A Most Lyrical Syllabus Listening Post 367. Maya Angelou observed that some people can’t recognize opportunity right before their eyes, “while others can sense a good thing coming when it is days, months or miles away.” No wonder that, in the liner notes of her second...
Afrika Mamas: Ilanga / The Sun
Respect, A Cappella Listening Post 307. Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Shakira, Nicki Minaj—voices embodying women’s empowerment have revolutionized popular music over the past half century. But as superstars rouse millions of women, they also highlight art as an...
Soweto Gospel Choir: Freedom
The Power of Song Listening Post 204. The 2018 centennial of Nelson Mandela’s birth delivered an outpouring of tributes and memorial initiatives in the form of education and anti-poverty projects, dialogues, celebrations, exhibitions, films, books, concerts, and an...
Afrika Mamas: Iphupho
The Lioness Doesn’t Sleep Listening Post 149. A common symbol of Zulu culture is the cowhide shield, ever present in images of the warrior-king Shaka and also the centerpiece on the official crest of KwaZulu-Natal, the South African province that is the heartland of...