12/03/06

I am well aware of how every corner of the world has its own contemporary genres and fusions.  The trick is discovering them without having the money to do extensive international travel.  Diplo’s myspace profile just helped me find another one.  He had a band called  Buraka Som Sistema  in his top 8.  Looking into them I then discovered the following genre.

Kuduro

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kuduro (or Kuduru) is a type of music from Angola. It is mostly influenced by Sungura, Afro Zouk (known as Kizomba natively), Semba and Ragga music genres. It is characterized as uptempo, energetic, and danceable.

The name itself is a word with a specific meaning to location in the Kimbundu language, which is native to the northern portion of Angola. It has a double meaning in that it also translates to “hard ass” or “stiff bottom” in Portuguese, which is the official language of Angola. Not surprisingly, Kuduro is also a type of dance where, typically (like Ragga, some forms of hiphop, and other afro-based musics) the female dancer protrudes her derriere and swings it sensuously to the rhythm of the hard-hitting Kuduro beat.

Kuduro is very popular across the former Portuguese colonies in Africa, as well as in the outskirts of Lisbon, Portugal (namely Amadora), due to the large number of Angolan immigrants. White Portuguese often say Kuduro has racist lyrics against white people, but this is mostly a myth caused by the use of creole words that are often missunderstood.

The most well known in Kuduro is Angolan Helder , Rei do Kuduro (King of Kuduro ). He is radicated in Lisbon .

The Angolan musician Tony Amado is said to have helped create the genre, upon meeting U.S. based Ragga DJs.

Some other known names in Kuduro are: DJ Manya, DJ SL, DJ Davids, Helder Rei do Kuduro, Dog Murras, Tony Amado, DJ Nike, DJ João Reis, DJ Beleza, DJ Joca Moreno, DJ Malvado, DJ Amorim, DJ Paulo Jorge, DJ Baby T, Sebem, Puto Prata, Noite e Dia, among others.