Music Break.
Friday Bonus Edition
November 18, 2011
Thalma de Freitas
An eclectic one. Ethiopian and Ivorian pop, Philly neo soul, Swedish and South African rap and Brazilian jazz.
Philadelphia neo soul keeps it topical. One thing we could not figure out: Bilal–half breaking with the dress code of his hosts Kindred–does a guest verse and throws in a line about ‘USA to Africa’: “And your moving out cause the cost of living is sky high and you know we working on it but its no word from USA to Africa.” What does he want?
In Ethiopia, pop is doing fine. Listen to Nigusu Tamrat:
Almost as poppy, from the Ivorian diaspora comes this song by Dobet Gnahoré and Manou Gallo which, they hope, ‘will contribute to bring back together and reconcile all Ivorians’:
Swedish rapper Ken Ring and Norwegian producer Tommy Tee went to record the video for ‘Plocka Han’ in Korogocho (Nairobi, Kenya):
From KwaMashu (Durban, South Africa) comes Zakwe:
And to end the week: Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay as seen through the eyes of French director Vincent Moon, Brazilian pianist Laércio de Freitas and his daughter, singer Thalma: