Gata Misteriosa and Lee Bass (the Mozambican-Portuguese-Ghanaian-German duo who go by the name of Gato Preto) dropped this new video for “Pirao” last night: no longer strictly kuduro, not yet sure what to call it, but right in time for our weekend special of ten. Video above. Janka and the Bubu Gang (Sierro Leone via Brooklyn) also surprised with this belated video for “Feba”, lifted from their 2012 record “En Yay Sah” out on Luaka Bop:

NPR did a nice feature on Jeri-Jeri recently, the collaboration between the Senegalese Bakane Seck-led drum collective and German producer Mark Ernestus, and premiered their new video, “Gawlo”, featuring Baaba Maal (below). Remember Jeri-Jeri. But there’s more. They’ve been uploading some other studio material onto their YouTube channel as well. Here.

Navio and Unique lay down their rhymes over “1960’s Ugandan beats” on “Leka Kwenyumiriza”.

More conscious Hip-Hop: Senegalese rap group A-J One (feat. Xuman and Ceepee) on “Ndjite” (there’s so much rap coming out of Dakar recently it’s hard to keep up; we’ll write about it shortly):

When Maître Gims (real name: Gandhi Djuna) isn’t collaborating with Sexion d’Assaut or his dad (Franco band singer Djanana Djuna) he’s putting out records by himself. This is from his latest: “VQ2PQ”:

Recorded in Bamako, Mali, in September 2012, ‘Troubles’ is the new album from Dirtmusic, the band headed by Chris Eckman (The Walkabouts) and Hugo Race (Fatalists/True Spirit/Bad Seeds), featuring musicians Ben Zabo, Samba Touré and Zoumana Tereta amongst others. Here’s “Fitzcarraldo”:

Aline Frazão also has a new record out (hoping Claudio might have time to review it soon). Here’s the first single, “Tanto”, with a lovely video:

Omar’s “The Man”, taken from his forthcoming album of the same name (where has he been all those years?):

And finally, Charles Bradley, who we can listen to any day. Live @ KUTX:

H/Ts this week: Zachary, Sean, Ts’eliso and Claudio.

Further Reading

Energy for whom?

Behind the fanfare of the Africa Climate Summit, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline shows how neocolonial extraction still drives Africa’s energy future.

The sound of revolt

On his third album, Afro-Portuguese artist Scúru Fitchádu fuses ancestral wisdom with urban revolt, turning memory and militancy into a soundtrack for resistance.

O som da revolta

No seu terceiro álbum, o artista afro-português Scúru Fitchádu funde a sabedoria ancestral com a revolta urbana, transformando memória e militância em uma trilha sonora para a resistência.

Biya forever

As Cameroon nears its presidential elections, a disintegrated opposition paves the way for the world’s oldest leader to claim a fresh mandate.

From Cornell to conscience

Hounded out of the United States for his pro-Palestine activism, Momodou Taal insists that the struggle is global, drawing strength from Malcolm X, faith, and solidarity across borders.

After the uprising

Following two years of mass protest, Kenya stands at a crossroads. A new generation of organizers is confronting an old question: how do you turn revolt into lasting change? Sungu Oyoo joins the AIAC podcast to discuss the vision of Kenya’s radical left.

Redrawing liberation

From Gaza to Africa, colonial cartography has turned land into property and people into populations to be managed. True liberation means dismantling this order, not redrawing its lines.