SHOUTS - Music from the Rooftops!

The artist, who has defiantly performed in treacherous places despite threats from authorities, is making history with her all-female team behind the production of her new album.

Thesupermat, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

“Nar” means fire in Arabic and that is exactly what Tunisian musician, songwriter and activist, Emel Mathlouthi, brings with her latest single. The following music video shows Emel encompassed by women; her colleagues, friends and fellow soldiers. “I am a soldier, I am a fighter, I am a bullet,” she sings in English and further covers topics of freedom and empowerment in the Tunisian language as well.

For the single, Emel teamed up with Mali’s first female Mandinka rapper, Ami Yerewolo, and speaking of the track she says that it’s “about taking back control of our lives, our story, our colour, our word. We’re building an army to take back women’s voices.“

After captivating her native audience in Tunisia she started performing around the world, at Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and Glastonbury Festival in the UK. Additionally, and defiantly, she has performed on stages in Palestine and Iran which, according to this Vogue article, she describe as a “turning point” for her.

“Performing in Palestine last summer, which is so hard to get into, meant the world to me because you meet people who just want to live life like everybody else. They just want to go to a concert and be happy… Their resilience was inspiring. Despite everything they’ve been through, they really teach you about life. It marked a turning point for me.”

Emel’s new album, MRA, will drop later this month and based on the latest single we’re all in for a treat.

This article was written by Gabriel Myers Hansen and originally published by Music In Africa under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialCC BY-NC licence.

Malian Wassoulou musician Oumou Sangaré will perform for the first time at the Apollo Theater in New York on 29 October.

The gig, presented by the World Music Institute, forms part of the US-based non-profit Women’s Voices series celebrating the role of female artists in preserving and promoting their respective cultures and traditions.

It also forms part of Apollo’s Next Movement season of performances throughout this Fall.

The Grammy-winning songstress, who is behind eight albums, will perform songs from her expansive catalogue, including her recent critically acclaimed collection, Timbuktu.

“Over the past eight decades the Apollo has amplified Black voices and used its platforms to create an intersection of art and activism,” Apollo’s executive producer, Kamilah Forbes, said.

“Having Oumou perform a range of music from Wassoulou music to contemporary sounds is exactly the kind of artistic conversation that we champion.”

An activist and businesswoman who goes by the nickname ‘The Songbird of Wassoulou’, Oumou Sangaré’s work spans traditional Wassoulou music and contemporary sounds. Thematically, her music centres on social criticism, particularly women’s low social status.

Her illustrious career has drawn comparisons to global performers such as Jamaican great Grace Jones and US legends Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin. She has also been celebrated by pop stars including Beyoncé and Alicia Keys for her powerful voice and unwavering commitment to the betterment of women.

Tickets are on sale now at www.ApolloTheater.org.