Awadi - Presidents d'Afrique (2010) - Senegal

Colonialism in Africa...

... is not responsible for genocide. It is not responsible for dictators. It is not responsible for fanaticism. It is not responsible for the corruption, prevarication. It is not responsible for waste and pollution…
The tragedy of Africa is that the African man has never really entered history. The African peasant who for centuries has lived according to the seasons, whose ideal is to be in harmony with nature, has known only the eternal renewal of time via the endless repetition of the same actions and the same words.  In this mentality, where everything always starts over again, there is no place for human adventure, nor for any idea of progress.

Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, speaking in Dakar on July 26th 2007

Presidents d’Afrique is an African response to Sarko from the highly influential and musically respected Francophone Hip-Hop artist, Didier Awadi.

It has taken me a while to open up to rap & hip-hop.  But not being fluent in French means being able to completely ignore what's being said, and maybe that's what helped a genre-newbie like me take notice instead of the way it's put together - the architecture, the construction, of elements assembled and stitched into the weave of a whole sonic fabric.

But if I never saw art in the genre before, I sure noticed its status as international medium for the dispossessed.  And what’s being voiced here comes from the long history of struggle against colonialism which marks past and future right across the continent.

Awadi’s assemblage takes excerpts from speeches by black leaders like Thomas Sankara, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Cheikh Anta Diop, Malcolm X and Frantz Fanon, sets their statements to music, and then blends rappers from across Africa, the Caribbean and America, to create a profound monument to revolutionary leaders who gave their lives for a Pan-African ideal of unity, independence and pride.

Some say that we don’t have a sense of history and memory in Africa. With this album we will make them think again…

Didier Awadi, Dakar, 2010

Awadi - Presidents d'Afrique - PLUS

121.3 MB

https://mega.co.nz/#!mcRH0ApQ!Iya15BTIzefOGD9VkPPtGZz8ruQORaa-tqwEwhZ17yo
A couple of the tracks sound like they cut off too early and abruptly.

In compensation, extra tracks from elsewhere are included.

Orchestra Baobab - Senegal

Orchestra Baobab was the multi-ethnic house-band of the Baobab Club in Dakar right from when the elite room opened in 1970 until the joint went dark in 1979 – by which time they were established as Senegal’s most popular band.

Sounds and styles from the Caribbean had already been embraced throughout west Africa since the ‘50s, and the special accent of Orchestra Baobab came from their adoption of Cuban instrumentation and rhythmic styles parsed through the individual roots and origins of a polyglot membership.

Balla Sidibe and Rudy Gomis, for example, are from the southern forest region of Casamance and harmonise in Portuguese creole, while the northern Wolof griot vocal style of Ndiouga Dieng replicates that of his predecessor Laye M’Boup, killed in a 1975 car crash,  and Medoune Diallo’s is the voice we hear singing in Spanish.  Sax-player Issa Cissoka and drummer Mountage Koite are both from Mande griot families - Cissoko from Mali, and Koite from eastern Senegal – and bassist Charlie N’Diaye is from Casamance in the south.  On lead guitar, Barthelemy Attisso is from Togo, and rhythm guitarist Latfi Ben Geloume is from a Moroccan family exiled to Senegal’s Saint Louis.   Baro N'Diaye, the original saxophonist-leader of the group, seems to have been plain ordinary French-Senegalese – as was singer/percussionist Mapenda Seck.

“Baobab à Paris” is indication of the reach of their appeal into France, where there is a large expatriate community - and yet, shortly after the Baobab Club’s closure and then on through the ‘80s, audience tastes back home in Dakar began turning to the grittier sounds of bands like the Etoile de Dakar (featuring a young Youssou N'Dour) and the popularity of Orchestra Baobab began to wane.

In 1987, the band split up.

“Pirates Choice” was recorded in 1982 and released on cassette.  A vinyl version was later released in France and quickly became a sought-after cult rarity which came to the attention of the World Circuit label, who re-released it in 1989 as a double CD packaged with extra tracks.

The solid success of the re-release right across the label’s niche network meant there was an audience for live performance strong enough to sustain international touring if only the band were still in existence.  African performing artists all desire to achieve success on a world stage, though – so perhaps it was not really very hard at all, especially with the intercession and support of Youssou N’Dour, for World Circuit in 2001 to persuade the band to reform for tours of Europe and the United States and a new CD.

“Specialist In All Styles” was released in 2002 – twenty years after “Pirates Choice”.

The band are still the same guys.  Pretty much.  Thierno Koite, perhaps a relative of the drummer Mountaga Koite, replaced Baro N'Diaye, the original sax-player.  And Assane M’Boup, who may similarly be kin to original singer Laye M’Boup, replaced Mapemda Seck.   Only two personnel changes between them.  Plus, on the new one, we have guest performances from producer Youssou N’Dour, from Ibrahim Ferrer, and from Thio M'Baye on sabar drums.

The singing is beautiful and all of the music is absolutely made for dancing.

Baobab à Paris Vol 1 On Verra Ca (1978) - 320kbps 52.4 MB
https://mega.co.nz/#!7RIGzb5B!1SLPrClFptq_dDd-mC9-qInaDUgE2DzI89QVyrb7Ioo

Baobab à Paris Vol 2 Africa '78 (1978) - 320kbps 52.4 MB
https://mega.co.nz/#!PFZG2BYJ!cgvL31u96DqQddDQB-QP-B3iHKWn-smoadQXiJ3cZdQ

Pirate's Choice- The Legendary 1982 Session Disc 1 (1982) - 320kbps 94.7 MB
https://mega.co.nz/#!XMoU3A7Y!oK4QbcDB_LdgjQuYzrHArogOOYZsVuOeeT0BLs1huM0

Pirate's Choice- The Legendary 1982 Session Disc 2 (1982) - 320kbps  94.0 MB
https://mega.co.nz/#!fEBzxJRA!urO-vZH3lbge5xNcCCdRXTN1EVNQzrGGzujA7grB-1g

Specialist In All Styles (2002) - 192kbps  68.5 MB
https://mega.co.nz/#!acJxXQjS!wi1byg77U_CaMLpqUCUuauZtJ9qV2wtw8j8WQnSTeGg

Baaba Maal - Djam Leelii & Mi Veewnii

"Baaba Maal (born 12 November 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. He is well known in Africa and internationally is Senegal's most famous musician. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July 2003, he was made a UNDP Youth Emissary.

Baaba sings primarily in Pulaar and is the foremost promoter of the traditions of the Pulaar-speaking peoples who live on either side of the Senegal River in the ancient Senegalese kingdom of Futa Tooro.

Baaba Maal was expected to follow his father and become a fisherman. However, under the influence of his lifelong friend and family gawlo, blind guitarist Mansour Seck, Baaba devoted himself to learning music from his mother and his school's headmaster. He went on to study music at the university in Dakar before leaving for postgraduate studies on a scholarship at Beaux-Arts in Paris.

After returning from study in Paris, Baaba studied traditional music with Mansour Seck and began performing with the band Daande Lenol. Baaba's fusions continued into the next decade with his Firin' in Fouta (1994) album, which used ragga, salsa and Breton harp music to create a popular sound that launched the careers of Positive Black Soul, a group of rappers, and also led to the formation of the Afro-Celt Sound System. His fusion tendencies continued on 1998's Nomad Soul, which featured Brian Eno as one of seven producers. In addition to his various solo releases, he was featured on two tracks, "Bushes" and "Dunya Salam", on the concept album

In 1998, Baaba recorded "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" for the Red Hot Organization’s compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody a tribute to George Gershwin which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In 2002, Baaba again worked with the Red Hot Organization, recording "No Agreement" alongside Res, Tony Allen, Ray Lema, Positive Black Soul and Archie Shepp for the tribute album to Fela Kuti, Red Hot + Riot..."