USA Africa Dialogue Series - This Week’s Topic on Youth Initiatives: No Money No Be Problem: Voices from Ghana's Rising Music Scene

JOIN DISCUSSION LIVE BY PHONE OR SKYPE
When: Friday, November 23, 2012
Time: 12: 00 P.M. -1: 00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
To Participate By Phone: Call   (760) 283-0850, Press 1 to get to the Program Director   
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"No Money No Be Problem": Voices from Ghana's Rising Music Scene

 

Dear Listeners:

If you haven't heard of azonto by now, you've probably been hiding under a rock for the last couple of years. Azonto is a new dance-cum-musical genre that has exploded out of obscurity in an inner city neighborhood of Accra and, via Youtube and the omnipresent Ghanaian Diaspora, spawned a subculture across the world. And the azonto craze is just one of the ways that Ghana's – and Africa's – long-acknowledged talent for music, rhythm and dance has been re-emerging more forcefully than ever on the global music scene. Still, despite the talent and popularity on display, according to a 2008 UN report on the creative economy, Africa's cultural exports make up less than 1% of the total global trade in cultural goods and services. And with the exception of South Africa, the music industry can largely be described as fragmented and lacking the structure needed to produce the kind of star power generated by the music industry in the developed world.

What's the history of Ghana's music industry? How have its artists interacted with the rest of the world? How is it changing now in this globalized era? What kind of talent and new genres are being developed? Are talented musicians able to make a living from their art? What are the challenges for the development of the industry? What can music bring to economic, social and national development agendas? What's happening on the continent in general?

Several experts and practitioners on Ghana's music industry will be speaking with us about trends and their vision for the industry:

• Kobby Graham, professor at Ashesi University, popular culture scholar and founder of Dust magazine who moonlights as a DJ known as "The Funky Professor,"

• Benjamin LeBrave, is a French producer and DJ "BBrave" and founder of Akwaaba Music. He moved to Ghana from a lucrative job in LA several years ago to promote African music to international audiences.

• A surprise guest musician will give us a perspective on being an artist in the Ghanaian and international music scene today.

We'll also, of course, play some great music that will have you grooving. Join us for this fascinating conversation!

 

Regards,

 

Tully & Sharon