.com/, and download the MusicMapper app through iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/musicmapper/id407243114?mt=8) or Android (www.appbrain.com/app/musicmapper/com.xtreme.grammy). For GRAMMY coverage, updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy®'s social networks on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/thegrammys, www.facebook.com/thegrammys.

About The Recording Academy

Established in 1957, The Recording Academy is an organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals that is dedicated to improving the cultural condition and quality of life for music and its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards — the preeminent peer-recognized award for musical excellence and the most credible brand in music — The Recording Academy is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs. The Academy continues to focus on its mission of recognizing musical excellence, advocating for the well-being of music makers and ensuring music remains an indelible part of our culture. 

TI's Troubles in Time of Turbulence

I see that TI has received a little more than a year in prison for trying to purchase some weapons and silencers.... WTF????

I just need to understand how these rappers and ball players (remember Plaxico Burress??) still feel the need to carry or have access to guns... But not just guns , guns AND silencers... what?What was TI thinking? Hasn't he had enough music hits to stay out of trouble? And even if the heat is hot, can't he hire a security team?? I know at least three brothas who are PD, FBI, and others with transportation companies and protection details.. This is thier business...

Why can't a TI hire someone like my boys.... This seems really lame, TI... I mean dag....

This comes in a season when the image of the black male is enhanced through the election of President Barack Obama - the Chris Browns, The TI's, The Bebe Winans - these are the type stories that get front and center in the media becuase Im telling you, they are looking for SOMETHING to discredit the black man....

Now, in all fairness I wasn't there, but the circumstances are strong enough for the system to lock Brotha TI down for a bit... one year and some months.... In addition to time in a cell, TI got:- property forfeiture;
- supervised release for three years after he leaves prison;
- 365 days of home confinement (he has done 305);
- 1,500 hours of community service (he has done 1,030);
- drug counseling;
- DNA testing;
- can never own a firearm;
- must submit to reasonable searches;
- and a financial audit.

Seems like a lot of hassle for someone who just plays a gangsta on records... I mean after you become successful at the level of a TI, I'm thinking it's poppin' champagne on the regular... eating good across the world, that he can have "whatever he likes"....And so then, you gotta get down and dirty for some guns... and get Popped for it??? Just seems foolish is all...

Good Luck man...