Video: Playing for Change 2- Songs Around the World

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The two-disc CD/DVD set PFC 2: Songs Around The World is out now via Hear Music/Concord and available at all Starbucks (!!) locations and traditional retail outlets nationwide. To create PFC 2: Songs Around The World, Mark Johnson spent 10 months traveling to over 25 countries to connect nearly 150 musicians including Baaba Maal, Keb Mo, the Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Tinariwen, Grandpa Elliot, and Stephen Marley to name a few - all with the goal of using music to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. The musicians, who each use their instruments and talents in their own home countries to record a single song together, are seamlessly recorded through mobile laptop mini-studios powered by car batteries. The ensemble of musicians was recently featured on NBC's the today show. Check out PFC 2's latest video for "Gimme Shelter" below - it's mind blowing - and learn more about the organization by clicking HERE.

Baaba Maal Grandpa Elliot Hear Music/Concord Keb Mo NBC Today Show Playing for Change 2 Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars stephen marley Tinariwen

Music

11 Rwandan Artists You Should Be Listening To

Musicians like Bushali, Kivumbi King, Rita Ange Kagaju, and Alyn Sano have been putting their mark on the ever-changing Rwandan soundscape.

The current landscape of modern Rwandan music is more dynamic than ever before, from updated versions of traditional folk sounds to the recent 'KinyaTrap' phenomenon that has permeated playlists across the country. For decades, Rwandan airwaves have been dominated by international hits — and by a handful of established Rwandan superstars — but now, as the country continues to develop and diversify, so does its musical setting, with new and different sounds ascending from the hills. The past five years have seen the emergence of an army of young artists eager to reclaim their languages (Rwanda has four official languages) and identity, interlacing their music with influences that stretch far and wide.

Here are 11 artists that have emerged in the past five years to put their mark on the ever-changing Rwandan soundscape.