The Sounds of Music: Africans in the Arabian Gulf

When most people think of the African diaspora, they think of the Americas. But African diasporas exist in all parts of the world from Europe to Asia, where in some cases they antedate the formation of the Atlantic diasporas. There is a particularly large African diaspora in the Arabian Gulf where the descendants of Africans have influenced all aspects of the cultures of these societies including music. Gamal Nkrumah laments the passing of one of Arabia's legendary black singers, Tarfa Abdel-Kheir Adam, or Itab, to use her stage name in this heartfelt tribute.  The growth and cultural contributions of the African diaspora in the Arabian Gulf is shown and discussed in this fascinating interview on Afropop Worldwide with Joseph Braude, a scholar of the region.  Editor, P T Zeleza