Living in Africa, I presume, is the dream of many Black Americans. But it took me a while to settle in. I was far away from family and still had New York City in my system. I’d only moved to Brooklyn in 2016, and here I was just three years later, living in a completely new city without any friends or a routine. As a young journalist living in the Washington, D.C. area, it had been my dream to live in New York as a creative writer. Plus my mom was getting older and living in Maryland. It’s one thing to be three hours up the road, it’s another to be eighteen hours away during the pandemic with international travel halted.
Nairobi took me in, much to its credit, and I’ve developed friendships that still hold today. I wrote sixty percent of The Butterfly Effect there, so if the book reads like perfect weather, great tarts, excellent coffee and stellar beaches, you have Nairobi to thank for that. It wasn’t until I looked at the U.S. from afar that I realized how traumatized I’d been. In Nairobi I could rest and move slower, and not always have to be the Black voice in the room (though in Kenya, classism displaces racism, and you become the Black American voice in the room).
When I first moved there, I started making blends of music as a way to soothe my homesick soul. Everything from obscure jazz and Italian disco, to West African rock and Middle Eastern pop. The two compilations I released on Bandcamp were mixed at my dining room table on weekends and between writing sessions. And the one posted here has only lived on my laptop and in my car until now.
I rediscovered this blend during recent drives through L.A. and Philadelphia and thought it was jammin, so here it is. Plus it’s another way for you, dear reader, to know what music is on my mind at the moment. It’s just my ear, of course. I’m curious to hear what’s landed on yours.
The tracklist is below in case you want to pluck out certain songs. I hope this resonates with you in some way.
With love,
MJM
Donatella Viggiano - “Napule Canta E More”
Itadi K. Bonney - “Ye, Ye, Ye”
African Black - “Nzango”
Seawind - “Free”
Ronald Snijders - “Latinetta”
Jingo - “Fever”
Eko - “Bowa’a Mba Ngebe”
Kim Jiyeon & The Revival Cross - “웃어주세요”
Musi-O-Tunya - “Katonga”
William Onyeabor - “Fantastic Man”
Canco Hamisi - “Umugabo Wukuri”
Afro National - “Push Am Forward”
Al Massrieen - “Horreya”
Dalton - “Alech”
Ali Shaheed Muhammed / Adrian Younge - “Questions”
Black Truth Rhythm Band - “IMO”
Buttering Trio - “Fall Into Abyss (Ibiza)”
The Comet is Coming - “Unity”
Dafnis Prieto Proverb Trio - “Mother Nature”
Geraldo Pino & The Heartbeats - “Let Them Talk”
James Mason - “I Want Your Love”
