Positive Black Soul

Over a week ago, I attended the Concert for Peace, Tolerance and Understanding at Howard University. There, I went along with my boy DJC (a great MC/spoken word poet/saxophonist in his own right) to see a group he raved about from Senegal -- Positive Black Soul (or, PBS).


He basically said PBS performing was almost as "if Wu-Tang came back for one show" - they are Senegalese hip-hop legends, and gained huge fame in Senegal during what we know as the "golden-era" of hip-hop in the States. DJC assured me we would relive some of that feel from the early 90s hip-hop.

Their name obviously reflects the type of music they perform - socially and politically driven, promoting pan-Africanism - and they meld traditional African music with "traditional hip-hop." I highly recommend reading about their stories in the two links provided so far.

The show started off with some modern-day music instrumentals, and then moved to each of the MCs doing a few of their solo hits - which was interesting to see because they each had very different styles. If DJC reads this, I hope he comments on this and could provide better links. Then, the crowd sensed with both of the MCs on stage together, we would finally hear the hits. Although I didn't understand the non-english parts (i.e. most of the show), I definitely enjoyed the music, atmosphere and show. Here are some songs:

Daw Thiow

Ataya

Boul fale

Their myspace page has many songs I suggest clicking here.