Chicago producer and DJ Antonio Cesar has used tens of thousands of dollars in grants to travel the world, exporting the city’s sounds and importing new influences.
Tag: Afrobeat
Posted inMusic
Buenört Collective spread their hot revolution across the Atlantic
Chicago-based party incubator and microlabel Buenört Collective release the new album by Spanish band El Sombrero del Abuelo.
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Tony Allen, Skepta, and Ben Okri become one with the universe on ‘Cosmosis’
A year after the death of pioneering Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, a posthumous album highlights his work with younger generations.
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ESS’s Option music salon returns for spring with Jim O’Rourke
ESS’s Option music salon returns for spring with Jim O’Rourke, and Chicago rappers Saint Ripley and Osa North level up on new releases.
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São Paulo big band Bixiga 70 cook up a life-giving brew
The Afro-Brazilian grooves on Bixiga 70’s Quebra Cabeça could get your feet moving on a mortuary slab.
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Chicago rapper-singer Osa North brings Nigerian pop back home on 5 Boys 3 Cars
Osa Obaseki, aka rapper-singer Osa North, grew up in Uptown, but in 2006 his parents sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in the capital of Nigeria’s Edo State, Benin City. He was 11 when he arrived, and he lived there for five years, soaking up Nigerian culture as he came of age—he […]
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Chicago rapper Jovan Landry gives her production skills a well-deserved spotlight on World Vibe
Jovan Landry calls herself “One-Third Emcee” to emphasize her creative pursuits away from the mike—according to an interview she gave to Chicago Crowd Surfer in March 2019, she splits the other two-thirds of her energy between photography and filmmaking. And Landry’s talents don’t end there. She spearheaded a 2019 collaborative album called Synergy, which brought […]
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Barcelona’s Alma Afrobeat Ensemble keep the spirit of Afrobeat going strong
For the fourth year in a row, Barcelona-based guitarist Aaron Feder brings his Alma Afrobeat Ensemble on a U.S. tour. The group, which Feder founded in Champaign-Urbana in 2003, consists of members from several nations, and as is customary when they travel in the States, they’re joined by their American touring musicians—Matthew Engel on keys […]
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Nigerian juju and Afrobeat veteran Kaleta brings the groove with Super Yamba Band
Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majek came into his talents in the early 80s—at exactly the right time to bridge two disparate genres of Nigerian music. Kaleta’s family relocated to Lagos from his native Benin during his adolescence, and after playing guitar and singing in church he began performing professionally throughout Nigeria. While he was still a young […]
Posted inBlogs
Afrobeat innovators Antibalas end a five-year silence with Where the Gods Are in Peace
Brooklyn Afrobeat mainstays Antibalas, who play Thalia Hall on Friday, expand their sound on their new album.
Posted inMusic
The brightest lights at the 2017 World Music Festival
The World Music Festival is a constellation of international stars—including Afrobeat scion Seun Kuti, rambunctious Cape Verdean accordionist Bitori, and Afro-Venezuelan flame keeper Betsayda Machado.
Posted inBlogs
Drake’s diaspora, Discogs drama, DJ ‘controllerism,’ and more of the week’s best music writing
Plus: pieces about the queer experience in contemporary dance and the intimacy of abrasive noise
Posted inBlogs
After seven years away, Africa Hi-Fi returns for one night in Hyde Park
A reunion of Sonia Hassan and Ron Trent’s beloved Africa Hi-Fi DJ night closes the Harper Court Summer Music Series on Wednesday.
Posted inFilm
Afrobeat giant Fela Kuti: Too big for the screen
With Finding Fela, Alex Gibney tries to get his arms around Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti.
Posted inBlogs
12 O’Clock Track: Melt Yourself Down, “We Are Enough”
Today’s 12 O’Clock Track is “We Are Enough” by Melt Yourself Down