NEO•GRIOT

A DOLLAR A DAY

A dollar a day, the proverbial phrase often used to describes life in Africa by western media, may have found a new meaning. In the summer of 2011 through an exchange program between Maisha Yetu and PAYT, NGOs from Kenya and south Africa respectively, collaborated on the production of A dollar a day, an 19 track album produced by Akili Blaq (MM3rd) and overseen by Kenya's Hip-hop artist, activist Muki Garang.

The music in the album is prominent with a mixture of cultures from East, west and Southern Africa, with innovations in contemporary Hip-hop even fusing Setswana and Swahili to coin a slang known as Tswahili.

 

South Africa's Platinum Africa Youth Tourism founder Lerato Mosimane who also Executive produced the project describes it as, "It was more than just music, the Audio book encompases the views, opinions and reflections of our Society demands” Lerato says. “I'm very impressed by the reception so far as it shows that music is one of the easiest ways of shairing with people all over the world. The songs are currently getting major hits a week,” Muki said. The album contains interviews with policy makers and stakeholders from the post apartheid region and also topics on HIV, love, xenophobia, land reform policy and ethnicity and the Idea to share it with the folks this way made it even better.

A Dollar a Day (Deluxe Edition 2012) FREE DOWNLOAD

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In an interview with Maisha yetu, MM3rd said “Unlike Cruz Control, the content in the musical compilation is not isolated to the youth but also accommodates the wider African society. It covers a wider scope and and other African issues the youth are facing. Theres so much we wanted to cover that time and we always hoped whoever walked through the studio for whatever reasons had something and anything they’d want to share on the mic”

 

This project involves renown artists from the regions, Mpho ya Badimo (Mahikeng), Lerato Mosimane, Apu, TLS, Relevant source (SA), Handsaloof (Botswana), Bra Sam Bass (Zimbabwe) Ngozi Chukura (Botswana),Omodada (Nigeria) and Kenya’s Muki Garang & Akili Blaq whose not only the producer of the album, but also a sayer.

Lastly the album contains interviews with policy makers and stakeholders from the post apartheid region mainly Sylvia Liabile (Business Women Association of South Africa ). The Project was produced during the month of December 2011 at Dextraw studios in Mahikeng in the Platinum province of South Africa. The Freshly mastered version which was tagged as the 'Deluxe edition 2012' of the project has been available here and a dozen other Blog sites  since 20th November 2012. Get the full length project >>> FREE DOWNLOAD 

This is a gesture of unity amongst African youth and was an initiative by: PAYT & Maisha Yetu