British cultural theorist Paul Gilroy famously concieved of the African Diaspora as the Black Atlantic, emphasising the connection between artists and traditions in Africa itself, in Europe, in the Caribbean and in the Americas.
For those of our readers who use Spotify, Records.Christmas regularly posts playlists of Christmas music from different backgrounds.
The word diaspora, from the greek διασπορά meaning “a scattering”, means the spread of a people from one geographic place to the wider world. The African diaspora is the spread of people from Africa around the world, a large part of the scattering stemming from the tragedies and horrors of the transatlantic and Arabic slave trades, and the equally horrific traces of colonialism. Despite these dark backgrounds, the African diaspora has proven itself incredibly resilient and strong, shaping culture and not least the arts accross much of the world.
The parts of the African diaspora that celebrate Christmas have also had a significant impact on Christmas music around the world. This playlist is a sample of some of the best, from the very well known to the fairly obscure. From Africa itself, there’s Christmas-themed Congolse soukouss, Nigerian jùjú, South African Shangaan disco and contemporary West African afrobeats, and much more. From the Caribbean, everything from Dominican merengue to Jamaican reggae and Antillean biguine. From the United States, funk, soul, jazz, blues, salsa, even some country.
Hope you’ll enjoy it! We’ll be back next week with another playlist of music from our vaults.
Christmas in the African Diaspora on Spotify