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Bisa KDei’s latest single has been included as the only Ghanaian song in the 2021 Spotify playlist of America’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is out with his 2021 Spotify playlist, in the spirit of other political figures (Barack Obama, for one) who’ve taken to releasing their end-of-year favorites.
Blinken’s choices actually are two lists — one an “at home” compilation of American artists, the other an “on the road” selection inspired by places he’s visited over the past year.
The “on the road list” includes three dozen selections.
Blinken’s choices actually are two lists — one an “at home” compilation of American artists, the other an “on the road” selection inspired by places he’s visited over the past year.
The “on the road list” includes three dozen selections.
The selections, with some background via Blinken’s office, is below:
Africa
1da Banton, “No Wahla” (Nigeria): The song, from Godson Epelle, also known as 1Da Banton, is about always having fun despite life’s problems.
Tems, featuring Brent Faiyaz, “Found” (Nigeria): The Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, known as Tems, had two Top 40 entries on the Billboard Hot 100.
Bisa Kdei, “Yard” (Ghana): The music of Ronald Kwaku Dei Appiah, known as Bisa Kdei, was featured in a 2020 Netflix Christmas movie, Jingle Jangle.
Hadja Fanta Diabate, “Danger a Bamako Kabako” (Mali): Fanta, a participant in the State Department’s OneBeat Sahara program, has been dubbed the “Queen of Malian rock” by Malian press outlets.
Urban Village, “Ubaba” (South Africa): The indie folk group’s song tells the story of fathers separated from their families in the 1990s in Soweto, as part of am apartheid era regime strategy in which the men were forced to work in “the hostels,” or male-occupied working-class homes.
Fadhilee Itulya, “Aoko” (Kenya): The selection is from an album, Shindu Shi, focusing on “good time” music, a love for Africa and the African people, and inspired by the 1950s finger-picking guitar style of Omutibo.