Category Archives: GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT

Music Review | Trust and Believe by Keyshia Cole

True words of a woman scorned, belted out by none other than Keyshia Cole. “Trust and Believe“ serves as the 2nd single from her long anticipated, 5th album, “Woman to Woman”.

Fun as Hell: Matuto’s Seductive Philosophical Trip through Brazilian Beats and Southern Roots on The Devil and The Diamond

Press Release: It’s Carnival in Recife. It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And watch out: That just may be the Devil spinning through the drunken, dancing crowd, trying to get friendly with the saint in disguise, with the diamond in the rough. The rolling drums and quicksilver accordion licks, the earthy vibe and thoughtful reflections mingle on Matuto’s latest refinement of their Appalachia-gone-Afro-Brazilian sound, The Devil and The Diamond (Motema Music; release: May 14, 2013).

The African Folk Soul of Bongos Ikwue: Beloved Nigerian Singer-Songwriter’s First U.S. Release

The 1970’s were an extremely fertile era for music. In America, progressive soul and funk broke new ground while London spawned the punk rock scene and Kingston, Jamaica gave the world roots reggae. In Nigeria, an extraordinarily diverse and dynamic cultural scene yielded not only Fela’s Afrobeat and juju’s peak with Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey but also myriad rock and funk groups such as BLO and The Funkees. One of the most popular singers on the Nigeria scene at that time was Bongos Ikwue, whose personalized style of African folk and American soul music made him completely unique

Call (and Response) of the Heart: Puerto Rico’s Plena Libre Finds New Thrills and New Hope in Afro-Caribbean Roots on Corazón

Plena Libre, the venerable, high-energy ensemble that help put Puerto Rican roots musicon the international musical map, stays true at heart to the island’s unique plena and bomba pulse, all while flirting unabashedly and engagingly with music from across the Caribbean and Latin world. Dancing with genres from smiling merengue and Cuban songo to Latin jazz and rock, Plena Libre takes a no-holds-barred approach to tradition on Corazón (release: February 26, 2013), keeping the rhythmic core of Puerto Rican music and adding layers of complex, good-spirited brass, strings, and hard-hitting hand percussion.

International Superstar Lili Rocha releases sophomore album, “Into the Fire” on iTunes Europe & Asia

Just one year after the tremendous success of her 1st english record, comes a brand new album that showcases Lili Rocha’s versatility as an artist – one who effortlessly dabbles into all styles of music, including salsa, reggae, folk, and rock.