The soul-shattering abuses suffered by enslaved Africans, who were forcibly stripped of their languages, religions and other key aspects of their culture, were fortunately no match for their ...

The aesthetic dimensions of African musical instruments are not only visual, but aural and symbolic as well. As cultural objects, they can represent and reinforce political authority, social ...

How African instruments, rhythms, and innovators shaped the genre long before it became a cultural symbol of the American South. Long before country music became a billion-dollar cultural force, its ...

Michael Prince Johnson’s latest album blends Afro-House with traditional African instruments, telling a powerful story of Africa as the origin of knowledge, rhythm, and culture. Breaking Boundaries ...

African instruments are rich and unique in their sounds. With such uniqueness in sound, they have influenced music from other parts of the world. Here are 7 musical instruments whose origin dates back ...

The University of South Africa (Unisa) hosted its inaugural African Music Festival over the weekend at its main campus in Pretoria offering a unique celebration of Africa’s rich musical heritage ...

The West African instrument dùndún is also known as “talking drum” because players can match the pitch and rhythm of speech patterns on it. A new study reveals just how closely dùndún players match ...

The Black Banjo Reclamation Project aims to put banjos into the hands of everyday people. Paul Ruta Of all the melodic musical instruments in the world, perhaps none is more connected to the land it ...

Pop superstar Beyoncé released "Texas Hold 'Em" a few weeks ago and it features an instrument that she had never emphasized before. This hit song, on her new (and hugely popular) Cowboy Carter album, ...

Amid Black History Month celebrations in February, some local musicians say they are finding more opportunities at various venues to share their work and stories. One Bay Area man who plays an unusual ...

Great Performances is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, ...

On December 19, the first African musician ever awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award was announced. The honor goes to Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat pioneer and activist who died in 1997. He joins an ...