Beverly Glenn-Copeland - Africa Calling - a podcast by KEXP

Beverly Glenn-Copeland - "Africa Calling" from the 2023 album The Ones Ahead on Transgressive Records

Late last month, celebrated vocalist/composer Beverly Glenn-Copeland returned with his first new album in 20 years, titled The Ones Ahead. “As the old world crumbles, a new world is waiting to be born," he shared in a press release. "All of our various strengths are needed. The generations of those yet to come are calling us forward.” 

Today's Song of the Day finds Glenn-Copeland exploring his heritage. “In the ‘80s I had the honor of performing with an incredible artist named Dido, a master of the drums indigenous to West Africa. The beauty of this drumming tradition is explored in ‘Africa Calling,’” he continued. “Over the years, in many conversations, I have come to understand that I share an undefinable, unnamed feeling — a calling — with many other members of the African diaspora, a bone-deep need to explore and express our heritage. Alongside the grief, there is a longing to know our roots, hidden from us as family lines were torn apart in the terrible days of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In a world still caught in the ties of colonialism, I know I am not alone in needing to heed the call of this generations-old longing.”

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