Calor Urbano - Smooth Vibes from the Dominican Republic

We all know about the merengue and bachata dance music coming out of Dominican Republic, but Calor Urbano is bringing some funky, soulful sounds of their own - straight from la isla!

Calor Urbano takes their native Latin sounds, and adds some jazz, funk and Hip Hop to make a groovy vibe with that Dominican sabor! Their tunes are reminiscent of some of the other Nu-Latino bands right here in Miami, like Spam Allstars, Suénalo and Xperimento.

The band put out their first single in 2003. It became a quick hit in the DR, reaching the top of music charts and receiving good reviews by recognized members of the music scene. By mid-2004 they had released 2 additional hit singles, making Calor Urbano among the top bands of the Dominican Republic. And later that same year, they were nominated as Best Pop/Rock Band of the Year in the Premios del Pueblo awards.

Calor Urbano released their first official album, Transmission Groove, in the summer of 2006. Here is a video for their song Pa' Que No Pienses, off their debut album. Groooooovy...

Omar Offendum - Syrian American Emcee Reps the Middle East

Omar Offendum is a man on a mission: to give the Middle East a powerful voice here in the States.

Born in Saudi Arabia, Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American MC/Producer raised in Washington DC, and now living in Los Angeles. He started out as half of The N.O.M.A.D.S. duo, a pair of Arab and African-American MCs. He went on to co-produce the critically-acclaimed “FREE-THE-P” mixtape, a fundraising effort in support of Palestine. He also participated in “The Arab Summit” project, with Iraqi-Canadian MC The Narcicyst amongst others.

As an educator and speaker, Omar co-authored the “Brooklyn Beats 2 Beirut Streets” performance-lecture, and has been featured on several major news outlets, including BBC, ABC News, and Aljazeera. As an artist-activist, Omar has helped raise thousands of dollars for humanitarian relief organizations, and toured the world to promote his message. Offendum is currently working on his upcoming solo release, “Syriana-americanA”.

Being that he consistently represents 2 cultures - that of the Middle East and of the US - here is a bi-lingual song of his. We love rap in Arabic! Flows so well...check it out!

Happy Birthday Miss Angelina!

Yup - today is the birthday of our very own ¡GLOBAILE! host - Miss Angelina!

You may know her as the host of the ¡GLOBAILE! webisodes, as well our series Around the World in 6 min! But before all the ¡GLOBAILE! fun began, Miss A broke into the scene as an emcee. She got her start in the underground Hip Hop scene in New York City. Miss A was crowned winner of NYC's "Battle of the Female Rappers" and of the "Most Skilled Female Emcee", and even made a cameo on VH1's short-lived series "The White Rapper Show". But it wasn't long until Miss Angelina began her journey into the realm of World music, right in NYC - the biggest melting pot on the globe.

Inspired by the multiculturalism that surrounded her, she began producing music, rapping over samples of Caribbean, African, Latino, Arabic and Indian rhythms fused with Hip Hop, House and Electronica to make hit songs that appeal to audiences across the globe. Pretty soon, she started choosing the Afro-Latin drum circles over the Hip Hop freestyle cyphers, and knew she had to do her part to promote World music as much as possible.

And so, ¡GLOBAILE! was born.

The show started out as a live event. Each party would feature a live performance from Miss A, as well as a drum circle, a capoeira roda, World music DJs and special guest performances including flamenco, belly dancing, salsa, reggae, and more...While the events were a huge success, Miss Angelina knew that she wanted to reach a global audience, and so ¡GLOBAILE! became a web show, so people around the world could have access to the global entertainment. She enlisted her friend and collaborator, Tony Touch, to take over the DJ duties, and together they filmed 8 feature length episodes for the web, as well as 2 nationwide TV appearances.

Now that ¡GLOBAILE! is up and running with a truly worldwide audience on the Internet, Miss Angelina is returning to her roots as an emcee and artist. She's working on a new EP that will be released on iTunes later this year. She's been working on the project with friend and collaborator Boddhi Satva over in Belgium, and now she's putting the finishing touches on the album here in Miami. You can expect more Hip Hop/House/Global fusion from Miss A on this one...pure fire!

In honor of her birthday, here's a throwback. It's Miss Angelina's first music video shot in Washington Heights NYC, and at her home, the Jersey Shore. Check out her shaved head (years before Amber Rose came along)!!!

Magic System - Feel Good Flavor from the Ivory Coast

From Abidjan, the former capital of the Ivory Coast, this dynamic quartet of singers has in infectious sound that has made them popular from Africa to the Caribbean to Europe.

Magic System specializes in the Zouglou dance style. Zouglou evolved from the university students, written in local languages and French street slang,and has parallels with the evolution of Rap in the States, as well as strong influences from Zouk, a music style from the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Magic System is credited with pioneering and popularizing the Zouglou sound in Africa and abroad, especially in France, Belgium, and Switzerland.

They have been featured in the charts throughout Africa (selling over 1.5 million CDs), the West Indies, and in France, where the band became one of the most popular modern African artists. In fact, their song Cherie Coco featuring the popluar French emcee Soprano, is currently #3 on the Urban Charts for Trace TV - a music channel in France similar to MTV.

Here is a music video for their song Zouglou Dance, showcasing their modern, more electronic take on African music...

Buraka Som Sistema - Portugal Gets Hype!

Buraka Som Sistema bring the HEAT! With a super hype fusion of electronic and African beats, these Portugese party animals will have you dancing, jumping and shaking right along with them.

Buraka Som Sistema was founded in 2006 by João Barbosa, Rui Pité, Andro Carvalho, and Kalaf Ângelo. Barbosa and Pité were producers from the Cool Train Crew collective, where Kalaf was a frequent vocal collaborator. They were interested in creating a kuduro project. Kuduro is a dance genre from Angola, born in the 1980s when local DJs started mixing African percussion samples with simple calypso and soca rhythms. The fellas met Carvalho, a hip-hop producer from Angola and member of the hip-hop band Conjunto Ngonguenha while he was in Portugal, and Buraka Som Sistema was born. Buraka is an area in Lisbon, and Sistem refers to a sound system.

Their first release, From Buraka to the World, included the single "Yah!", featuring vocals from Angolan hip-hop MC Petty. It was followed by another Petty track, "Wawaba", and a re-release of From Buraka to the World, which was expanded to a full album.

After touring in several European countries, including playing at the Glastonbury Festival and Roskilde Festival, the three producers released the single Sound of Kuduro in 2007, which features rapping by M.I.A., DJ Znobia, Saborosa and Puto Prata. The track was a precursor to their second album, Black Diamond, which was released in 2008 by Sony BMG. The release was followed by a new single, Kalemba (Wegue Wegue), with vocals by Pongolove.

Their sound is dope, fusing organic sounds from different cultures with hard electronic beats that bang! Here's the video for that track, Kalemba - this chick Pongolove is a BEAST! Crank this up and jump out yo seat! Wegue Wegue!!

Femi Kuti - Africa for Africa

Femi Kuti continues to carry the torch that his father blazed for Afrobeat music.

Femi Kuti is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of the famous Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti, the subject of the popular recent Broadway play, Fela!

Femi was born in London and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. After his parents split, Femi chose to stay with his father, and joined his band. Femi achieved his own recognition when he appeared at the Hollywood Bowl in replace of his father. Fela had failed to make it onto the plane, having been arrested at Lagos airport and jailed on a trumped-up fraud charge. Femi, already a member of his father’s band, came to the rescue that night, giving a show that brought the audience at the packed Bowl to its feet.

And so, after years of playing his father, Femi started his own band, Positive Force. From there Femi has had a successful musical career in his own right. He's played internationally around the world, received 2 Grammy nominations, and collaborated with such artists as Common, Mos Def, D'Angelo, Macy Gray and Roy Hargrove.

The family's musical tradition lives on, and Femi's son plays alto sax in his band as well. And now, Femi has returned to Lagos, to the studio where he recorded with his father, to record his new album. The project, Africa for Africa, was just released with a full US tour that kicked off earlier this week. Femi captures the raw energy of Africa - the upheaval, the madness, the aggression, and above all, the deep soulfulness that arises out of such conflict.

Here is the video for Beng Beng, the song Femi sang in Johannesburg at the opening ceremony for the World Cup.

Radio Days - Italy's Charming Powerpop

Radio Days is like a new millenium redux of the melodic Beatles sound with a dash of punk and a heavy dose of Italian charisma...buonissimo!

Made up of four Italiani, Radio Days came to be in 2003 as a side project of the Retarded - a popular Italian punk rock band. They were immediately hailed as the premier Powerpop group of Italy, renowned for an energetic and entertaining live show.

They had crossover success with their release of the Midnight Cemetery Rendezvous EP with Insubordination Records of Baltimore, USA. The EP was critically acclaimed and gave Radio Days the chance to play 70 shows around Italy and Europe, playing internationally at big festivals such as Purple Weekend in Leòn, Spain, International Pop Overthrow in Liverpool, UK, Lee Rocks in Firenze and Pop Circus in Milano in Italy.

In march 2010 Radio Days hit the studio to record their second album C'est La Vie, and released the project in Italy and the US later that year, both digitally and on vinyl.

Here is the latest music video from that album...it's hard not to love these guys with their sweet melodies, charming personality, and next-level creativity. Check it out...

Collie Buddz - Happy 4/20

There are few things that bring people of all races, all nationalities, all cultures, together. Music is one. Another is marijuana. (Just sayin...it IS!) And so, in honor of 4/20, the international Ganja Holiday, we bring you our favorite MaryJane track...

Yup, it's Come Around from Collie Budz - the New Orleans born, Bermuda raised, white boy Reggae singer. That's right. Colin Harper was born in New Orleans, but moved to his mother's home of Bermuda at the age 0f 5. After growing up on the island with all its musical influences, Collie Budz the Reggae singer was born, and he defied all racial barriers with a slew of big hits. With his debut album in 2007, he became an international star, hitting the top of every chart from Japan to Germany.

And of course, the breakout hit from this album was...Come Around. Source Magazine described the phenomenal hit saying, “This 24 year old shotta has got an anthem spreading across the seas.”

Later that year, Collie Buddz was nominated for "Top International Artist of the Year", by the 4th Annual Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME), which is an "award to an artist whose solo or collaborative release(s) allowed for greater penetration of the international marketplace". (Wikipedia) That's so GLOBAILE!

And so...no matter your race, your native tongue, your age, or your nation - sit back, put one in the air, and turn this track UP!

Les Nubians - New Video, New Album!

You already know...we LOVE Les Nubians.

We've already featured them on this blog, and on the GLOBAILE Podcast. They bring an international, multilingual, positive vibe to soul music that has brought them worldwide recognition over the years.

Well, now the Afropean soul sisters are BACK with new music and a new video! Woo hoo!

The new album, Nü Revolution does not disappoint! Featuring special guests ranging from African music legend Manu Dibango (also featured on the GLOBAILE Podcast), to American soul singer Eric Roberson, to South African pop stars Freshly Ground, to Ghanian-American MC Blitz The Ambassador and Polish MC John Banzaï. Wow - so international, so multicultural, so GLOBAILE!

The first video release off the new album is for their song Veuillez Veiller Sur Vos Reves (Don't Let Your Dreams Fall Asleep). The video is shot in our old stomping grounds - Brooklyn, NY - where the duo now resides. Check out the funky, soulful style of these sisters that we just can't get enough of!

Imran Khan - Punjabi Flavor From East to West

With his smooth voice and sexy swagger, Imran Khan joins the movement of Punjabi artists fusing their Eastern roots with the Western styles of Hip Hop, R&B, and Dancehall.

Imran Khan was born in Holland to Pakistani parents, and spent his childhood between the 2 countries. With his life split between East and West, Khan became fluent in 4 languages: Punjabi, Urdu, English and Dutch. A gifted singer, Imran started his career in the music business his late teens, at the age of 19 when he signed his first deal with a record label. However, due to managerial and monetary issues, he decided to leave the label.

Khan returned from Pakistan to the Netherlands, continuously looking for the right deal. He signed with several producers and record labels, but none were the right fit, until 2007. Shahid Mazhar founded Prestige Records which released Khan's UK debut smash hit single Ni Nachleh. The single quickly reached number 1 on various UK Asian radio and television channels, and Khan knew had found the right team to work with.

In July 2009, Khan released a new album with his fellow producers Eren E and Hakan Ozan, entitled Unforgettable. This album proved to be his breakthrough project, with the smash hit singles Amplifier and Bewafa which went on to be hugely successful in Asian communities around the world. Unforgettable gained even more success at the UK Asian Music Awards and Khan won "Best Desi Act".

The singer has already started work on his second studio album, due to be released in 2012. During an interview on the BBC, the Khan confirmed that a single is going to be released with T-Pain.

Here's the video for his first hit single, a collaboration with Dancehall artist Lucky. We love the fusion of Punjabi and Jamaican styles - they flow so well together! Check it out...

Around the World in 6 min! Episode 21

Another week, another episode of Around the World in 6 min! - our web show where we bring you hot music videos from all over the globe! This week we make stops in France, Korea, Argentina, Egypt, and Kenya...LET'S GO!!

(Due to some issues with YouTube, we had to post this episode on our Facebook page. But you can watch the rest of our episodes on our YouTube Channel...)

Muthoni the Drummer Queen - Kenyan Lady Rapper

With her rapid flow, hype beats, and unique style, Muthoni the Drummer Queen is reigning supreme as the premier female emcee of Kenya.

Muthoni blends styles as diverse as salsa, kwaito, afro-rock, taarab, rap, poetry and R&B while spitting in a variety of languages including English, Kikuyu and Kiswahili. And with a name like that, she'll even wail on the drums while she's rhyming on the mic. This chick is FIERCE!

She's released 2 albums thus far, Mambo Bado and The Human Condition, with tunes that made it to the top off the charts in Kenya. Now she's in production for her 2nd album, due later this year. There's something about her style that is remniscent of Missy Elliott - that funky, futuristic, female sound...We can't get enough!

Hossam Habib - Egyptian Heartthrob

Hossam Habib lives up to his name. Habib means "beloved" in Arabic, and this Egyptian hottie is certainly a beloved national figure, with his smooth voice and smoldering eyes.

Hossam grew up in Egypt with a passion for singing and football (soccer), but never thought he could make a career of either. After his family and friends convinced him to go for singing, he started his career in 2002, with single entitled Men Yomak which was released in a compilation album.

2 years later Hossam Habib launched his first album Lessa, and shot his first music video for the title track off the album.

In 2006, Hossam released his second album, Ajmal Kesset Hob with the Melody Music Group - one of the most popular distributors of Arabic music in the world. He worked with big composers Amr Mostapha and Tamer Ali, and the album was very popular.

Here is a music video for the title track off his most recent album, Gowa El Alb, another release with Melody Music. He brings the traditional vocal styles and rhythms of Arabic music into the 21st century with his electronic beats and contemporary sounds.

Banda de Turistas - Argentina Rocks!

Psychedelic rock sang in a made up language that qualifies as some sort of surrealistic Spanish...? Yup - retro meets the future in some sort of musical time warp known as Banda de Turistas.

Hailing from Buenos Aires, the Turistas have been a huge presence in the indie rock scene for years now. They recorded heir first album Magico Corazon Radiofonico in 2008. The project was mixed by legendary producer Mario Caldato Jr., famous for working with big time artists like Beastie Boys, Ween, Beck, and Yoko Ono.

After glowing reviews from the Argentina press, including the country's version of Rolling Stone magazine, they released their second album in 2009, The Return, which was mixed and mastered in the famous Abbey Road studios in London.

They've toured extensively in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, and the USA. They're playing a lot of the major festivals too, including SXSW and LAMC, bringing their signature style of rock that manages to recall the past while still sounding futuristic and unique. This video for their song El Rogadero displays that mix perfectly - the footage seems vintage, yet with digitally advanced effects and a psychedelic style that perfectly suits the music of Banda de Turistas.

Girl's Day - KPop's Plastic Dolls

Is it cute or creepy to watch 5 Korean teenage girls romp around with plastic hair, pretending to be dolls, until tucked away in their glossy cardboard box packaging...?

Well, it's both. And it's a pretty accurate portrayal of KPop culture, for that matter.

Girl's Day is one of the latest pre-packaged girl groups to gain fame in Korea's ever emerging KPop music scene. There are definitely some major bonuses to KPop that explain its rise as a worldwide phenomenon:

1. The fashion and art direction is amazing. They take the whole Asian technicolor pop fantasy to new heights with super trendy wardrobe and highly artistic set design that is super fun to watch and gives new meaning to the term eye candy.

2. They come in numbers. KPop consists mostly of girl groups and boy bands, with anywhere from 5 to 13 (yes, 13!) members singing and dancing in unison. And they are all adorable. Who doesn't love group choreography? (thank you Michael Jackson)

3. The music is well-produced. And catchy. And fun to dance to and sing along with (very important to the karaoke-obsessed Asian peeps)

However, there are some major down sides as well...

1. It all starts to sound the same after a while. Think autotune and synthesizers to a danceable pop beat - over and over and over again - with a brief pause for a super sentimental over-the-top tween love ballad.

2. These groups are what I like to call, "test-tube artists". They are plucked at a young age and literally trained for years to sing, dance, wink, giggle, and flirt perfectly before introduced to the public and paraded around like show dogs. Everything is so manufactured that the sweetness of it all becomes a bit nauseating.

3. But the biggest downfall of KPop is the incredible stress and strain that is put on these poor little Korean girls and boys to be the perfect pop star. So much so, that there have been a number of celebrity suicides, which many attribute to be one of the reasons why Korea is reportedly the suicide capital of the world. (Kpop Live)

And so, when watching this very fashionable and pop art cute music video for Girl's Day's song Tilt My Head, which opens with this refrain - "Tilt Head. Blankly. Tilt Head. Blankly. Tilt Head. Blankly. Tilt Head. Blankly. Tilt Head. Tilt Head." (English translation) - it starts to feel a little creepy...You be the judge.

Colonel Reyel - Guadeloupe's Ragga Zouk flavor in Paris

From the islands, to the street cyphers, to the mainstream, Colonel Reyel is set to bring his dancehall sound to the masses.

Colonel Reyel is a native of the Caribbean island, Guadeloupe. But being that Guadeloupe is also one of the 27 regions of France, Colonel Reyel grew up in Paris. He began his music career with a passion for rap, and in the early 2000s, he was a vocalist with a group of emcees and DJs known as the Septentorial Crew.

In 2004, the singer's passion for rap was re-routed to include reggae-dancehall after a stay in the Caribbean. Once he was back in France, Reyel Colonel peppered his flows with a lively dancehall riddim, and quickly became known to the general public through videos of his freestyles of ragga infused rap. These videos are raw - straight street cypher energy - and the Colonel is a BEAST - check it out!

Two years later, Colonel Reyel released an album entitled Boomaz Mixtape Vol 1 with the popluar song The Employment Crisis. Following that, the Septentorial Crew released a compilation entitled Sound Storm in 2010. This album contains nearly 28 tracks mixing hip hop and dancehall, with four songs from Colonel Reyel: We Must Fight, Chanjé a Tan, Lyrikal Tsunami and Text Message.

Colonel Reyel became the breakout star from the Septemorial Crew, and during the same year, he prepared a solo project - a new album called 100% Ragga Zouk. The album was released under the label Step Out, and was supported by Krys, a famous reggae-dancehall artist originally from Guadeloupe, also known by his real name, Pedro Pirbakas.

Now Colonel Reyel is breaking more into the mainstream with some high-quality glossy tunes and this sharp new video shot back in the Caribbean. While most dancehall-reggae artists have been associated with Jamaica, Colonel Reyel is defintiely doing his party to put Guadeloupe on the map! Check out the island flavor...

¡GLOBAILE! Podcast April 2011

We're baaaaaaaaack!

I know it's been a couple months since we put out a new episode of our podcast, but we're back with hot tracks from some of our favorite artists around the world! Yup - bangin' new tunes from 11 different countries!! And with the fabulous Miss Angelina as your sassy hostess with the mostess, it's a must-listen...!

This month, we're featuring music from a lot of artists that we've featured right here on the blog, such as:

Giovanca (Netherlands)

Aṣa (Nigeria)

Anané (Cape Verde)

Black Coffee (South Africa)

Afrobeta (Miami USA)

Myriam Fares (Lebanon)

Domino Saints (Puerto Rico)

GD & TOP (Korea)

Robyn (Sweden)

Laserkraft 3D (Germany)

and more....

For the full track listing, and to subscribe to the podcast or download the mix, click here.

And you can give it a listen right here:

TODAY! - Gruv for Japan - DJs around the world raise funds

By now we are all aware of the devastating impact of the recent earthquake in Japan. With a disaster of such magnitude, sometimes we feel helpless. Looking for a way to provide some sort of relief? Well here's a GREAT one...

Today, April 4, 2011, begins a 26 hour Internet telethon of sorts. Or should we call it a web-a-thon? It's GRUV FOR JAPAN - a live Internet broadcast of mixed sets by some of Global Soul music's most popular DJs from around the world - all brought to you by the music website, Dancegruv. The purpose of this broadcast is to raise awareness and donations for charity, while bringing you some HOT tunes to jam to!

The line-up is stacked with nearly 30 top notch DJs, including sets from heavy hitters like Black Coffee and Boddhi Satva, to rising stars Ivan Diaz, Polyrhythm, and Sabine Blaizin.

To tune in, go to http://www.dancegurv.com, and click the player located on the top right of the web site. The DJs will also be in Dancegruv’s chat room, so make sure you log in to the chat too! Once you're there, you can also make a donation with a click of the mouse, right on the website.

Need convincing? Here's the message from Dancegruv:
"By simply being grateful for what we have such as our family, friends, health, homes, clothes and food we are given the chance to GIVE that same gift of grace to others…in a show of COMPASSION, one way of doing this is by COMING TOGETHER."

Here's the DJ line-up. For more info, visit the Dancegruv website.

TUESDAY from 12PM - 12AM:
AQBT
DJ Garth
Salvatore Agrosi
Justin Imperiale
Black Coffee
Max Pela
Frequecies of Offering (Boddhi Satva & Ivan Diaz)
DJ Lunga
Marco Castro
Sabo, Keith Evan, Jose Marquez
Stephen Rigmaiden
Jorge Urdeneta

WEDNESDAY 12AM - 2PM:
Keith Ward
Julius TMT
Frank Richards
Bradford James
Ko Kimura
Lady Sol Y mar
Andre Harris
Mario Romay
Marshall Jones
Polyrythm
Sabine Blaizin
Dj Buttke
Stell*R
Ian Lee