With the rise of digital technology, images of Black people murdered at the hands of law enforcement have inundated various media outlets and influenced a surge in social activism. Recent protests, spearheaded by Black Lives Matter (BLM), have pressured America and its lawmakers to reckon with its “peculiar institutions” rooted in white supremacy and systemic racism (Wacquant 2010).

Introduction

In the city of Tamale, northern Ghana, Dagbani language popular music can be heard in taxis, on people’s mobile phones, and in the central market.

Introduction

While the Mexican musical genre narco corridos has been subject to scholarly analysis (Ragland 2011; Simonett 2001; Wald 2001), the sub-genre known as movimiento alterado represents a gap in the present body of knowledge. It is unique for the way in which its musical stylings and marketing thrive off duplicity.

Introduction

In Lebanon, and in Beirut particularly, Brazilian music and dance is practised, performed and listened to in diverse and multiple settings, from Brazilian zafeh entertainment at flamboyant Lebanese weddings, to energetic performances of música popular brasileira (MPB) in small, independent music venues.

Introduction 

Trap is a music genre (or sub-genre) in high circulation since 2012, when its presence in social networks and the rise of scenes or communities around the world became evident.[1] Its origins can be traced to the suburbs of Atlanta, in the United States.

Introduction

In 2016, the popular song “Dununa Rivesi” featured prominently during elections in Zambia. Newspapers and other print media published numerous articles about the song. Radio stations blasted the song on the airwaves, and kids and grown-ups, regardless of their political affiliation, danced and sang along to the song in a variety of spaces.

Introduction

‘Huayin Laoqiang is the earliest Chinese rock music.’ This is the first phrase that Chinese pop singer Tan Weiwei (b.1981) said when she introduced this traditional opera form in the Chinese music reality show China Star on 5th December 2015. China Star is a large-scale pop music TV show produced by a provincial satellite TV station Shanghai Dragon Television.