Baaba Maal

Booker Prize-winning author David Szalay talks to John Wilson about his creative influences. His 2009 debut novel London and The South East, based on his experience of working in telesales, won the Betty Trask Award. The author of six books, his work often defies easy classificat ...  Show more

John Wilson talks to the Australian born opera singer Danielle de Niese. A soprano renowned for her vibrant stage presence, she made her professional operatic debut with the Los Angeles Opera at the age of 15 and, and four years later she became one of the youngest singers to per ...  Show more

Baaba Maal, Tricky, Jah Wobble and Chi-Chi Nwanoku discuss the influence of African musical roots and traditions in Western classical music, the importance of collaboration, and rhythm and its position in the song writing process.Baaba Maal was born into a family of fishermen in ...  Show more

The story of Hugh Masekela’s life is intertwined with the history of South Africa itself. Born into a relatively privileged family in a mining town east of Johannesburg, Masekela was aware from an early age of the separatist and exploitative legacy of colonialism. As he grew up a ...  Show more

Sampa the Great, Thandiswa Mazwai, Emmanuel Jagari Chanda and Mag44 discuss music standing the test of time, African music, and the new generation of musicians.Sampa the Great was born in Ndola in Zambia and became interested in music from a young age, writing poems and singing f ...  Show more

Fela Kuti was a musician and activist who pioneered the jazzy, uniquely West African genre of Afrobeat. His musical testing ground, political pulpit and spiritual home was a nightclub he created in Lagos, The Afrika Shrine. A venue at the heart of his community that would welcome ...  Show more