CENTER FOR AFRICAN MUSIC 

Promoting Research in African Popular Music

About Us

The Center for African Music was founded in 2003 to promote research on African popular music of the continent and the African diaspora.

Archive

The Manu Dibango Archive of African Popular Music has a collection of over 20,000 audiovisual records of African popular music from the 1940s to the contemporary period.

Journal

The African Journal of African Pop (AJAP) is published by the center online with limited print versions.

Profiles

The profile collection at the center documents key contributors to the African pop music scene from its early years to the present.

Genres

The center collects material on African music genres that have emerged since the 1940s, including Rumba, Benga, High Life, Rai, Kadongo Kamu, Juju, Chimurenga, Afro Beat, Taarab, African jazz, Bongo Flava, Zouk, Township Jive, Mabanqa, Hiplife, Kwela, Amapiano, Isicathamiya, Mbube, Zililopendwa, among others.

Institutions

Our research on institutions that shaped or supported the growth of African pop music includes record companies, media organizations, recording studios, venues, archives, nightclubs, and educational institutions, among others.

Special Projects

From time to time the center runs various academic and non-academic projects related to African popular music. These projects can be research- or practice-oriented.

African Music Chart

Every Sunday, the center publishes the African Music Chart (AMC) with the top 54 songs in Africa by compiling the top songs from each country in Africa. On December 31st of each year, the weekly charts are compiled to present the annual charts for each country, containing the top 54 songs in Africa.

African Music Awards

On December 31st of each year, the Center confers the African Music Awards (AMA), which compiles the top 54 music artists of the year in each of the countries of Africa, based on each year's African Music Chart data.

Resources

• Ibrahima Syllah Library (Reading Materials)

• Conversations on African Music (Seminar)

• African Music Round Table (Panel Discussion)

• Interview

• CAM Radio

• African Music Conference