Benny Beats

This is the official playlist for the Nomadic Global Hip-Hop Allstars tour

The NOMADIC GLOBAL HIP-HOP ALLSTARS are the world's premier GLOBAL HIP-HOP group featuring MCs from Africa, South America, Asia, The Middle East and the Caribbean. The band also features members of groups such as Antibalas, Basement Bhangra, The Jugganots, Dub is a Weapon and Subatomic Sound.

Global hip-hop production and concert company NOMADIC WAX proudly presents the NOMADIC GLOBAL HIP-HOP ALLSTAR band, featuring hip-hop music from the streets of Sierra Leone, Brazil, Tanzania and North America. The group features some of today’s most conscious global hip-hop artists and incorporates both documentary film screenings and panel presentations.

Best known for using its agile mobile recording studio to record original music in Africa, Nomadic Wax draws on founder Benny Herson’s expertise in producing high caliber hip hop and reggae concerts at New York’s Nublu, Galapagos, Knitting Factory clubs as well as the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival and Celebrate Brooklyn.  Herson has made Nomadic Wax the primary source for artists to expose hip-hop music and culture from abroad to North American audiences.

In April 2006, the Nomad Wax music/film/panel model was launched at the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival in Hartford, CT.  The phenomenal response from college campuses inspired the label to make the Nomad Wax Hip-Hop All Stars tour a yearly event.  In August 2006, backed by the Nomadic Wax All-stars on turntables, drums, bass, and African percussion and featuring a rotating cast of rappers, filmmakers and panelists, the tour officially launched.

The tour features documentary films screenings and panels presentations during the day. At night, recording artists take the stage singing their original and classic songs culminating in improvised collaborations as the finale.

NOMADIC ALLSTAR GLOBAL HIP-HOP  - ARTISTS

CHOSAN - (Sierra Leone).

After leaving Sierra Leone at age six, Chosan settled in the United Kingdom. At a young age, he started rapping as a hobby and became popular in England’s underground hip hop scene, winning locally respected MC battles, pressing vinyl independently, and following the DIY path. Chosan was the first artist to perform at Nomadic Wax’s African Underground showcase events in New York.

In 2000, he realized the UK market was too small and made the decision to move to the United States.  Soon after settling in the Bronx he was hit by a truck and nearly died. The long months Chosan spent recuperating in the hospital and reflecting on his near death experience had a great impact on him and his music.  Already well respected for his conscious rhymes, Chosan’s lyrics took on an even more serious tone after his accident. A third-grade teacher by day, Chosan’s lyrics, explore his identity as an African growing up in the UK, living outside of Africa. The release of his album The Beautiful Side of Misery has been released digitally to critical acclaim on CalabashMusic.com, ITunes, and Napster.

Chosan is featured in the video for Kanye West’s Diamonds are Forever a song about the role of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone’s civil war.

LF AND LAYLO - (Brazil)

LF was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. In 1988, he founded one of Brazil’s first hip hop groups, the politically charged DMN. As lead vocalist for DMN, LF became known for his hard-line stance against racism and poverty. Recognized as an outspoken and politically active artist, he has been invited to lecture and facilitate workshops at a number of universities and organizations including: the Open Society Institute, Sista II Sista, TRUCE, Indiana University and many others.

Loira Limbal (a.k.a. DJ Laylo) is a filmmaker, activist, and DJ. She was born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents and grew up in New York City. Since 2001, she has been producing and directing a documentary entitled Estilo Hip Hop which chronicles the revolutionary hip-hop movements of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Cuba. She has traveled throughout the United States and Latin America, conducting speaking engagements at schools, youth centers, prisons, and universities about hip hop and social justice. As a DJ, she has performed alongside her partner Brazilian rapper LF, at a variety of events including the World Social Forum in Brazil, Lincoln Center, B.B. King's, SOB's among many others.

THE FOUNDATION MOVEMENT – (Puerto Rico, Liberia and Guatemala)

On February 27, 2003, the City of Boston declared “Foundation Day” honoring the Foundation Movement not only for their musical talent, but also for their commitment to the community and for making positive changes in a city with a history of violence, racism, segregation, and political corruption.

Foundation Movement members; Eroc, Optimus, and DJ El are young artists with origins from Puerto Rico, Liberia, and Guatemala, who all met in Boston and united to form the group. This cultural fusion, as well as their experiences growing up in Boston, has influenced The Foundation’s music. Not another rap group with watered down lyrics, and messages of misogyny and materialism. They’re committed to addressing issues of injustice and oppression, while also entertaining crowds with hot beats and relevant lyrics.

BALOZI DOLA - (Tanzania)
Balozi Dola (Ahmed Dola) is a hip-hop artist from Tanzania. His music is socially conscious, focusing on the political, social, economic, and cultural situation of young people and artists in Tanzania. He has released two albums, Balozi Wenu ("Your Ambassador") in 2000 and Ubalozini ("The Embassy of hip hop") in 2002. Dola has two videos to his credit for his chart-topping singles, Kwenye Chati and hit Nani na Nani. He formerly performed with a group, The Deplowmatz, who released a self-titled album in 1997 and were awarded the best rap group in Tanzania in 1999. 

CHEE MALABAR – (India/USA)
Chee is 1/2 of hip-hop outfit Himalayan Project. Brimming with sociopolitical commentary and personal narratives that range from satirical to inflammatory, Chee Malabar and Rainman dropped Wince At The Sun in 2003 to heavy underground critical acclaim. Chee is currently finishing up his debut solo effort, O'Blique Brown.

EL GAMBINA (Korea/USA)
Rapping proved a spontaneous endeavor for El Gambina, whose foray into penning hip hop rhymes began in high school. She joined Organic Thoughts; a NJ based hip-hop crew, in 2000 and released "The Purest Form" under Blaze the World Entertainment. She doesn't fit the typical urban MC image and so it's not unusual for her to arrive at a studio for a recording session, only to get mistaken for the producer's girlfriend. El Gambina’s lyrics encourage people to embrace their individuality and she hopes that her music will inspire others to do what they love. She's worked with artists such as DJ Honda, Denizen Kane, Large Professor, Prince Po, Illmind, and more. Look out for possible solo projects in the future.


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Lamine Toure & Group Saloum meets Subatomic Sound System inna Brooklyn Style Soundclash live at Brooklyn's Galapagos Art Space Nov 12 2006!

This is African Mbalax meets Reggae/Hip-Hop/Downtempo at it's finest!

70 North 6th Street
between Kent and Wythe
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
718 782-5188

Doors open at 8 pm and show starts right at 9!
5 $ to get in - RSVP at rsvp@nomadicwax.com

Group Saloum:

Group Saloum is America’s hottest Afro-mbalax band. Founded by world-renowned griot percussionist Lamine Touré, Group Saloum fuses Senegalese mbalax with elements of jazz, funk, reggae, and Afrobeat. Group Saloum performs original Afro-mbalax music highlighted by the infectious rhythms of Touré's sabar drums, drawing upon the collective creativity of some of Boston's most talented musicians.

Lamine Touré is widely recognized as one of Senegal’s leading percussionists.  Born into a griot family of sabar drummers, Lamine Touré has been drumming since the age of four, a skill that he inherited from his ancestors.  Since the early 1990s, Touré has been a key figure in the Senegalese music scene, performing with the successful mbalax band Nder et le Setsima Group throughout Africa, Europe, and North America.  Touré’s global experience inspired him to create a new style of Afro-mbalax music, incorporating the diverse musical influences he encountered during his travels.  Upon settling in Boston in 2001, Touré began to search for musicians who would help realize his inspiration.  The result was the creation of Group Saloum.
 
July 25, 2004 marked the first public performance of Lamine Touré and Group Saloum at the Central Square World’s Fair in Cambridge, MA.  The concert was a smashing success, drawing record crowds to the African Stage.  Since then, Group Saloum’s exciting live shows have captivated audiences throughout Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New York, Virginia (Floydfest), Illinois, and Montréal, earning them a nomination for “Best World Music Act” by the 2006 Boston Music Awards.

Lamine Touré and Group Saloum’s self-titled recording hit stores nationwide in January 2006 and is already in its second printing.  Recorded by ASCAP-winning producer Daniel Cantor of Notable Productions, and distributed by Nomadic Wax, Group Saloum’s debut recording has won widespread critical acclaim, being featured on the Afropop Worldwide radio show, “Africa in America-2005.“

Subatomic Sound System:

It’s dangerous to play with the elements. That’s the first thing Emch, aka Scientifik, discovered when he began experimenting with Noah Tha Riddim Doktor in the Subatomic Lab. It was innocent enough to start – a classically trained guitarist, a seasoned bass player and a whole lot of old school 45s cluttering the place up.  But then the test tubes came out, because no true doctor or scientist can leave well enough alone. Soon the lab was so full of equipment, instruments, and crisscrossing wires that the door to enter only opened wide enough for them to carefully slip in and out sideways.  One wrong move could spark an electrical fire… or worse.

Sure enough, at the turn of the millennium, a massive explosion caused a collision of circuit boards, New York City asphalt, and human skin.  When the smoke cleared and Emch began putting together the scattered pieces, he saw the same fundamental compounds at the core of many disparate things.  In this defining moment, Emch imagined people and sounds put together the same way and from there SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM was truly born, a group and a sound that was both inclusive and expandable.  SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM melts down the vintage sound of bass-heavy dub reggae, the head bobbing funk of underground hip hop, the throb of dancehall, and the futuristic fever of jungle and broken beat to unleash the common elements that tie these styles together and give them a universal, cross-cultural resonance.  Behind this sound is a collective of diversely talented individuals that are at once a studio production crew, live soundsystem, and band – uniting the best of each tradition: the flow and breadth of DJ sets, the improvisational energy of live musicians, the sound manipulation techniques previously confined to the recording studio, and the conscious lyrics and honest story telling that define all good vocal music.

To bring this juggernaut to life, SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM uses an innovative combination of analog and digital machines, live instrumentation, and a highly original crew of MCs and vocalists who represent these musical traditions.  The end results are: 1) a hypnotic body rocking new album that sounds thick as gravy and 2) a unique live show that steadily keeps waists winding to infectious grooves and deep melodies.  In any given live set, dub, roots, and dancehall reggae get mashed up with futuristic hip hop, broken beat, and space age drum and bass rhythms that are manipulated and rearranged in real time collaborative interaction with feeds from the musicians, MCs, and vocalists: Daddy Lion Chandell, King Django, Naada, Nemiss, Rhiannon, Paige Scott and Treasure Don.

The results of this diaspora of talent and influences are both premonitions and a nod to the past.  Consider the history:  Back in the 70s, Motown toured with a single backup band and a cast of vocalists that shared a common family vibe.  At the same time in Jamaica, mobile sound systems were playing those R&B records while DJs chatted and sang their own versions, fresh from local studios.  As imported American soul collided with Caribbean rhythms, it was further twisted up with studio effects and then unleashed on ears hungry for new sounds.  This evolving sound system tradition later spanned the globe, giving birth to rap music here in New York City and influencing the spread of DJ culture and electronic dance music worldwide.   SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM is built solidly on this foundation, paying tribute to the past while flipping the script with the sounds of the present and the future.

Together, SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM has been taking the East and West coast underground by storm.  Their unorthodox mashup of styles, combined with innovative use of new technology, creates a powerful live experience that defies expectations and challenges musical prejudices.  With the release of ON ALL FREQUENCIES, SUBATOMIC SOUND SYSTEM has begun spreading their gospel of hypnotic dub bass, pulsing syncopated rhythms, and sincere melodic messages around the globe – providing living proof that while it is dangerous to play with the elements, it’s worth walking through the fire.




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I've been following Senegalese wrestling for nearly a decade. In my many years of traveling to Senegal I've seen some incredible bouts.

I've been lucky enough to have witnessed the rise of Mohammed Ndao aka Tyson (the wrestler who coined the term 'Boul Fale') when he beat down Manga 2 on July 4th 1999. I was also there when Tapha Gueye got punked by Bombardier and saw the stadium go into a near riot in response.

Every time I go to Dakar - I make a point to go to the matches. For me the combination of the music, mysticism and drama of the wrestling tradition all are just as incredible to watch as the battle itself.

Now imagine my surprise when I looked at the CNN.com website the other day to find a full page spread on this esoteric cultural tradition on their FRONT page.. What!?! Senegalese Wrestling on CNN! Next thing you know they'll be playing Senegalese hip-hop on the Sopranos.. wait.. sorry, happened last week. Forget that.

Although we don't yet have any Senegalese wrestling on the Calabash site - (I've got to get some soon!) - what we DO have for you are the true sounds of Dakar itself that have inspired and been the sountrack to this incredible martial art and cultural tradition.

Essentially - this mix is a 'what would might hear if you sat in a car rapide from Medina to Thiaorry with the radio blasting the whole time'.

From the mighty slap of the sabar to the guttural raps of BMG 44 - this mix is the true sound of Dakar's inner city. Get ready to rumble..

To see the CNN article click here!

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