For the third and final in our series on classic albums recorded in Paris in the eighties and nineties during the first coming of “world music” we consider Le Voyageur by Papa Wemba.

The Congolese-born artist and leading figure of Montreal’s Moonshine collective, pays tribute to the true King of DRC while announcing a new album.  Papa Wemba, also known as the King of Congolese rumba, has without […]

Our week’s selection includes Malian diva Oumou Sangaré’s fusion album, Pierre Kwenders’ hommage to Papa Wemba, KMRU & Aho Ssan reveal an explosive album, Congolese rumba is revisited under an experimental rock lens and Okmalumkoolkat takes a hip-hop detour from gqom.

Starring Ray Lema, Papa Wemba, Kanda Bongo Man, Zao and Loketo… via the Congo river that runs through Paris too.

PAM spoke with Yamê about the rapper-singer-melodist’s meteoric rise and his knack for lofty melodies and heartfelt punchlines.

On August 6th, 2011, a few months after the end of a violent post-electoral crisis, Abidjan’s new government demolished the Rue Princesse on the grounds that it had become unsanitary, crippled with prostitution, drug trafficking […]

PAM revisits the timeless classic Né la thiass from Burkina-born singer and songwriter Chiekh Lô, produced by the one and only Youssou N’Dour and a pillar from the golden era of African music. 

Listen in on 2022 with our pan-African selection from Spanish Town to Johannesburg, Lagos to Nairobi, featuring the likes of Sampa the Great, Sudan Ariches, Asake, Koffee and more.