Tag: africa

Meet Manal, the Moroccan Artist Changing the Game

April 20, 2020

Spend a half hour with Manal, and you get the impression of an artist far more experienced than her 26 years would suggest. The Moroccan singer—who speaks three languages and commands multiple music genres including Maghreb hip-hop, Afro pop, and Afro house—is making a splash in both the local and global music scenes.

Her debut single, “Denia,” earned her the title of Best Female Artist, North Africa, at the African Music Awards in 2015, but it was her first rap song, “Taj,” that put her on most people’s radars as she tackled the region’s historically male-dominated genre.

Manal’s already having a very busy year: she’s in the middle of recording her first album, 360, pursuing a PhD, and growing the record label that she launched with her husband in 2019. For the Record recently caught up with Manal over the phone from her home in Marrakech. Read on for the full interview.   

5 Ramadan-Inspired Playlists to Stream This Month

May 9, 2019

Each night as the sun begins to set during the holy month of Ramadan, Muslim friends and families around the world gather after a day of fasting and reflection. Ramadan marks the holiest time of the Muslim year—a month of spiritual rejuvenation, humility, and togetherness.

Community gatherings around Suhoor, the pre-dawn meal, and Iftar, the breakfast meal, play a particularly significant role. This week, we kicked Ramadan off with our own Suhoor in Egypt. Guests enjoyed a traditional menu with kobeba (a Middle-Eastern meatloaf) and erk sous (licorice juice) and were entertained by Hegazy Metkal, an iconic Egyptian folk singer.

Hegazy Metkal

We talked to a few friends of Spotify about their own Ramadan traditions. “We eat together of course—it’s a must,” says Egyptian-Lebanese travel and entertainment vlogger Mohamed Mekawy. “We go pray together, watch some series together … it’s all about togetherness.”

Fashion and lifestyle blogger Sarah Taha agrees that her family’s traditions for the holy month include “Praying together, akeed!” (Akeed is an Arabic term for “of course.”) TV presenter and influencer Amr Rady explained that in his family, “the first person to leave the family gathering has to invite everyone for Iftar the next day.”

In addition to prayer and traditional celebratory food, families and friends listen to everyone’s favorite classic and spiritual Ramadan tunes and anthems. Below are our five Ramadan playlists, created or updated especially to celebrate the holy month and provide people of all faiths a sense of the sounds—traditional and modern alike—enjoyed and shared by Muslims around the world.

Ramadan Mubarak

Billions of Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan. Each of the different cultures also has different traditions—whether it be cooking special food or wearing certain colors or costumes. So to celebrate the holiness and the diversity of practice in this month, we put together a multicultural and personalized playlist on the Global Arab hub.

Ramadan Series

During the holy month, Arab families gather to watch their favorite shows made specifically for Ramadan, called Mosalsalat Ramadan in Arabic. This playlist showcases the soundtracks of the most popular Ramadan TV dramas in the Middle East and North Africa.

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DX4szXk9xARLm?si=jWQpabTVRzKcPwev0VtnBQ

Ramadan Chill

With instrumental Eastern melodies that are relaxing and spiritual, this playlist is best suited to winding down for the evening at Iftar. The playlist includes artists and songs recognizable to listeners throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWWvGPolkxTYD?

Jalsat

Think of this playlist as “Ramadan Unplugged” (Jalsat means “sessions”). The music, unique to the Persian Gulf region, has an unusual yet alluring beat. It features Khaleeji (people of the Arab peninsula) artists performing both classics and new songs with the crowd clapping along in the background.

Sheilat

Popular in the Persian Gulf, Sheilat is based on folklore and driven more by lyrics than instruments. This is more conservative, traditional music for the month—sure to get you in a reflective mood and mindset.

You can also take a listen to Lagu Ramadan and Lagu Raya for the sounds of Ramadan in Malaysia and Singapore, and Ketupat Lebaran for Indonesia. Or, stream the Ramazan playlist to get a feel for the holy month in Turkey. And because the start of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the moon, why not check out Stargazer?

No matter where you are, Ramadan Mubarak to all who celebrate.

Thanks to a Meme, 2018 Was the Year of “Africa”

January 14, 2019

It’s not just your imagination: Toto’s “Africa” is playing on loop. And if you can’t get its karaoke-ripe chorus out of your head, you’re not alone. The song, as synonymous with the eighties as leg warmers and The Breakfast Club, owes its resurgence to, essentially, a bit gone viral.

The tune could have easily faded into the 1980s rock canon, instead, it streamed strong in 2018. In fact, plays of Toto’s original song doubled in 2018 from the previous year. Which means that “Africa” is no longer only a fixture of classic rock playlists, but has found its way into alt and pop charts, and—surely—plenty of intergenerational family car-ride singalongs.

But why?

Nineties alt rock standout Weezer first covered Toto’s “Rosanna” in May 2018, which set off an internet frenzy: Weezer had out-memed a meme. The internet (or one teen on it) had actually been requesting for a year that the band cover Toto’s “Africa” via an insistent Twitter account. Then, giving the fans what they wanted, Weezer dropped a cover of “Africa” that would ultimately join the streaming ranks of the band’s hit originals “Say It Ain’t So,” “Island in the Sun,” and “Beverly Hills.”

While plays of Weezer’s cover have since tapered off, the original song stands tall, like Mt. Kilimanjaro above the Serengeti. And the covers kept on coming.

Following in Weezer’s footsteps, several other bands recorded standout renditions of “Africa.” From fun-poking to point-making, each of the below groups “blessed the rains.” Give them a spin — our guess is that they don’t leave your stream (online or of consciousness) anytime soon.

Weezer covers “Africa” and includes Weird Al in the music video

In September 2018, four months after the song debuted, the band kept up their good humor, releasing a music video for the song that not only starred Weird Al as lead singer Rivers Cuomo, but was also a clear allusion to Weezer’s music videos for their classics “Undone” and “Buddy Holly.” Weird Al also took to the stage to perform the song with Weezer on tour. Finally, SNL rounded out the year by making this cover a hot topic in an “Africa”-inspired sketch.

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox gives the song a jazzy spin

Postmodern Jukebox included an old-timey, jazz-inspired cover of “Africa” on their Blue Mirror album this past fall, offering a rendition of the song that takes you even further back—not just to the 1980s, but to the 1920s dance hall scene. The collective included unique covers of “Video Killed the Radio Star” and “In the Air Tonight,” as well as more modern songs that play with the tempo and instrumental accompaniment of well-known classics such as “Welcome to the Black Parade” and “Genie in a Bottle,” so you know “Africa’s” in good company.

The Aquaman soundtrack includes Pitbull’s “Ocean to Ocean,” which samples “Africa”

What started as a musical jest of 2018 ended on a high note with Pitbull and Rhea’s sample of “Africa” in their new song, “Ocean to Ocean.” The tune blasted from theater speakers as the characters of DC’s Aquaman arrived on Africa’s Western Coast. While Toto commented that they never actually visited Africa before writing the song, Pitbull’s original lyrics evoke an allusion to African struggles and strengths. Between his rapping, soak in singer Rhea’s melodic take on the beloved chorus. It gives the song a new take and a new life.

Whether your “Africa” cover of choice is acoustic choir, rap-influenced, 90s rock-style, or jazzy, take it back to the basics with the original on our “This Is Toto” playlist today. And keep an eye out for what 2019 has in store for covers—”Africa” and otherwise.