Afropop Worldwide Folgen

Singer and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo is an icon in his home country, Zimbabwe. But he last performed there in 2004. He moved his family into exile in Oregon to escape the turmoil, scarcity and harassment they faced in the late years of President Robert Mugabe’s regime. But in April , 2018, with Mugabe out of power since November, Mapfumo returned to Harare to perform an all-night stadium concert for an estimated 20,000 people. Banning Eyre, author of Lion Songs, Thomas Mapfumo and the Music that Made Zimbabwe, was there and this podcast is his report on a historic homecoming concert.

Afropop producer Banning Eyre takes us on a surprise-filled tour of his 30-some years of covering African music. Through conversations with Georges Collinet and producer/agent/DJ Rab Bakari, the program reflects on how the world, the music, the culture and the media have changed and keep on changing throughout Africa and the diaspora. Along the way we hear some of the tunes that have most inspired Banning and Georges, sample the latest Afrobeats and Naija pop, and speculate on where African music is heading next. Great music, provocative thinking! [APWW #740]

Afropop Closeup Season 3 - Episode 2 Produced by Ian Coss