Sing to Me: Jua Cali with Enika and "Niimbe"

Today's random tune is by Kenyan hip hop artist Paul Julius Nunda, better known by his stage name of Jua Cali. He is very well known for forming a recording studio called Calif Records, which is responsible for turning out many East African hits. Jua Cali himself raps in Swahili and Sheng (a form of Kenyan slang derived from Swahili and English), and in a popular style of Kenyan rap called genge which was invented by artists at his recording studio. He released his first single in 2001 and has put out three solo albums and has garnered many Kenyan and African music awards. This song, Niimbie, can be found on his 2015 album Ngeli Ya Genge. It features Enika, a Tanzanian R&B singer, and the song is a remembrance of a time in the singers' lives where they worked hard, before they became well known and famous.

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/Jua_Cali; http://mauriyambo.blogspot.com/2017/01/jua-cali-and-enika-in-nostalgic-call.html

In the Dhow Countries: Rajab Suleiman and Kithara with "Chungu"

We have some taarab music on tap for you with today's random tune. Chungu is performed by Rajab Suleiman and Kithara, with Saada Nassor providing vocals. A Tanzanian style of music also popular in Kenya, taarab was started, according to legend, between 1870 and 1880 by the last sultan of Zanzibar. Influenced by music from places such as the African Great Lakes, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent, its first practitioners were probably Egyptian-trained musicians. Kithara is one of the most influential of today's taarab orchestras. The word taarab is Arabic for "joy in music," and though the traditional form is still played by orchestras like Kithara, you can now find "electro-taarab" all over Tanzania. Chungu can be found Rajab Suleiman and Kithara's 2013 album, Zanzibara, Vol. 8 (Chungu).

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.

Eat the Wings First: [dunkelbunt] with Raf MC and Fanfare Ciocarlia and "The Chocolate Butterfly"

Today's random tune is by Ulf Lindemann, who goes by the stage name [dunkelbunt]. A German freelance musician, producer, bandleader and DJ, he is considered a pioneer in the fusion of electronic music with South European music, klezmer, jazz and swing. He is joined by Tanzanian artist Raf MC and Fanfare Ciocarlia, a 12 person Roma brass band known for their rendition of Born to be Wild on the film Borat. You can find this song, The Chocolate Butterfly, on the CD The Balkan Club Night (2011).

Not Stocks, Boats: Taj Mahal and The Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar with "Dhow Countries"

Today's random tune is by an American blues legend teamed with an African orchestra. Taj Mahal is the performing name of Henry Saint Clair Fredericks, a blues musician who often incorporates elements of world music into his music. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, piano and harmonica), he has reshaped blues by combining it with nontraditional forms from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific. The Culture Musical Club of Zanzibar is one of the largest, most successful and most prolific of African orchestras. It began life as an extension of an independence party of the now semi-autonomous province of Zanzibar in Tanzania. They are known for their presentation of Swahili Taarab music. As such this song, called Dhow Countries, has a nice slow groove to it. You can find Dhow Countries on the compilation CD Putumayo Presents: African Blues (2012).

Mike would like to dedicate this song to his mother, Shirley Hess, who suffers from Alzheimers. It is her birthday today. Happy birthday, mom!