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Global Beats showcases some of the best and most inventive up and coming musicians from around the world.

Global Beats: Africa

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

omawumi_manifest_aziza.jpg

18/10/2014

Africa

BBC World Service - Global Beats, Africa

Music from Ghanaian rapper M.Anifest, Nigerian pop diva Omawumi, Aziza Brahim and more

Music from Ghanaian rapper M.Anifest, Nigerian pop diva Omawumi, Aziza Brahim from western Sahara, Tumi from South Africa, Songhai Blues and The Good Ones.

We are joined by the highly creative wordsmiths M.Anifest from Ghana and Tumi from South Africa, whose conscious rap uses lyrics to challenge and delight. Both seek out superb musicians to work with and to learn from. Plus, two artists from the Sahara - Aziza Brahim from western Sahara performs a song from her latest album, Soutak, which has been highly acclaimed by critics. 
 
We are also joined by Songhai Blues whose members fled northern Mali when the area was overrun by extremist rebels and music was banned. They have subsequently been discovered by the British musician and impresario Damon Albarn and have been pleasing audiences in the UK with their bluesy desert rock. 
 
Lala Njava from Madagascar whose deep and highly distinctive vocal technique derives from the traditional music from the south of her country. Now she lives in Brussels, and her sound is rich with jazz and other contemporary and international influences. 

We hear from Omawumi, a Nigerian pop diva with a difference. Not only does she have a fantastic voice, but she is a witty and bold critic of her society. The song she performs for Global Beats is an irresistibly packaged appeal for honesty and action on incest. Also from Nigeria, Villy, is a very new talent doing exciting things with Afrobeat. 
 
And, in Rwanda we hear the simple acoustic charm of The Good Ones. The musicians, who play whatever they can find - including a pair of boots - are winning fans with songs that feel fresh and from the heart. Their success means they may soon need to give up their day jobs, which include farming, driving and teaching.

(Photo: From left to right, Nigerian pop diva Omawumi, Ghanaian rapper M.Anisfest and Aziza Brahim from western Sahara. BBC copyright)

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