The Official African music thread.

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Great Value Man
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EDIT: I switched the title since i know a lot of you aren't familiar with the different styles of drumming :manny:

I don't think there's a thread yet on this. But feel free to post videos or tracks

abagdza - Ewe tribe (Eastern Ghana/togo/Benin)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewe_drumming

Ewe drumming refers to the drummingensembles of the Ewe people of Ghana, Togo, and Benin. The Ewe are known for their experience in drumming throughout West Africa. The sophisticated cross rhythms and polyrhythms in Ewe drumming are similar to those in Afro-Caribbean music and late jazz.
http://www.african-music-safari.com/agbadza.html
A bit of history

Despite the first impression, the background of this dance isn't all that fun. Before the Ewe people were able to settle in the beautiful Volta Region of Ghana and in Southern Togo, they went through tough times of war and oppression: They had to fight their way to freedom.

To train and encourage their warriors, the Ewe played various war dances, one of them called Atrikpui. In the 1920s, after the Ewe had enjoyed a period of peace, this serious dance turned into the fun and entertaining Agbadza that we know today.


How they keep an old thing fun

When the Ewe play a traditional piece, they like to go on for hours! But don't think that's boring or monotonous. When Africans play drum, more is going on than we think:

To keep the excitement up, a skillful Master Drummer will introduce a new beat and song at just the right moment. He can even blend in other Ewe rhythms (like Agbekoror Ageshe) that sound very similar.

Also, as many other African tribes, the Ewe are able to "talk" through their drums. For instance, the Master Drummer may drum the name of another musician or a dancer to challenge him or her. That person will step up and respond with a nice move. This way, the people present can playfully interact with each other.

I start to feel that our party music is monotonous compared to this!



 
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How Sway?

Great Value Man
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Its crazy how these rhythms have survived the test of time.

Some these dances and drum patterns are hundreds of years old and they were even carried across the ocean and became what we know as salsa and jazz today (among other genres or music).
 

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I'm taking an African dance/drumming class next year. Fam was going in. Great drumming.

thats whatsup. We use to have a drum in our house and I use to play around with it.

Never took any classes but I'm really thinking about it.
 

Dada

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thats whatsup. We use to have a drum in our house and I use to play around with it.

Never took any classes but I'm really thinking about it.
I had one too. It's a small one, probably around here somewhere. I'm more interested in the dance. I've seen videos with people just learning in a weekend and most seem to catch on quick to the rhythm/movements. .
 

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Kpanlogo - GA tribe (southern Ghana. my Grandmother's people:wow:)
http://www.bristoldrumming.com/ghan...=167:kpanlogo&catid=63:ga-drumming&Itemid=125
Kpanlongo is the most recent of all Ga recreational musical types, an offshoot of Gome, Oge, Kolomashie, and Konkoma. Referred to as "the dance of the youth,” Kpanlongo started during the wake of Ghana’s Independence as a musical type for entertainment in Accra. Kpanlongo is presently performed at life-cycle events, festivals, and political rallies.

  • Instruments
  • Slit Bell - Nono
  • Double Bell - Nononta
  • Pod Bell - Dodompo
  • Lead Drum - Atswereshi
  • Support Drums - Atswereshi x 2
  • Frame Drums - Tamlali x 1 or 2
  • Bass Drum - Gome
The Kpanlogo dance was invented by Otoo Lincoln. He was told an Ansee folk story by his Grandfather. Kpanlogo, Mma Mma and Algodzan were the names of three triplets girls. Their father was the cheif and said, how ever could guess their names could marry them. So a man went to their home pretending to be a mad man asking for water, he met the girls and learnt their names as they called to each other. To remember them he kept singing to himself ‘Kp. Mma. Al.’ And of course he married the girls. Otoo heard the story in 1956 when he was 15. He used to tell it dancing and singing to his brothers and sisters, a friend used to drum along as they liked the music and dance and we created our own version of highlife around 1962. The feeling of the music originated from music played by his father from Oge , Liberian music a sort of slow kpanlogo. I mixed this Oge with high life and rock and roll to produce the feeling in Kpanlogo.

In 1962 the Arts Council, banned its playing as one of the beats made the body move in an indecent way. They called Otoo in for a meeting. Otoo said that it ..................... By 1965 Kpanlogo had become so popular that 50+ groups performed it to the head of state Nkrumah.

Kpanlogo was seen as a dance from the youth, arising from the streets of Accra soon after Ghana’s independence, and symbolised the youth and independence of a young nation and so was taken on and played at funerals, state occasions and became an anthem for the ruling party at the time. Up to now its popularity remains hi. There are countless Kpanlogo performing groups, playing for pleasure and at all social and state occasion.



 

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This right here is a gem. The video is pretty long but it contains four songs. (all like 10 minuets each)
The vid is long but definitely worth the listen.

The Allan Family Culture Troupe plays Ga traditional music. They have been recording four-joint albums like this for years, this is only one I could find in my collection today. The Ga people live in Accra, Ghana, where their once-dominant language has been over-run by the influx of Ghanaians from other parts of the country. Not as many people need to speak Ga in Accra these days. I found the Ga language incredibly challenging, and more recently have had that notion reinforced by its baffling wikipedia entry. My goodness.

In any case, this tape is really good. These are the rhythms upon which the dzama (or jama) style of hiplife is based. But even without the now ubiquitous presence of these patterns in Ghanaian pop I would hasten to say this music is some of the most vital traditional music in Ghana. Pep bands even rock these jams in the stands at pro soccer matches. Everyone gets pumped.

Cheers to my friend Aaron of Denver/Berlin who introduced me to the Allan Family long before I ever thought of visiting Ghana.

Side A
Gome
Ɔgɛ

Side B
Kpanlogo
New Creation

 

Claudex

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I'm pretty sure a lot of you are familiar with and probably enjoy that song titled: "Danzar Kuduro" :sas1:

Well...fukk that Cac devised bullshyt ass copy (and that portuguese fukkboy who made money off of it with Don Omar)

This is the real kuduro music AND dance:



Courtesy of Angola
angola-flag-wallpapers_32981_1920x1200.jpg


Watch out for that bass! :sas2:
 
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Claudex

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i cant really fukk wit this, but i def wanted to get into some african music.

i need joints like this though


I don't know breh,
This one is not in english, but is somewhat similar:



Funniest song I've heard during my childhood though :pachaha:

It's about this dude trying to convince the taxi driver to take him to the ghetto to see his girl. But the taxi driver tells him: "

If you wanna see your girl, then cross the puddles on your own feet (the ghetto had no asphalt),

I ain't fukking up my ride just so you can look fancy (the 'show' part)" (this was way back in the day when taxis were a luxury).
 
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