2020 marks 60 years since independence for 17 African countries. For his latest Rendez-Vous à Bobo, Rhythm Passport’s Lucas Keen revisits 1960 sometimes known as ‘The Year of Africa’ to explore the euphoria and cultural renaissance of the epoch that followed via music from Nigeria, Congo, Burkina Faso and Mali....
Tag Archives: West African
Today, from 5PM, join us on Facebook for an afternoon and evening of Hi-Life sounds and words! Hi-life music originated in present-day Ghana early in the 20th century. It harnesses the melodic and rhythmic structures of traditional Akan music, but is played mainly with Western instruments. Hi-life is distinguished by...
![Album Review: Santrofi – Alewa [Outhere Records; April 2020]](http://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/santrofi-alewa-cover-335x335.jpg)
Here to revive the golden era of highlife, box-fresh 8-piece Santrofi bridge the mid-century sound of Ghana with polished afrobeat and an azonto attitude (more on that later.) Assembled around bass player Emmanuel Ofori, whose credentials include playing with elders Ebo Taylor, and Pat Thomas and Kwashibu Area Band, the...
Tributes and homages to artists who recently passed away often sound trivial or trite if done by someone who wasn’t directly connected with them. That’s why we always repeat the mantra that we prefer to let the music do the talking and ask fellow musicians, who grew up and/or shared...
![Album review: Various – Léve Léve Sao Tomé & Principe Sounds 70s-80s [Les Disques Bongo Joe; January 2020]](http://www.rhythmpassport.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/leve-leve-335x335.jpg)
Swiss-based label Les Disques Bongo Joe releases another superbly chosen compilation of African sounds. This time, thanks to the expertise and work of DJ Tom B, they take us to the islands of Sao Tomé and Principe, former Portuguese colonies located off the west coast of Africa. According to the...
It doesn’t happen everyday that online music platforms champion the cause of musicians, but Bandcamp has showed us, more than once, to be different from the vast majority of music platforms. Today (until 11.59PM Pacific Time), to support all the artists affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oakland-based company will...
Every month, we bring you a collection of the best world music-related videos. That’s our way to give value to too often overlooked, rich and diverse artistic expressions. Listen with your eyes! Watch the full playlist:
It’s no secret that the hip-hop scene in Ghana and West Africa at large is more exciting than ever. From the GH hip-hop of the mid-‘90s to today’s nu-school after passing through the hiplife years, the style has made millions of adepts, followers and sales, continually re-shaping itself while always...
At times, we are the first to lose track of how many exciting music events happen in London each month, so we have decided to offer you some sort of “public musical service”, meant for all the locals and passers-by, with the aim of suggesting where to listen to some...
Our “end-of-the-year” lists are not a way to rule what has been good or bad in the previous 365 music days. In fact, since we are music lovers at heart, we love to share and support the albums we like, that hold particular meanings to us or have been more...