Music fans and political observers around the world marked the occasion by reflecting on the legacy left behind by the Jamaican singer and guitarist, who championed civil rights, peace and justice around the globe. Marley, who adhered to the controversial teachings of the Rastafari movement, supported liberation movements across Africa in particular, and played a key role in his own country in forging ties across political parties.

“His greatest achievement was that he continues to inspire,” said Marley’s son, the accomplished musician Ziggy Marley.

This sentiment was echoed across the globe. In Ghana, the first country to gain its independence from colonialism, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, president of the Rastafari Council said Marley would have supported the wave of liberation movements taking place across the Arab world and North Africa today.

Horace Campbell, a professor of African American studies and political science at Syracuse University, praised Marley for his role in drawing attention to Apartheid in South Africa by performing at the liberation celebrations of Zimbabwe in 1980. “Marley was very conscious that the African revolution and African unity were inseparable,” he writes in Pambazuka News. “This call for African unity from the grassroots is as urgent today as it was 31 years ago when Bob Marley uttered these words of unity from the stage in Harare, Zimbabwe.”

The appearance also marked the embrace of reggae music across the continent, inspiring home grown artists like Luke Dube, Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly, not to mention a slew of socially conscious rappers like K’Naan and Darra J — all of whom continue to speak out lyrically against corruption and for human rights in Africa and beyond.

“Zimbabwe” by Bob Marley

Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny,
And in this judgement there is no partiality.
So arm in arms, with arms, we’ll fight this little struggle,
‘Cause that’s the only way we can overcome our little trouble.

Brother, you’re right, you’re right,
You’re right, you’re right, you’re so right!
We gon’ fight (we gon’ fight), we’ll have to fight (we gon’ fight),
We gonna fight (we gon’ fight), fight for our rights!

Reports indicate Jean, who has thrown his international clout behind front runner Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, also a musician, was shot in the hand.

But was the former Fugees rapper, who made his own bid to run in the presidential election but was denied over issues of residency, really shot?

Rolling Stone reports that a police chief in the town where Jean is staying claims he was wounded by glass, while MTV.com says Jean was “grazed” by a bullet.

Kudos to GOOD, where I picked this up.

Via Six Degrees Records blog, Globalnoize

The name of this blog is Music and Global Affairs.  We’ve certainly covered the major political events of the year, from the soundtrack to the World Cup in South Africa to elections in Haiti, along with the celebration of 50 years of African independence.  Music goes beyond day to day politics to reflect to reality “on the ground” in locations around the world.

In 2011, we’ll continue to explore that reality.  We look forward to the season premier of Sound Tracks on PBS a documentary program that aims to touch on many of the same issues as this blog.  We’ll also be producing our first multimedia project on the history and impact of Highlife music in Ghana, in addition to covering new releases and other events.

Below are the five records we thought had the biggest impact on the global music scene in 2010, with all the expected caveats.  Also included are another five for good measure.  See you in 2011.

1. AfroCubism, AfroCubism (Mali + Cuba)

Anyone who has heard this record knows it had to be number one. Aside from the marketing friendly pitch that THIS was the record Nick Gold wanted to make before producing the legendary Buena Vista Social Club recordings, AfroCubism brings together some of the best musicians from Mali and Cuba to astounding results. Just get it and listen to it over, and over and over….
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2. Taj Weekes and Adowa, Waterlogged Soul Kitchen (St. Lucia)

I’ve been waiting for a second Taj Weekes album since hearing the track “MPLA” on a Putamayo compilation of world reggae years ago, a song that depicts the reaction of a community to one of its wayward sons with Weekes trademark falsetto. He returns triumphantly with this genre-bending reggae record, which at times feels more like a journey into Caribbean soul and blues. A beautiful and heartfelt record that addresses the universal social and cultural challenges of our time.

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3. Richy Pitch, Ye Free Me Richy Pitch (Ghana + UK)

London-based producer Richy Pitch has pulled off a pretty impressive stunt with this record.  Travelling to Accra, he solicits the help of a number of up-and-coming and veteran Ghanaian musicians, rappers, and singers to create a modern-day interpretation of Highlife music, one of the most influential genres of Afro-pop to hit the continent.

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4. Baloji, Kinshasa Succursale (Belgium + DR Congo)

While Baloji may reside in Belgium and the influence of French rap is inherent in much of his previous music, Kinshasa Succursale is a bit of a departure, incorporating the musicians roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Standout tracks include the Independence Cha-Cha, which celebrates 50 years of independence from colonialism (though not war and poverty) in DRC, along with an awesomely freaky collaboration with Konono No 1 on Karibu ya bintou shot on the streets of Kinshasa.  Check the video here.

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5. Systema Solar, Systema Solar (Colombia)

These guys are just fun.  Happened to catch them at a festival in Brussels and they set the party off.  Whether they are rapping about the difficulty of finding a firewire or simply chanting the name of their band over and over, it’s hard not to love the powerful beats and enthusiasm of this band.

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Honorable Mention:

6. Bomba Estereo, Blow Up (Colombia)

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7. Bibi Tanga and The Selenites, Dunya (France and Central African Republic)

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8. Burkina Electric, Paspanga (Burkina Faso)

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9. Asmara All Stars, Eritrea’s Got Soul (Eritrea)

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10. Tumi and the Volume,  Pick a Dream (South Africa)

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I was lucky enough to catch one of the three or four concerts taking place to promote the record a few weeks back here in NYC and the guys were just full of energy.  The relationship between Cuba and Africa goes back to the slave trading days, when ships would transport their human cargo (along with their musical cultures) back and forth between the islands and the motherland.

Cuban singer and guitarist Eliades Ochoa teams up with ngoni lute master Bassekou Kouyate and Rail Band guitarist Djelimady Tounkara, among others for this truly wonderful experience.  I’l stop writing and let you start listening.

Sample and Purchase Download on Nonesuch Records.

Read and watch more on Afropop.com

A Short Documentary About the Project

Track Listings:

Chico
Systema Solar
Systema Solar

Feelin
Bomba Estereo
Blow Up

Cumbia (Nickodemus remix)
Compilation
The New Gold Standard 2 Remixed EP

Cumbia Thump (DJ Suma rework)
Rebel Crew
Mshini-Wam

La Pacheco
DJ Lengua
Mi Camino

Shove It (Toy Selectah Cumbia Remix)
Santogold
The Mex-More EP

Cumbia Murguera
Rodante
Chancha vs. Circuito

Check it out here.

If I Was President (Lyrics)

Election time is coming

If I was president,
I’d get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president…
If I was president

An old man told me, instead of spending billions on the war,
we can use some of that money, in the ghetto.
I know some so poor,when it rains that when they shower,
screaming “fight the power”.
That’s when the vulture devoured

[chorus]
If I was president,
I’d get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president…
If I was president…
If I was president…
If I was president

But the radio won’t play this.
They call it rebel music.
How can you refuse it, children of moses?

[chorus]
If I was president,
I’d get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president…
If i was president

Tell the children the truth, the truth.
Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America.
Tell them the truth.
The truth
YEAH! Tell them about Marcus Garvey.
The the children the truth YEAH! The truth.
Tell them about Martin Luther King.
Tell them the truth.
The Truth.
Tell them about JFK

If I was President
[chorus]
If I was president,
I’d get elected on Friday, assasinated on Saturday,
and buried on Sunday.

If I was president…
If I was president

I’ll let you figure ponder that one while I attest to the quality of the musicians on the final day of the three day festival.  I was lucky enough to catch a strong set by the “Golden Voice of Africa,”  Malian wonder Salif Keita, whose music and band of happy traveling musicians had the Africans and the euro-hippies swaying, shucking and even singing along to his latest record, La différence.  It’s beautiful.

If Keita represents the honored elders of Afro-pop, relative newcomer Biloji is trumpeting in the new era of so-called “whirled music”, fusing his creative brand of Belgian hip-hop with his Congolese roots. His new record, Kinshasa Succursale, is a tribute to Congo’s 50 year anniversary of independence, best heard on the track Independence Cha-Cha, below.

This dude is hot.  And while I mean that in a purely musical way, some of the ladies on hand might have a different opinion.  In Brussels, where he is based, Baloji played an acoustic rendition of a sonically mind-bending collaboration with Kinshasa’s low-tech, hi-fi human sound system, Konono No1.

BALOJI feat. KONONO n1 – KARIBU YA BINTOU from BALOJI on Vimeo.

The last act I was able to catch at the festival was the Colombian techno-roots cumbia outfit Systema Solar, who really rocked the party with their high-energy, Afro-Latin coastal sound.

Mi Kolombia – Systema Solar from jorge silva on Vimeo.

From the roots of the popular, resurgent Afrobeat to the soothing kora strings of ancient African kings, we’ll send you to sources that provides insight into the political contexts that led to the creation of highlife, national orchestras and jazz bands and all of the other musical gems of West Africa.

A great first stop is RFI (Radio France International) which has excellent write-ups and tracks focusing primarily on the Francophone countries of West Africa (with the exception of Nigeria and Ghana) organized by country, including:

• Independence and music: Ivory Coast, a musical El Dorado
• Independence and music: Guinea and authenticity
• Senegal, the transatlantic connection
• Cameroon: land of musical contrasts
• Ghana and Nigeria: the golden years
• Mali, new music for a new nation

According to Novaplanet, record labels PIAS and Cantos will be issuing a 5-part set titled Afriques Indépendantes: 1960-2010: 50 ans d’indépendance musicale (PIAS), though it has yet to appear online – do stay tuned.

Another great resource is Afropop’s Hipdeep program, which has features like Celebrating Senegal’s 50th Anniversary: Mbalax Fever–The Story of Popular Music in Senegal and the wonderful The Story of Bembeya Jazz.

One defining feature of the music of this period was that it was really a hybrid of African and Western sounds, as indigenous cultures could not help but we influenced by the music of their colonizers.  Nowhere is this more apparent than in “highlife”, which combines elements of calypso (brought from the West Indies through the global slave trade), the brass bands of Europe favored by the continent’s elite (hence the name “highlife”) and traditional African rhythms.  Check out this track from Ghana’s Et Mensah and the Tempos Band for a sample.