African Music Concerts Week of Jul 23 - Jul 29

Those of you out by the water won't need to drive all the way downtown to hear this great Senegalese hip-hop group perform. Since they're in town, one more gig can't hurt, can it? I saw them open for Femi Kuti last year in Flagstaff and they tore up the stage. The audience didn't know what they were listening to, but they loved it and so will you.

Ricardo Lemvo hits the streets of LA again with Congolese-Cuban rumba. Another free lunchtime event.

Senegal is one of the hotbeds for hip-hop in Africa. Their music is sometimes called Sene-rap. They are expert at blending sounds from reggae and other genres into a new mix that is their own. This is not your typical sampling and overlay. They are creating a new sound that in some cases invokes or enhances older music. In other cases they are on their own territory. Nothing like the violent and rough rap of the US, hip-hop in Senegal is about discussing politics and teaching messages.

The lunchtime show today is just Daara J; in the evening the daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra will also perform.