World Music is African Music

Just Listen to the Songs

Bill (William) Minter, Editor, AfricaFocus Notes

No one knows when human beings first began to sing. And no one knows when we first began to speak. But South African linguist George Poulos, who has specialized in the study of the phonetics of African languages, has found clues in the evolution of the human mouth to the origins of human language. A South African of Greek descent, he is now Professor Emeritus at the University of South Africa.

His book on the subject was published in 2021, followed by two short articles in 2022.  His principal thesis: human language originated about 20,000 years ago, at approximately the same time the ancestors of all of us began to venture beyond the African continent.

The main points, in his words:

• My research suggests that the “kiss” click was probably the first speech sound ever produced by Homo sapiens. As time moved on, the various parts of the tongue became more and more maneuverable, making it possible for other click sounds to be produced in the mouth as well.

• All the other human speech sounds (the other consonants, as well as all the vowels) began to take place from approximately 50,000 years ago. This was dependent on the gradual development of a well-proportioned vocal tract which included the mouth, the area behind the mouth (the pharynx), the nasal passages, and the all-important larynx with its vocal cords. 

•  At the time of the “out of Africa” migration, the only part of the vocal tract that was physiologically developed to produce speech sounds was the oral cavity (mouth area). Language, as we know it today, probably began to emerge about 20,000 years ago.

• The transformation of Homo sapiens (modern humans) from a “non-speaking” to a “speaking” species happened at about the same time as our hunter-gatherer ancestors migrated out of Africa.

Like all accounts of that distant past, these conclusions rely on indirect evidence and will continue to be debated by researchers. But the evidence is also available today to anyone who can stream music from the web. 

Listen to these songs and note how African music has echoed around the world far beyond the geographic bounds of the continent.

Redemption Song, with Playing for Change and Stephen Marley

For a medley of originals and covers of Redemption Song, check out this playlist.

From the Congo to Mississippi

Producer’s Journey: Welcome to Angola | Episode 1

Playing For Change | Producer’s Journey: Welcome to Angola | Episode 3 

About Playing for Change 

Playing For Change is a multimedia music project, featuring musicians and singers from across the globe, co-founded in 2002 by American Grammy award-winning music producer/engineer and award-winning film director Mark Johnson and film producer/philanthropist Whitney Kroenke. Playing For Change also created in 2007 a separate non-profit organization called the Playing For Change Foundation, which builds music and art schools for children around the world.

Mark Johnson was walking in Santa Monica, California, when he heard the voice of Roger Ridley (deceased in 2005) singing "Stand By Me"; it was this experience that sent Playing For Change on its mission to connect the world through music.

Most Playing for Change music is available free on YouTube or Vimeo or on their own site. But some are restricted to members. It only costs $5/month or $54/year.  The money goes to support production of the music videos and band tours. But they also run free music education schools in 12 countries around the world, including Ghana, Mali, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. 

Here is a playlist of some of my favorites.

You can sign up for membership here.

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Editor´s Update

I am still learning more about the Substack interface. Over the next few weeks I hope to add additional features, such as referrals to key sources for updates on previous posts. The two initial posts in February were on the AP Black Studies curriculum and the recent Nigerian election.

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