''Afropop Worldwide'' is a

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netwo ...

that presents the musics of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...

. The program is produced by Sean Barlow for World Music Productions in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It is hosted by the veteran Cameroonian broadcaster

Georges Collinet M’vam Georges Collinet (born 1940?), also known in his early career by the nickname Maxi Voom Voom,Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

. ''Afropop Worldwide'' launched in 1988 as ''Afropop'', a weekly public radio series, in response to widespread interest in international

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describ ...

. The first of its kind, it later expanded to include the music and cultures of the entire

. The program is distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX) to over a hundred radio stations in the United States. It is also heard in Europe and Africa. In 2014, the program was awarded an institutional

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

for "its pioneering role in the ' world music' movement". The producers have explained the show's mission:

Our vision is to increase the profile of African and African Diaspora music worldwide, and to see that benefits go back to artists, music industry professionals, and the countries that produce the music. The Afropop database is central to our strategy as it harnesses the power of what we have done, and allows us to integrate past work with new research to support new projects. We are working in partnership with Calabash Music to help musicians from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America leapfrog over the barriers of the conventional music business and take advantage of the emerging digital marketplace for global music.

References

External links

Official website''Afropop Worldwide'' page at PRI

African Popular Music: Evolution and DiversityAfropop Worldwide Scheduled Broadcasts
African music American music radio programs Caribbean music Public Radio International programs {{Africandiaspora-stub 1988 radio programme debuts