photo via Africa is a Country

2008 was a good year for African music. I don’t mean that in the monumental/ I’m making a bold new statement/ I want to see every white kid in Greenpoint donning couture kente-cloth type of way. I mean it in the “shit, why didn’t I know about this before?” type of way. 2008 was the year in which I stumbled upon older African music styles while simultaneously being exposed to dope new artists emerging from the continent.  In the past 365 days I have been bequeathed with such gems as The Don Isaac Ezekiel Combination, nigerian highlife, Blk Jks, and Filosofia Reggae (not really from Africa but reggae from NE Brazil…close enough) And apparently, I’m not the only one who is enjoying the music of this country: the Fader dedicated a whole issue to music from the continent, while NPR has a “best of” list, detailing the top 11 (??) best African album/songs of 2008. Also, let’s not forget the appropriately titled blog Awesome Tapes from Africa, which features…awesome tapes from Africa.