This year, we’re excited to add a musical portion to our celebration with the addition of this very excellent playlist curated by Amanda Khiri. While hearing the music might be the best way to understand it, it’s certainly not the only way. For those of you who want to take your musical explorations a little further, here’s a great selection of books, articles, and websites that will help you dive deeper into what are, truly, some of the deepest waters there are.
Books
In addition to being an accomplished and celebrated poet, Tsitsi Jaji is also the author of Africa in Stereo: Modernism, Music, and Pan-African Solidarity, an in-depth look at the influence of African-American music on African musicians and music fans.
Highlife Giants: West African Dance Band Pioneers by musician and professor John Collins. Explore the past, present, and future of this distinctive West African music.
In 1977, participants representing 56 African countries and countries of the African diaspora converged in Lagos for the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. Far from being just about music, the festival encompassed visual art, dance, and literature, a spectrum of art and sounds. So why include it in a post about music? Because wow did it have music. Miriam Makeba. Sun Ra. Stevie Wonder. Gilberto Gil. In 2019, Chimurenga—a magazine based in Cape Town, South Africa, released a book on the event.
It’s never too early to start learning about this incredibly diverse music. Give the kids a head start with Mama Africa by Kathryn Erskine and Charly Palmer, a picture book about the life, music, and activism of Miriam Makeba.
Ok, so this one isn’t specifically about African music, but it’s one that captures what makes music so special—it’s global. We can be transported to faraway places, touch shores and peaks that are a thousand miles away, all on the waves of these perfectly placed notes. A History of Music for Children by Mary Richards, David Schweitzer, and Rose Blake explores those times, places, and genres that have shaped the music we listen to.
Heavy Metal Africa by Edward Banchs is a great example of why, whether it’s literature or music, a place’s art is never just one thing. Banchs explores countries including South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe to get to the heart of the continent’s heavy metal scene. Banchs has another book on the metal scene set to release in 2022.
Others you might like:
Tony Allen: An Autobiography of the Master Drummer of Afrobeat
Rumba on the River by Gary Stewart
Articles/Websites
OkayAfrica is always a great source of information about the current scene across the continent.
Afro Pop is another one that keeps you up-to-date but it also dives deep on the history of a number of genres within the African diaspora though articles and audio stories.
Suggested Reads:
“Africa and the Blues”
“Hip Deep in Madagascar: Songs of the North”
“The Black History of the Banjo”
“Anatomy of A Song: “Gumboots:” Paul Simon’s Excellent Adventure”
Aquarium Drunkard is a great site for music writing of all kinds, so it’s no surprise there’s an archive of writing on African music from across the continent.
Suggested Reads:
“Africa Unbound: A Tale of Cross-Cultural Influence”
“African Scream Contest Vol. 2 :: Benin 1963-1980“
“Marthe Zambo :: Ebele Minga / Bidan”
Bandcamp. That is all. Well, a little more: this is great site to read about/listen to a wide range of artists from around the world. Think of it like Bookshop for music, an indie site with a great spirit. (Full disclosure: I’ve written for Bandcamp several times).
Suggested Reads:
“An Introduction to Egyptian Black Metal”
“A Brief Guide to African Disco”
“Djembe Master Weedie Braimah On the History of the Instrument”
“In the Songs of Lady Donli, Decades of Nigerian Music Collide”
Others you might like:
Gwen Ansell at New Frame
“It’s Never Just About the Music” by Liam Brickhill (Africa is a Country)
“A legacy beyond the vintage records” by Philipp Schütz (Africa is a Country)
