Najite and Olokun Prophecy with legendary poet Ojenke on The World Stage featuring live drumming and poetry.
About Najite and Olokun Prophecy -- www.najite.estnyboer.com
"For the better part of 2 decades, NAJITE & OLOKUN PROPHECY ["N.O.P."] has kept authentic afrobeat and African jazz alive from its home base in Los Angeles.
Led by Nigerian master percussionist Najite Agindotan, this roaring ensemble embraces the restless genius of Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the harmonic innovation of Horace Tapscott and the rhythmic soul of the African Diaspora.
Many of Southern California's best instrumentalists have lent their talent to N.O.P. over the years--Phil Ranelin, Nate Morgan, Bobby Bryant, Jerri Jheto--and the current band represents a cross-generational accumulation of their spirit and wisdom.
From saxophonist Jim Thompson (currently with Bobby Womack's band) to bass player Brafo Agindotan (Najite's eminently talented son) to Kpakpo Addo (who cut his chops with the legendary Uhuru Band of Ghana), the members of N.O.P. share a belief in music's ability to unify all people.
The music, N.O.P.'s tool of communication, is at once mythological and urgently realistic. "Africa Before Invasion," an album title track, looks to the "Kings and Queens" of the past, when "We were self-sufficient/We didn't have to steal from each other."
"A O Ri E O" addresses more recent history: the wars in Congo, Biafra, Angola and Burundi. But the music's infectious joy stands defiant in the face of the sobering lyrics. And it is this joyful defiance that best defines the message of N.O.P. Despite all obstacles, the human spirit will not only persevere, it will celebrate.
The Age of Goodness is upon us and Najite & Olokun Prophecy invites us to join them in welcoming a new day."
About The World Stage -- http://www.theworldstage.org/history.html
"World Stage Performance Gallery -- 'Seeking Light Through Sound'
The World Stage is an educational and performance arts gallery in Leimert Park Village, the heart of LA's African American cultural community. The Stage, as it is affectionately called, was founded in 1989 by the late world renowned master jazz drummer Billy Higgins and by poet and community arts activist Kamau Daáood in an attempt to fill a cultural void that existed in the Los Angeles community. Initially formed as a loose collective of artists and arts supporters, the World Stage has grown to assume a pioneering and pivotal role in the flowering of an arts movement in Leimert Park that has been hailed as the black cultural mecca by the Los Angeles Times.
Today the World Stage is a non-profit organization with a daily schedule of public workshops and programs in music and literature, concerts, jam sessions, master classes, readings and rehearsals and home to a talented lists of musicians, poets, writers, singers, and storytellers."
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2007
Time: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The World Stage
4344 Degnan Blvd.
Leimert Park
Los Angeles, CA 90008
United States
Cost: $10; free and ample parking
The World Stage is located on Degnan in historic Leimert Park - one block east of Crenshaw, north of Vernon between 43rd Place and 43rd Street.
The World Stage Tel: 323-293-2451
www.theworldstage.org/index.html
Sponsor(s): Information about non-ASC events is posted for informational purposes and does not reflect opinions of or endorsements by African Studies personnel.
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