Africa Is a Country

Unexpected Connections

Unexpected Connections

By
Boima Tucker

When you're surprised by the links between Afro-Peruvian roots-electronic music and Kuduro-Kizomba from Angola.

Statue of a young Afro-Peruvian boy outside the Dedalo Art Gallery in Barranco, Lima. Per (Joshua Alan Davis).

Novalema is an Afro-Peruvian roots-electronic crew out of Lima. Not too many people in the U.S. (or on the African continent) are aware of the existence of the African descended cultures on the Pacific coasts of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, even if there’s a community in the neighborhood. So I was really surprised when I saw Novalima’s song “Machete” on an Angolan chart a couple years back. If you listen close, you can hear some Kuduro-Kizomba type motifs in their style, and it’s not to hard to imagine the crossover potential. As evidenced by my obsession with the Colombia-Africa thing, it’s these types of unexpected connections I really get into.

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