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This month, London African Music Festival will stage two Live Events at the RichMix, London.

FRIDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER - 7.30PM

The High Life Orchestra, established by trombonist and vocalist Abdul Raheem, will be the first to perform for the Trombonist and singer Abdul Raheem is the man to breathe new life to Hi-Life music. His career has seen him playing and recording with host of West African legends like Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Tony Allen, Orlando Julius, Osibisa and many more, as well as releasing great albums as a leader.

His 8-piece orchestra takes the magical sounds of hi-life and update it with modern grooves that drives you crazy with its infectious riffs and blazing horn lines. This is a re-birth of Hi-Life that continues to play important roles in shaping the future sounds of West Africa. Expect to hear classics from the hi-life’s incredible musical history.

Click on link below to buy your ticket.

SATURDAY 25TH SEPTEMBER - 7.30PM

The African Jazz Orchestra will be the second and final act performing at the Richmix and will  bring its irresistible music driven by the basslines of Serge Ngando-Mpondo, who has an impressive CV, playing bass for Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba, Touré Kunda, Papa Wemba, Busi Mhlongo, Cheik Lô. He features on Lion of Africa and also produced Coco Mbassi’s CDs “JÓA” and “SEPIA”
The orchestra is packed with brilliant soloists and has one aim which is to rekindle people’s love affair with African jazz. Their brilliant music takes the listeners to the roots of all black music where hi-life meets afrobeat and then meeting jazz along the way. Bassist and leader Serge Ngando-Mpondo has spent the last few years writing for this orchestra with the aim of creating spectacular live shows with some of the best African jazz soloists in contemporary music.  Together they speak with one unique voice that creates music that has no boundaries. 

Click on link below to buy your ticket.

You'd like to get a feel of London African Music Festival.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Biyi Adepegba back in 2018. Click below to watch the video and get a feel of the festival.

Flashback to a special interview with Soul singer, songwriter and musician Noel McKoy where he shares with Caro Sika his earliest memories of Black British Music talking about Lovers Rock, Reggae, Soul artists and more.

Click below to watch the interview.

Noel McKoy is a British-based soul music singer. His music is a collection of soul, R&B, gospel, funk and Northern soul. Born in South London, he fronted the James Taylor Quartet in the early 1990s and has worked and duetted with several artists such as Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Cliff Richard, Lenny Henry, Jessie J, Mica Paris, Beverley Knight and his favourite - Stevie Wonder, as well as being known as the Dutch Pot owner, a nightclub located in London. He is currently part of the British Collective and also continues to tour and collaborate on a number of musical projects, one of the most recent being an international production with EEDB in collaboration with artists from Brazil and the US called "What are we gonna do? "

 Click below to watch the video clip

"Music is my first love, the first thing I actually fell in love with" - Mic Assassin. 

Following a 6-month Caribbean holiday which turned into an 8-year hiatus from music, Mic Assassin returns once again with more hunger, focus, and renewed vision. 

 Musician, Entrepreneur, Director, and Lover of life are the words, which most astutely describe this street-savvy South Londoner. Being disheartened and disillusioned with the politics of the music industry, his time away from music was productively spent setting up entrepreneurial ventures including a visual production company ‘FWD360’ under which Mic directed & edited over 100 projects for global brands, charities, and many grassroots organisations and independent artists. 

 But what is a man to do when his childhood dream and passion for creating music just won’t go away?  

 “I thought about it all the time, envisioning myself performing to massive concert venues. I wrote down everything even the thoughts I'm scared to say out loud. I’d hum melodies into voice recorders then start piecing the tracks together. Inspiration can come at any time of the day, I just have to stop everything and be on it when it does”. 

 From the tender age of 9 rapping in school assemblies to a 16-year-old appearing in magazines like The Face and The Fader, to an 18-year-old setting up his own record label selling CD’s hand to hand, Mic knows the true meaning of dream chasing. 

 Inspired by the hustle and grind of US / UK Indie labels such as Roc-a-fella, No Limit, So Solid and 57th Dynasty, Mic and his team learned and perfected the art of hand to hand selling moving units of CDs around their Lewisham college campus and outside popular music venues. 

 In love with the art of freestyling and eruptive crowd energy, Mic entered many "open mic" and Mc Battle competitions winning many of them and eventually being crowned Jump Off’s 2005 UK Street Battle Champion. This journey of gladiatorial words took Mic around the UK and USA where he would cross paths in combat with the likes of Professor Green, Lowkey and Iron Solomon. 

 The buzz around Mic Assassin grew and lead on to great coverage with live performances and Interviews on Kiss 100 FM (Shortee Blitz & Big Ted), BBC Radio (Ace & Vis, Twin B, Ras Kwame) and Dan Greenpeace (Xfm / Capital radio). His witty off the head freestyles lead Mic to feature on MTV’s Barrio 19 and host a part-time Hip Hop show “Mic Check With Mic Assassin” on BBC’s Asian Network. 

Returning back with renewed focus and love for music-making, combining the visual and business skills learned within the 8-year gap period he is funnelling this new artillery into his new music. 

With a more mature sound and reflective disposition Mic is open to all possibilities that may come his way. 

 “The most important thing this time around is having fun, travelling, connecting with people and making the best music I can. I’m legacy-building right now, building a foundation that can outlive me. I have many creative visuals, films, business ideas it’s all one, it’s all me and they intertwine with each other, but music is my first love and I’ve missed it. I am a better person when I'm making music,  I feel like me again”.

Click below to download and listen to the new single release:

SACO Superfoods is run by husband and wife, Franck and Lucia. They ethically source natural and highly nutritious ingredients from West Africa while empowering small-scale men and women producers in the Ivory Coast.

Through their health food shop in Salford, they promote a healthy, ethical, and sustainable lifestyle in their community. In addition, they support other local businesses by stocking their products to strengthen the local economy and create a welcoming space where customers can learn about the health benefits of African products, do a bit of shopping and relax with a friend over a drink and a healthy snack in their sitting area.

Click on link below to shop at SACO SUPERFOODS and get your 10% Blackoutday discount using Promo Code: BOD10# on 07.07.2021.

Described as the UK's leading "Super Manny", Joss Simmons grew up in a town called Hackney in London, UK and is taking modern childcare to the next level, defying the odds to give back to the next generation.

As a child, witnessing his mother suffer domestic violence had a profound effect on Joss and he knows only to well where many children, who have odds stacked against them, end up. That led him to create his own childcare service, Jossy Care.

His positive approach is what is gaining him the attention of parents, practitioners, the media and as a childcare practitioner, Joss is also keen to address stereotypes in the childcare industry. Hence, Joss has spoken out on the topic of male nannies being refused jobs on the basis of their gender and the difficulty they face.

In 2017, Joss gave his first public talk about his experience and hasn't looked back ever since. Multi talented Joss is now frequently invited to deliver motivational talks on topics such as depression, domestic violence, children and the future.

Joss recently featured in Time out, Hackney Gazette and East London Radio. He has also won the National Diversity Award 2019 and is currently up for Best Social Media Nanny with Nanny UK Nanny.

Click on link below to vote for Joss Cambridge-Simmons as Best Social Media Nanny:

The album "Mother Nature" is a love letter to Mother Earth and all the values that humanity holds dear: truth, trust, love, connection. 'If there's anything the pandemic has taught us, it's that we are all a part of the same ecosystem—this planet is all we have' says Angelique Kidjo.
The song 'Mother Nature' features artist Sting and many other artists guests joined Angelique Kidjo on the album such as: Yemi Alade, Burna Boy, Mr Eazi, Salif Keita, Shungudzo, Sampa The Great, GhettoBoy, EarthGang, ZEYNAB, Matthieu, Chedid, - M - Lionel Loueke, and many more!

Iconic Haitian Band Lakou Mizik and electronic producer Joseph Ray share the debut single Ogou (Pran Ka Mwen) from their forthcoming project Leave The Bones. The track is available on all platforms via Anjunadeep now. 

Lakou Mizik and Ray premiere the album's debut single, 'Ogou (Pran Ma Kwen)', giving a telling look at what's to come. Characterised by vibrant strings, traditional Haitian rhythms and a jubilant chorus, 'Ogou (Pran Ka Mwen)' is an impassioned plea to the Vodou spirit of Iron and War for protection from the brutality of life's daily battles - "Ogou, you brought me here, take care of me." Since its inception, Lakou Mizik has sought to re-define people's conceptions of Haiti through its music. The nine piece band, formed in 2010, is emblematic of the melting pot that is Haiti's musical culture. Lakou's figurehead, Sanba Zao, one of only ten original Sanba poets left, played a central role in Haiti's Rasin (roots) movement of the 1980s which sought to re-imagine traditional Haitian Vodou music through radical experimentation with modern instruments. This spirit of Haiti's rich musical history underpins Lakou Mizik today; a multi-generational genre-blending ensemble that plays traditional Haitian music with a punk energy and a deep sense of their heritage. 

Leave the Bones paints a musical portrait, a fresh glimpse of an oft misrepresented country. Through Vodou chants, chest-pounding Rara dance tunes and contemporary protest songs, the record conveys the listener to Haiti's spiritual heart, a place that remains a compelling mystery for foreigners and a source of pride for every Haitian. Few albums manage to evoke a time and place with such startling effect as the unlikely collaboration Leave the Bones (out August 6th), between the multi-generational Haitian band Lakou Mizik, and Grammy-winning electronic music artist Joseph Ray. Leave the Bones is a record that sounds like it could come from nowhere else, and while its rhythms undoubtedly possess a universal danceability, their meaning and depth are also unique to Haiti.

The new sounds from Zanzibar are as fresh as they could be, be it the sparkling Qanun, the vibrant violin or the powerful and bright voice of Siti Amina, let yourself be taken away into a journey to the magical Island!

Siti & The Band are releasing their new single and music video for the romantic love song “Subira” on the 28th of May 2021. ”Subira” is the first single from their forthcoming second studio album.

Zanzibar’s music history has been determined by female voices –from Siti Binti Saad to Bi Kidude, they have always been a trajectory for female emancipation and empowerment over the past decades.

Translating the traditional music into the modern times, Siti & The Band beautifully crafts the sounds of the new generation. In “Subira” it molds into unique afro-arab grooves, led by powerful vocals, the sparkling sounds of the Qanun and sweet responses by the Violin.

The message calls for our patience – in relationships and in our personal lives. Siti Aminais, the lead singer of the band is a role model for many young African women, determined to be all they can be.

After touring from East to West and from North to South with their first album “Fusing the Roots”, Siti & The Band utilized the pandemic to get back into the studio and record their second album. The stories and experiences from the Felabration Festival in Nigeria, Visa for Music in Morocco, Capital Nights in Sudan, IOMMA in La Reunion, ACCES in Nairobi and many other places are still alive and keep on influencing their musical journey and creative delivery.

Watch their new music video below and experience the island's magic.

Our cultural mediator, Caro Sika, showcasing Walk with Wings by Tene Edwards: