East Oakland, California 2006

I made this instrumental mixscape from vinyl when I first started working at Rudsdale High in East Oakland. I wanted to give the aspiring young rappers at the school a continuous mix of music to freestyle to. Mostly Bay Area beats and some space oddities thrown in for good measure. This one is for all my Rudsdale students and my cousins, Nick and Chris.

link

Angola and Brazil 1999

Mulemba Xangola by Bonga, Marisa Monte and Carlinhos Brown from Onda Sonora: Red, Hot and Lisbon

Two of the Tribalistas and the great Bonga from Angola come together on this track. Part Semba da Angola part Samba da Bahia, this song bridges the Black Atlantic renewing old lines of civilization and communication.

Angola, from around 17th to 19th century, was almost a commercial dependency of Brazil putting Lisbon in an awkward colonial predicament. In 1822 when a constitutional monarchy was established in Portugal an Brazil declared its' independence from Portugal, many Angolans agitated to be annexed by Brazil.

Since the devastating civil war in Angola, these two countries have renewed their old cultural and economic relationship. Angola is now the country that receives the most financing from Brazil and the number of Brazilian companies in Angola has increased by 70 percent over the last five years (statistics from 2007).


"Salvador da tradição
Mulemba xangola
Unidas nações
Sauda-veis agora"

"Salvador of tradition
Angolan Mulemba (Mulemba or Ficus Thonningii: a tree indigenous to Africa)
Nations United
Now Healthy"

***This one is for my boy Jeff Seltz, a brother from another mothership, who just spent some time in Angola. I remember you freaked out when you first heard this song at a bar in Fortaleza years ago. Well hear it is!

http://www.mediafire.com/file/umtfwj1dodf/03 Mulemba Xangóla 1.mp3

Sao Tome and Principe: Africa Negra-Aninha

Sao Tome e Principe 1981

Aninha by Conjunto Africa Negra (better known as Africa Negra)

Sao Tome and Principle is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. The islands were historically important because they served as way stations for slave traders traveling between the Kongo and the Gold Coast. As such, Sao Tome and Principe is a culturally diverse place and is home to various African ethnicities and Afro-Portuguese descendents.

The song "12 de Julho" or in English, the 12th of July, refers to the date when Sao Tome and Principe became an independent nation, severing it's colonial ties with Portugal. Following the end of the colonial era, the Marxist MLSTP party took control of the government, nationalized plantations and aligned itself with the communist bloc. The early music of Africa Negra is full of the optimism of its' new found independence and socialist experiment. Songs like "12 de Julho" and "Camarada Neto", an ode to Agostinho Neto, the first President of Socialist Angola, reflect these heady days of African socialism and its' vibrant militancy.

The music from Sao Tome and Principle is like no other. It has influences from West and Central Africa and is sung in Portuguese and Portuguese-based creoles Forro, Angolar and Principense. Enjoy these rare tracks!!! If you like this music you can order Africa Negra CD's and more from Kizomba. Pricey but worth it.

kizomba


link

Los Angeles 1959

Percussion Exotique (released earlier as "Voodoo"): Robert Drasnin.

A classy find from my mom's old record collection and a great example of "Exotica" or "Space Age Bachelor" music of the mid 50's and early 60's.

This genre was a self-conscious commercial effort born of Hollywood, Jazz and a rapidly expanding tourism industry in Hawaii after its' annexation in 1959. It was a music that gave Jazz and conservatory musicians who knew very little about world music traditions an excuse to experiment with new sounds and rhythms. There is definitely some "orientalism" going on but it's not as shameful as listening to Deep Forest....


http://www.mediafire.com/?nx1wydi4jhbo6