@videogamestashbox.com this thread may interest you.
Back to Africa: The New World Afro-Diaspora Roots of Modern African Music
- Thread starter The Odum of Ala Igbo
- Start date
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
Afro-soul
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Big fan of Sauti Sol's new stuff. I particularly like the song below - although it's probably closer to Ndombolo than Afro-Soul
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Afropop Worldwide on 'Swinging Addis', the Empire of Haile Selassie and the Revolution of '74
Ethiopia Part 1: Empire and Revolution
Ethiopia Part 1: Empire and Revolution
I have quite a few musicians in my family.
My uncle is a singer from the old school named Ayalew Mesfin, my mom grew up in the same neighborhood with Mahmoud Ahmed and he's like an uncle to me, shyt even Weeknd is an extremely distant cousin of mine in that we share an aunt but have never met before. So I kinda have this weird thing where I don't act crazy around celebrity types because I learned as a child to treat them like anyone else. When my folks hosted Tilahun, I wouldn't have known he was the most famous singer in Ethiopian history because it was like a distant uncle stopping by for coffee and chit chat. When Mahmoud was on tour his kids would stay with my uncle who was a promoter and my mom would drop me off and we would kick it.
But my stepfather Hailu Mergia is an Ethio-Jazz legend/composer himself. He was the leader of the Walias Band in the 60s and 70s, toured many countries, and was bringing the diaspora's sound to Ethiopia/Africa through covers of popular soul songs modified to reflect the Ethiopian sound as well as original compositions inspired by the sounds coming out of Black America at the tie. He's lesser known imo because he went off the grid once he got asylum in America and the band broke up. Also, he's more lowkey and never thirsted for fame and limelight. But he's every bit as influential on Ethiopians playing keyboard instruments as Mulatu is. I've met big time Ethiopian musicians who lose their minds when I tell them who my stepfather is, they always tell me the difference between him and Mulatu was that Mulatu was more jazzy while my stepfather was more funky. I can't tell cuz he was just my mom's husband and loved piano stuff, you can't ever tell he's a big shot because he hates the idea of being above people. So Mulatu was the first discovery of Ethio-Jazz for the West and he gets a bulk of the credit, but my stepfather and his band performed for Duke as well and came up in the same scene as Mulatu, they are essentially contemporaries of one another.
I'm planning on writing his Autobio so I'm hoping more people will be exposed to him, his life was very exciting and full of twists, turns, and reinventions, so I'm sure people will love it once I'm done. He's touring nowadays, he's done shyt all over Europe, played Radio City and the Lincoln Theater, played at the Kennedy Center, so if he in your town and you like Mulatu's stuff you should definitely check out Hailu and his band cuz they be tearing shyt up. Here's some of his music and interviews you can find more on youtube, great thread btw:
<----Peep the drawing in the middle right corner above in the very beginning, that was a street artist rendition of me done in NYC.
<----He's the one with the baby fro at the very top right in that pic
<---His best known song, my fukkin jam!
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
I have quite a few musicians in my family.
My uncle is a singer from the old school named Ayalew Mesfin, my mom grew up in the same neighborhood with Mahmoud Ahmed and he's like an uncle to me, shyt even Weeknd is an extremely distant cousin of mine in that we share an aunt but have never met before. So I kinda have this weird thing where I don't act crazy around celebrity types because I learned as a child to treat them like anyone else. When my folks hosted Tilahun, I wouldn't have known he was the most famous singer in Ethiopian history because it was like a distant uncle stopping by for coffee and chit chat. When Mahmoud was on tour his kids would stay with my uncle who was a promoter and my mom would drop me off and we would kick it.
But my stepfather Hailu Mergia is an Ethio-Jazz legend/composer himself. He was the leader of the Walias Band in the 60s and 70s, toured many countries, and was bringing the diaspora's sound to Ethiopia/Africa through covers of popular soul songs modified to reflect the Ethiopian sound as well as original compositions inspired by the sounds coming out of Black America at the tie. He's lesser known imo because he went off the grid once he got asylum in America and the band broke up. Also, he's more lowkey and never thirsted for fame and limelight. But he's every bit as influential on Ethiopians playing keyboard instruments as Mulatu is. I've met big time Ethiopian musicians who lose their minds when I tell them who my stepfather is, they always tell me the difference between him and Mulatu was that Mulatu was more jazzy while my stepfather was more funky. I can't tell cuz he was just my mom's husband and loved piano stuff, you can't ever tell he's a big shot because he hates the idea of being above people. So Mulatu was the first discovery of Ethio-Jazz for the West and he gets a bulk of the credit, but my stepfather and his band performed for Duke as well and came up in the same scene as Mulatu, they are essentially contemporaries of one another.
I'm planning on writing his Autobio so I'm hoping more people will be exposed to him, his life was very exciting and full of twists, turns, and reinventions, so I'm sure people will love it once I'm done. He's touring nowadays, he's done shyt all over Europe, played Radio City and the Lincoln Theater, played at the Kennedy Center, so if he in your town and you like Mulatu's stuff you should definitely check out Hailu and his band cuz they be tearing shyt up. Here's some of his music and interviews you can find more on youtube, great thread btw:
<----Peep the drawing in the middle right corner above in the very beginning, that was a street artist rendition of me done in NYC.
<----He's the one with the baby fro at the very top right in that pic
dope...I'll peep his music when I get a chance.
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Congolese rumba song about Nigeria's former dictator, Gowon (!)
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
RIP William Onyeabor
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
(Heavily influenced by Soul Brother Number One - James Brown)
Like I said in another thread AAs definitely get our powerful singing from Sahelian West Africans...
Vs.
Vs.
@MansaMusa @Dip @IllmaticDelta @Poitier I would like to welcome @Gebor into the circle. 
@Gebor thoughts on thread?
@Gebor thoughts on thread?
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Forgot to post this when Ghana celebrated turned 60 this year:
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
that song is featured in the highlife clip I posted here
Back to Africa: The New World Afro-Diaspora Roots of Modern African Music
The Odum of Ala Igbo
Hail Biafra!
Guitar music in Madagascar:
Try to guess the influences!
Try to guess the influences!
