Afropop
Oliver Mtukudzi
Fatoumata Diawara
Zellerbach Hall
Berkeley, CA
March 30, 2013
As has been proven by previous postings, the Cal Performance series
rarely fails to deliver and it rarely fails to rain when I go to one of their excellent shows. And the evening
of Afropop did not disappoint on either account.
The evening of all things African began with Malian Foutmata
Diawara. Her recorded music is kind of
an African folk music with Afrocubist beats which is really a joy to listen
to. It makes me feel like I’m in Africa
just by listening to it. However, her live
performance was much more energetic. She
spun and danced around the stage like a whirling dervish demonstrating the
national dance style of different African countries, much to the delight of the
Africans in the audience. If there is
any complaint about Fatoumata, it’s that she was too energetic and got the
crowd too riled up before the more mellow stylings of Oliver Mtukudzi. Check
out: “Bissa” for an example of her
amazing voice. Go to 9:00 of the next link to see Fatoumata compare African dancing styles 
Oliver Mtukudzi is a national hero in Zimbabwe. He plays a wonderful acoustic-based music
that is hypnotic. He really lets the
groove flow during his music in a quiet but powerful way. While Oliver’s music is very uplifting and
just plain happy, it is not the same foot-thumping dance music of Fatoumata. The audience was up and ready to dance when
Oliver got on stage but his music seemed too mellow for an audience ready to
partay. However, both Oliver and
Fatoumata are class acts and if you’re interested in hearing what today’s
African music is about, they are a good place to start. Check out: Ndagarwa Nkaha
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