Afropop Worldwide to mark 35th anniversary with Samba Mapangala show

The celebrations will feature a performance by Congolese soukous legend Samba Mapangala and an exhibition of contemporary Congolese art at SOB’s club in New York City on 10 November.

The Peabody Award-winning radio show emerged from the vision of American music journalist Sean Barlow, who recognised the lack of representation for African music in the Western media landscape. Partnering with co-producer Banning Eyre, they launched the radio programme to showcase the diversity of African music.

In 1988, Afropop Worldwide was launched by NPR as a weekly series, and over 30 years later, the programme has expanded its vision to include the music and cultures that encompass the entire African diaspora.

This groundbreaking show became the cornerstone for what would later evolve into Afropop.org, with both platforms dedicated to the exploration of the musical heritage of Africa and the diaspora.

Hosted by legendary Cameroonian-French broadcaster Georges Collinet and produced by Barlow, the radio show is distributed by PRX to over 100 stations in the US, as well as stations in Europe and Africa.

The programme is still the standard for both the curious and the connoisseur, and takes listeners to dynamic music capitals such as Dakar, Johannesburg, Cairo, Egypt, Havana, Salvador de Bahia, New York and Paris. Listeners meet the leading stars as well as emerging artists. Live concert recordings of world-class artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Cesária Évora, Gilberto Gil, Baaba Maal, Kanda Bongo Man and others, are featured on the programme.

“This anniversary celebrates Afropop Worldwide as one of NPR’s longest-running music programmes – a testament to its enduring appeal and its significant role in shaping the musical narrative of world music productions,” Afropop Worldwide said.

“Today, their programmes continue to present rich, multi-generational context to the music as a prism for artists to address today’s critical issues that define our collective futures including women’s empowerment in the African and diaspora creative industries, governance, climate change and more.”

Afropop Worldwide’s new offerings include a bi-weekly podcast, Planet Afropop, co-hosted by Collinet, Mukwae Wabei Siyolwe and Banning Eyre.