OkayAfrica keeps up to date with pop culture and news from across the continent. Africa In Your Earbuds gives DJs and musicians from across the diaspora the chance to curate a playlist or mixtape of their favorite African and African diaspora music. Chief Boima of Dutty Artz starts off Africa In Your Earbuds. [more inside]
posted by ChuraChura on May 1, 2012 - 8 comments

Mos Def + Dub = Mos Dub
posted by chunking express on May 4, 2010 - 29 comments

He's a Hasidic Jew, but that doesn't stop him from dropping mad raps over hot reggae beats. Did I mention he can beatbox like a mofo, too? He was born Matt Miller, but you can call him Matisyahu. [more inside]
posted by baphomet on Mar 31, 2009 - 71 comments

Natasja Saad, born to a Danish mother and a Sudanese father was a Danish rapper and reggae singer, about to achieve international break through. She died last week in a car accident near Kingston, Jamaica
posted by growabrain on Aug 3, 2007 - 11 comments

WaxDJ.com - an excellent source for free downloads and streams of original electronic music mixes of all sorts, from seasoned pros to beginning bedroom amatuers, all told numbering in the hundreds or thousands. My current brand new favorite is the very diverse and well-versed Detriot/Chicago techno stylings of DJ Rubsilent. Recomended mix: Future Funk 23: (Direct MP3 link) (Streaming mp3 link) But don't let me divert you - search for your favorite local DJ or browse for new ones.
posted by loquacious on Oct 11, 2006 - 19 comments

Matisyahu Revisited: While he's been mentioned here before, a new AP profile on Matisyahu finds Brooklyn's reggae Hasid still hard at work. Catch his performance on Jimmy Kimmel, then give a listen to his amazing new live album from Jewish-oriented JDub Records — currently streaming its *entirety* on Heavy Radio.
posted by MaxVonCretin on Apr 22, 2005 - 13 comments

Galang-alang-alang-a. (insane, 18MB QuickTime music video)
[MusicFilter] Cranking out music somewhere between hip-hop, electronica, Nintendo cartridges, and reggae, 27-year-old Maya Arulpragasam is getting a lot of attention for the results of tinkering with one box. M.I.A. (her stage name) dresses in garish flourescents like it's 1983, dances like no one's watching, and is making waves all around the critic-o-sphere. [RS|NYT|Eye|pm|pfm|New Yorker|CBC] Want a sample? The video for "Galang" takes her grattifi-esque art, animates it, and mashes it all together with her, um, unusual style of dance, for a music+video experience that is hard to forget. Is M.I.A. redefining the world of 21st century global pop... or is it just crap?   (via WG)
posted by blacklite on Mar 12, 2005 - 118 comments