An M.I.A. (and Timbaland) Appropriation That Not Many People Know About

Not as many people know about this one, and it wasn’t credited…  But “Come Around,” the bonus track on the U.S. release of Kala, definitely borrows a phrase from this song, “Randaka,” from the Tamil movie Anniyan (and by the way, this is also a great clip):

Ilaiyaraaja, “Kaatukkulle Manasukkulle” (sampled in M.I.A.’s “Bamboo Banga”)


For All The People Stuffing Their Faces With Poultry This Weekend

(”Chicken Noodle Flu Remix” by Buraka Som Systema and DJ Blaqstarr, Video Version by Stemspot)

Cheb i Sabbah at a Beats Without Borders Party for Diwali 2007

Just a little while ago, I was wondering what had happened to Beats Without Borders.  Well, as it turns out, they’ve been up to quite a lot…
Such as holding a Diwali party a couple of weeks ago (as part of a big Diwali festival in Vancouver) featuring none other than Cheb i Sabbah (with dancer Namchi [...]

State of Bengal - Sunko Patar Sung By Suzana Ansar

Well, the video clip isn’t so good, but I like the sound of it. 

Suzana Ansar, with a Rocking Version of Work by the Revolutionary Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam

More Suzana Ansar for you…  This apparently is a Nazrul song.  “Nazrul” refers to the work of the revolutionary poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, who is also known as the national poet of Bangladesh.
Wikipedia has some very interesting info about Kazi Nazrul Islam: 
Kazi Nazrul Islam (Bengali: কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম) (25 May 1899-29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, musician, [...]

Bangla Music: Suzana Ansar

Bangla music - that is, Bengali music, rooted in the traditions of Bangladesh and West Bengal.  Suzana Ansar was born in London, but she’s promoted the music of her Bengali/Bangla roots with some success.  More recently, she’s done some work with the DJ/producer whose work I just posted, State of Bengal.  
And by the way, sympathies and [...]

“Hold It In My Heart” by State of Bengal

I bumped into good old State of Bengal in my Net searches because I had Bangladesh on my mind - but those thoughts are addressed better in the post after this.  “State of Bengal” once did refer to a group, but nowadays, it just means this one guy - with a number of people here and there, like Rosina Kazi [...]

Some Good Bhangra-Hip-Hop-Dancehall Can Be Found…

At MASALA.  Their bhangra-reggaeton-dancehall-hip-hop mix is particularly good in places, and it’s fairly unique among the downloadable mixes that I’ve found lately.  It’s also nice and noisy, good for playing through headphones on the subway.  (Well, maybe not if you’re especially concerned about preserving your hearing, but on the other hand, if your aim is to drown out the train… ;)

Snap in Sri Lanka

Snap went to Sri Lanka a few years ago and came back with “The Power of Bhangra.”   I’m a little late in catching on to this one, but I had to include it.

P.S.  You can also find this video at another WordPress blog, Ishqdeep.  I can’t figure out much about this blog, except that it specializes [...]