Africa Sings!!! is a special month-long series that celebrates the rich legacy of Africa’s world music.
Amongst the exciting categories that will be featured are Afro-beat, Afro-pop, Afro-folk, soukous, gospel and traditional. All will be presented through the works (DVD and live) of some of the foremost legendary and promising emerging artists of this genre. The artists will include the First Lady of World Beat, Angelique Kidjo (Benin); the reigning king of Afro-pop, Femi Kuti (Nigeria); the gospel tour de force, The Soweto Gospel Choir (South Africa); the hot newcomer of Afro-folk, Aa (Nigeria/France);The royal griots of traditional music, The Djoliba Ensemble of Mali; and the Congolese soukous master, Shik Mawatu (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The series began with the 2008 Grammy Award-winning superstar Angelique Kidjo, who was featured last week in an advance piece for her Saturday, November 1 concert at Carnegie Hall. The sold-out show was a spectacular success on every level, as Kidjo, the First Lady of World Music, wowed the enthusiastic audience with her showstopping performance.
Her rich musical repertoire, skillful delivery and magnificent dancing ensured a glorious evening of unsurpassed entertainment! To the delight of her fans, the Beninese dynamo came offstage and mingled with the diverse crowd before inviting a few onstage to dance to her infectious brand of joyous music. What a marvelously thrilling evening!! Following the concert, Kidjo shared: “I feel we are living a special time in history when people are ready to open their hearts to the beauty of African culture through its musical heritage.”