Buy Local: Baloji and L'Orchestre de la Katuba with Kuku and "Buy Africa"

Baloji, along with L'Orchestre de la Katuba and Kuku, brings us the random tune for today called Buy Africa off of the Red Hot + Fela album from 2013. Born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Baloji is a Belgian rapper, MC and hip hop artist who got his start as a founder of the hip hop band Starflam in the early 1990s where he was known as MC Balo. The band's second album went platinum, but differences with the other members led Baloji to leave the group and quit music in 2004. However, after discovering a letter from his estranged Congolese mother, and after winning a poetry contest in Paris, he took up music again in 2006 and released an autobiographical solo debut album which included a response to his mother - the album went gold and won numerous awards. L'Orchestre de la Katuba appears to be an orchestra that he put together, and features Congolese guitarist Dizzy Mandkeku. Kuku is a Nigerian-American singer-songwriter living in Paris. Buy Africa was originally released by Fela Ransome Kuti and his Africa 70 in 1971, and is an exhortation to Africans to buy African-made goods rather than foreign goods. The album Red Hot + Fela is a tribute to Fela Kuti's musical work, the second such tribute by the Red Hot organization in a series of albums meant to raise money and awareness of global HIV/AIDS (Fela Kuti died of AIDS related complications in 1997).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baloji_(rapper); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti;

Slightly Off: Zap Mama and "Miss QN"

Today's song is by Belgian artist Zap Mama, and is called Miss QN. Zap Mama is the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. Miss QN can be found on Zap Mama's 2004 CD Ancestry in Progress.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zap_Mama

Joanie Loves Tcha Tcho: Koffi Olomide and "Loi"

Today's random tune is by Koffi Olomide, and is called Loi. Koffi Olomide is the performing name of Antoine Christophe Agbepa Mumba, a Congolese soukous singer, dancer, producer and composer. After studying in Bordeaux, France and obtaining a bachelors in business economics and reportedly a masters in mathematics, Olomide returned to The Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1970s and joined Papa Wemba's band Viva la Musica where he became lead vocalist. In 1986 he formed Quartier Latin International, and performed with them and solo, along the way developing the slower type of soukous into a genre he called Tcha Tcho. He is not afraid to take on controversial topics in his music, such as current events and taboo subjects, but unfortunately, he has also been controversial and known for assault - he kicked a cameraman at a concert, assaulted his producer, and kicked a female dancer in his show which led to his temporary deportation and a prison sentence. You can find Loi on his 2014 album of the same name.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koffi_Olomide

From Life to Death: Zap Mama and "De la Vie a la Mort"

Today's tune is by Zap Mama, the music act of Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Daulne sings in polyphonic and Afro-pop styles, infusing harmony with African vocal techniques, as well as throwing in some hip hop. Much of her musical inspiration comes from her roots in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where her Belgian father was killed during the Congo Crisis. Her Congolese mother and all the children were airlifted to Belgium, where she grew up in a household infused with Congolese culture but also in a society where there were few black people. Her first musical influences were African songs her mother sang, European music, especially French, and later blues, reggae and hip hop. In 1984, she returned to the Congo to learn about her heritage and trained in pygmy onomatopoetic techniques. First conceived of as an a capella quintet, Zap Mama has evolved to just Daulne's voice and instrumentation. This song, De la Vie a la Mort, can be found on Zap Mama's 2005 CD Sabsylma.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zap_Mama; http://www.zapmama.com/

Children of the Congo: Papa Noel and Papi Oviedo with "Bana Congo"

Today's random tune is called Bana Congo, and is performed by Papa Noel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and by Papi Oviedo from Cuba. A guitarist, Papa Noel was once a member of François Luambo Makiadi's TPOK Jazz ensemble and got his unusual name due to his Christmas Day birthdate. Papi Oviedo was a tres player, and toured with the Buena Vista Social Club. He passed away in October of 2017. You can find Bana Congo on Papa Noel & Papi Oviedo's 2002 album Bana Congo, though we got it from the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music 2002.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papa_Noel_Nedule; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papi_Oviedo

You Better Listen: Kasai Allstars and "Thus Spoke the Ancestors"

Today's random tune is by the Kasai Allstars and is called Thus Spoke the Ancestors. A 25 piece orchestral group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the members come from five different bands and represent five different ethnic groups. It was long thought that collaboration of members of these disparate ethnic groups, given some longstanding tribal conflicts, was impossible. But these musicians decided to form a "superband" at the encouragement of Belgian producer Vincent Kenis in order to pool their resources. They play a style of music known as Congotronics, which consists of traditional instrumentation and electric sounds, and often has a particular buzzing sound as part of the music. You can find Thus Spoke the Ancestors on their second album, Beware the Fetish (Congotronics 5), released in 2014.

Please join the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.