Africa

Beatbox » Top 10 African Tunes of the Decade!

Top 10 African Tunes of the Decade

Algerian raï, Congolese soukous, Senegalese mbalax: the music of Africa is as diverse as its people, climate, food – as diverse as, well, Africa. The tie that seems to hold the continent’s music together lies in its ability to hypnotize, to start your legs moving before you realize they’re doing so, to make joy rise up and provoke a sing-along regardless of the fact that you don’t speak a word of Swahili or Bambara. Here are my African favorites of the decade – each of which represents rich memories of celebration and dancing as those were the times that I turned to these oeuvres: daily dance-a-thons rituals with my brother to Mariama by Pape & Cheikh, coasting through the Atlas mountains of Morocco with Tinariwen leading the way… Just a few more hours and we will be turning the page, welcoming a new year, a new decade – I can’t wait to see what the world of musicians have waiting in the wings for us all! Tracks after the jump!

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Beatbox » Top 10 Music Videos of the Decade!

Top 10 Music Videos of the Decade


From a Tecktoniks dance-fest to 3D wonderlands to animations galore here is our very eclectic selection of the best music videos of the decade. Ok, so that Sony Bravia commercial was never quite the official José González Heartbeats music video, but, it certainly earned its #2 spot with such a flawless visual representation of the song. So-Me is all over this list: I just can’t get enough of those juicy graphics and the retro-electro aesthetic. Catch an appearance by M.I.A. in Buraka Som Sistema’s gritty street-dancing Sound of Kuduro video. And yes, even though I hate Kanye, I just can’t resist his Good Life video. So, here it is: a motley crew of 10 visual phenoms as we say adieu to the Oughties!

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