Voces negras: una historia oral de las músicas populares africanas
The voice of the oppressed. An exploration of African sounds, from the first notes produced by early instruments to the legacy of hip hop.
An exploration of the African musical universe, its origins, characteristics, links with Western musics, including cultural, political, and ideological movements and analysis of the dignity, depth, currency, and beauty of Blackness. A cross between reporting and reflection filled with the most relevant and popular names, plus the political and social particularities surrounding the music of Sub-Saharan nations. An overview from the first notes produced by early instruments to the inherited legacy of present-day hip hop.
Black Voices is a sonic journey through the complex history of Africa, a wild symphony that speaks to its musical depth and the cultural exploitation and pillaging that it has endured for centuries. Tania Safura Adam explores how enslavement, colonialism, the rise of modernity, the battles for independence, and Pan-Africanism have shaped and reconfigured the continent’s melodic imaginary. A journey brimming with rhythms, voices, rebels, and visionaries, and which has left an indelible mark on the trajectory of popular musics. This is not a book, it is a weapon: the musical insurrection that casts off the chains of history, shaking the foundations of the present.
PRESS
«Africa is more than an enormous continent. When we look at its musics and its spirituality, it is an infinite universe, The West has benefited from its rhythmic vitality, and now it owes Africa respect and careful attention. Black Voices is a book filled with pulsating motifs. The chance to experience African music in all its complexity thanks to the work of Tania Safura Adam, a lucky gift for Spanish readers.» Santiago Auserón
«It’s not a book, it’s a weapon.» Detona Magazine
«Voces negras is a book filled with pulsating motifs. The chance to experience African music in all its complexity thanks to the work of Tania Safura Adam, a lucky gift for Spanish readers.» Santiago Auserón, singer and songwriter
«The author dismantles the folkloric view of African music and redefines it as a living,
critical, and contemporary space.» Angélica Ruiz, La Jornada (Mexico)
«Why does cultural colonialism continue to shape the present? In Voces negras, Tania Safura Adam offers powerful answers, bringing the invaluable perspective of an African researcher rather than yet another colonizer voice.» Federico González, Vértigo