Last week the Congolese film “Viva Riva” won “The Best African Movie“* award at the MTV Movie Awards. That’s the kind of publicity African films can’t buy and should count for something when the film opens in New York City, Los Angeles and Portland (OR) this weekend. (It is calculated that foreign films make up […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8Df8yPn_bc&fs=1&hl=en_US] A little Luso Rap infatuation I’ve been harboring for a while has led me down interesting paths throughout the years.  The attention that I’ve given to sounds like Kuduro, House Angolana, and Tarraxinha has led me away from good old Hip Hop like Kid MC’s track above. Time to pay more attention.–Boima Tucker

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/16832669 w=500&h=281] In January 2010, the people behind Angola–Nos Trilhos da Independência have started collecting and recording personal memories and testimonies about Angola’s fight for independence. It’s a long-term project: they plan on digging for stories for the next five years. But it sure looks promising already as you can see above. They’re also keeping […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA23GnvAXWQ&w=500&h=307&rel=0] Yuri Da Cunha is a household name in Angola,and is on his way to becoming an international star. He has taken the older Angolan genre of semba music, and modernized its appeal to urban youth. His lingering vocals combined with his fluid dance style has captured fans from Angola to Portugal. His combination of dance […]

Dan Moshenberg, Guest Blogger Jimmy Mubenga came to England seeking asylum, seeking life. According to his wife, Makenda Kambana, he was on a government hit list, “They killed my father and they threatened to kill Jimmy. They were looking for him. We had no choice but to leave.” Earlier this week, on Tuesday, October 12, […]