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Run for IVU Playlist 4

Curated international music from IVUmed program site countries to accompany your run, walk, hike, bike challenge miles.

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Run for IVU Virtual Challenge
Spotify Playlist 4

Run for IVU Virtual Challenge Spotify Playlist 4

  1. The Journey (Outro) – by Gyakie (Ghana)

This incredible soulful 20 year old from Kumasi, Ghana is a afrobeat/afro fusion singer.  She released her first single; “Love is Pretty” in February 2019, and has signed an international record deal with Sony Music entertainment, RCA Records UK and Sony Music Africa. In addition to making music, she is also studying for her degree in International Buisness at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.

  1. Vacation – by Gyakie (Ghana)

This incredible soulful 20 year old from Kumasi, Ghana is a afrobeat/afro fusion singer.  She released her first single; “Love is Pretty” in February 2019, and has signed an international record deal with Sony Music entertainment, RCA Records UK and Sony Music Africa. In addition to making music, she is also studying for her degree in International Buisness at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. 

  1. Afro Aid Problem (Aap) – by Kyekyeku, Five Days No Light Off  (Ghana)

Ghanaian guitarist Kyekyeku is bringing socially aware sounds to a new generation, making revolutions in people’s minds.  With lyrics reminiscent of village recreational songs, protest songs, love poetry and old African spirituality, his music touches on themes concerned with the well-being of Africa and the world society. 

  1. Akwankwaa Hiani – EK Nyame, EK’s Band

EK Nyame is one of the “godfathers” of modern Ghanaian highlife music. He was a Ghanaian composer, guitarist, founder of EK’s Band and the Akan Trio. He learnt Appiah Agyekum’s style of playing guitar on radio and later in 1947, he joined the Appiah Agyekum’s Band. He later left the band to form the EK’s Band.  His songs and plays had supported Ghana’s movement for independence during the final years of British colonial rule. By 1975, Nyame had recorded about 400 records for companies like West African Decca, Queenophone and His Master’s Voice (HMV) records building a reputation in West Africa.

  1. Ghana- Guinea- Mail – by ET Mensah (Ghana)

Mensah is a Ghanaian musician who was regarded as the “King of Highlife” music. He led The Tempos, a band that toured widely in West Africa. The group gained international attention and in 1957 Mensah performed with Louis Armstrong.  The highlife style of music started to decline in the 1960s, but E. T. Mensah remained active for years afterwards. He co-starred on a highly successful album with the Nigerian trumpeter Dr Victor Abimbola Olaiya.

  1. Sakatumbe – by Nana Kwame Ampadu (Ghana)

Nana Kwame Ampadu  is a Ghanaian musician credited with numerous popular highlife tracks and he is known to have composed over 800 songs. Ampadu’s “African Brothers Band” was formed in 1963. He came to prominence in 1967 when he released his song Ebi Te Yie (or “Some Are Well Seated”), a song that was seen as potentially critical of the then-governing National Liberation Council and disappeared from the airwaves, only returning after the end of military rule. In 1973 he won a nationwide competition in Ghana to be crowned the Odwontofoohene, or “Singer-in-Chief”.His musical career has also involved him in electoral politics, including composing a song for Jerry Rawlings’s National Democratic Congress party to use in the 1992 election campaign.

  1. Kofi Nkrabea – by Nana Kwame Ampadu (Ghana)

Nana Kwame Ampadu  is a Ghanaian musician credited with numerous popular highlife tracks and he is known to have composed over 800 songs. Ampadu’s “African Brothers Band” was formed in 1963. He came to prominence in 1967 when he released his song Ebi Te Yie (or “Some Are Well Seated”), a song that was seen as potentially critical of the then-governing National Liberation Council and disappeared from the airwaves, only returning after the end of military rule. In 1973 he won a nationwide competition in Ghana to be crowned the Odwontofoohene, or “Singer-in-Chief”.His musical career has also involved him in electoral politics, including composing a song for Jerry Rawlings’s National Democratic Congress party to use in the 1992 election campaign.

  1. Love and Death – by Ebo Taylor (Ghana)

Ebo Taylor is a Ghanaian guitarist, composer, bandleader, record producer and arranger focusing on highlife and afrobeat music. Taylor has been a pivotal figure on the Ghanaian music scene for over six decades. In the late 1950s he was active in the influential highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band. In 1962, Taylor took his group, the Black Star Highlife Band, to London. In London, Taylor collaborated with Nigerian afrobeat star Fela Kuti as well as other African musicians in Britain at the time.

  1. Tubonga Nawe – by King Saha, Dr Jose Chameleone (Uganda)

King Saha is a Ugandan  R & B recording that also mixes in Afro pop. Dr. Jose Chameleone, is one of the most popular Ugandan musicians in the 21st century. He started his music career in the early 1990s with the Ogopa Deejays, a Kenyan record label then and managed to gain popularity because of his talent across the entire African continent. Chameleone’s music style is a mixture of Ugandan folk music, central African rumba, zouk, and reggae.

  1. N’Diourel – by Gestu de Dakar (Senegal)

In the 1980s, Senegal music was heavily influenced by Cuban jazz, African American soul and funk, and Gestu de Dakar was formed by a group of friends who shared a passion for this type of music.

  1. Kiko Medina – by Le Tropical Jazz (Senegal)

Drawn from rare and unheard recordings made in Dakar’s fertile 1960s – 1970s period, the band touches on the sounds of high life, funk, and mbalax a healthy dose of US soul. The music of Senegal in this era was electrified and funky, with strong Reggae influences. Typical of African popular music in the ‘70s, complex beats and multiple layers of guitars, vocals and horns are heard throughout

  1. You Better Know –by WITCH  (Zambia)  

Widely seen as the most popular Zambian band of the 1970s, WITCH (an acronym for “We Intend To Cause Havoc”), was formed during Zambia’s post-independence golden days, but by the late-1970s, economic collapse and increasing government authoritarianism saw WITCH, like most Zamrock bands, fading away. As of 2013, WITCH is touring again.

  1. Born Black –by Chrissy Zebby Tembo (Zambia)  

Zebby Tembo, the drummer of the group Ngozi Family, released some solo music.  His style was psychedelic rock, with an African feel and English vocals. It has been described as the combined sound of Jimi Hendrix and James Brown.

  1. Ngarambe – by Jean Paul Samputu (Rwanda)

Jean-Paul Samputu is a singer, songwriter, and musician from Rwanda. He has established himself as one of the most prominent African artists on the world stage. A winner of the prestigious Kora Award (the “African Grammy”) in 2003, Samputu travels the world as a cultural ambassador for Rwanda, bringing to his audiences not only traditional African singing, dancing, and drumming, but also a message of peace and reconciliation. A survivor of the genocide in Rwanda, Samputu takes us to the most positive place of humanity through his spirit and graciousness.

  1. Uwanjye – by Teta Diana (Rwanda)

Born in Kenya and raised in Uganda before returning to Rwanda after the ’94 genocide, Teta Dian composed her first song at age 11, a love song for her late father Frazier Birangwa, a Rwandan poet, playwright and professor of literature. She launched her professional music career in 2012 when was selected to represent Rwanda in a leading East African music competition in Kenya. The following year, she joined the acclaimed Rwandan traditional band Gakondo Group as the group’s first and only female artist. She simultaneously developed a solo career, eventually attempting to merge the two worlds of Afro-pop and traditional music.

  1. Where Did you Go Wrong, My Love – by The Good Ones, Nels Cline (Rwanda)

Beginning in 1978 when they were childhood friends, The Good Ones, were taught music by one of the members older brother, who later was killed in the 1994 genocide.  They formed the band as a healing process after the geocide, as the members of the group are from the three Rwandan tribes (Tutsi, Hutu and Twa).  The chose the name The Good Ones in an active attempt to seek out “the good ones” after having endured and witnessed unthinkable horrors.  Their music has global reach and they have been publically praised by Robert Plant and Mumford and Sons.  In 2010 The Good Ones released their debut album making them the first Rwandan artists to distribute internationally songs in Kinyarwanda.  Their follow up album Rwanda my Home was named one of the top 50 albums of the year by the London Times.

  1. Farmer – by The Good Ones, Nels Cline (Rwanda)

Beginning in 1978 when they were childhood friends, The Good Ones, were taught music by one of the members older brother, who later was killed in the 1994 genocide.  They formed the band as a healing process after the geocide, as the trio are from the three Rwandan tribes (Tutsi, Hutu and Twa).  The chose the name The Good Ones  in an active attempt to seek out “the good ones” after having endured and witnessed unthinkable horrors.  Their music has global reach and they have been publically praised by Robert Plant and Mumford and Sons.  In 2010 The Good Ones released their debut album making them the first Rwandan artists to distribute internationally songs in Kinyarwanda.  Their follow up album Rwanda my Home was named one of the top 50 albums of the year by the London Times.

  1. Balade Bresilienne – by Gaël Faye (Burundi)

Gaël Faye is a Rwandan-French singer, rapper, and writer. He was born in Bujumbura, Burundi of a French father and Rwandan mother. He emigrated in France at the age of 13 escaping from the Burundian civil war. He wrote a book about it, Small Country (Petit Pays), a semi-biographical book. It was first published in France in August 2016 by Grasset, and has since been translated into 36 languages.

  1. Amsterdam Ticket – Amabano (Burundi)

Burundi’s Most Popular 1980s Group, Amabano, signed with the Ministry of Information to become the state-sponsored house band of the national radio station. Their musical base of funk, soul and rumba, sung in a multitude of languages, absorbed a lot of influence from Burundian traditional music, and the Kirundi language would be heard in many of their songs. 

  1. Chitekete – by Simon Chimbetu (Zimbabwe)

Leonard Tazvivinga Dembo, also Musoro We Nyoka, was a Zimbabwean guitar-band musician and member of the band Barura Express. Incorporating traditional Shona sayings in his lyrics, his musical style was sungura-based, played on electric guitars tuned to emulate the characteristic sounds of the mbira.

  1. Gwindingew Rine Shumba – by Thomas Mapfumo (Zimbabwe)

Thomas Tafirenyika Mapfumo nicknamed “The Lion of Zimbabwe” and “Mukanya” (the praise name of his clan in the Shona language) for his immense popularity and for the political influence he wields through his music, including his sharp criticism of the government of former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. He both created and made popular Chimurenga music, and his slow-moving style and distinctive voice is instantly recognisable to Zimbabweans.

  1. Saihan Um Daa Chi– by Ice Top (Mongolia)

In a country where almost 60 percent of the population is younger than 30, hip-hop has become an effective way of making political statements and carving out a new Mongolian identity. Ice Top says the group is taking on social issues — and the establishment.

  1. Gangan Tsagaan– by Gang Bay (Mongolia)

Part of the exploding Hip-Hop scene in Mongolia, Gang Bay, is part of a group of young musicians that is changing the landscape of music in Mongolia.  Hip hop has now become so big in Mongolia, that politicians sometimes even try to buy up rappers to bolster their political campaigns.

  1. Haru Haru – by Vandebo, Anir (Mongolia)

Vandebo is a Mongolian hip hop duo from Darkhan, Mongolia. The band is formed by two friends, Vande and Ebo. In December 2018, the band released their debut album “Munkhud21”. In June, 2019 Vandebo released their hit single “Unana” featuring with Enerel, Belucci.

  1. Ghen Co Vy – by MIN x ERIK, Khac Hung (Vietnam)

Part of Vietnam’s V-pop scene Min is a singer, dancer, and producer.  Born in Hanoi she can speak English, German, Japanese & Korean.  She is prolific on you tube and has over 100 million views of her music videos.  Erik is also asinger and dancer. He joined The Voice Kids of Vietnam in 2013 and later became a member of Monstar. Ghen Cô Vy” is a Vietnamese public health communication campaign. The campaign, which includes the Ghen CoV song, a music video and a dance challenge on YouTube,was written and composed by Khắc Hưng, sung by Min and Erik. 

  1. Cho Khong – by Suboi (Vietnam)

Suboi, is a Vietnamese rapper, singer, and songwriter. Raised in Ho Chi Minh City, where she lives, Suboi is the first Vietnamese female rapper to become successful in her country and is considered Vietnam’s queen of hip hop.

  1. Blow Way – by Lancelot Layne (Trinidad)

Lancelot Layne was born and raised in Gonzales, Trinidad, a village near Port of Spain. He had a start in many local singing shows and showcase forums in and about Trinidad.

A 1998 United Nations Radio program described the links between calypso and highlife music, focusing on an exchange of visits between Layne and high life musician Koo Nimo of Ghana. He is often described as being the founder of rapso.

  1. Only You – by Theophhilus London, Tame Impala (Trinidad)

Trinidadian-born American rapper and singer. From buzzy new rapper in the late 2000s and early 2010s to Kanye West collaborator to proto-fashion influencer, he’s been an influential figure since he first emerged out of downtown New York’s art and music scene.  This is a collaboration with Australian performer Tame Impala (aka Kevin Parker).

  1. Loverman – by Shabba Ranks, Chevelle Franklin (Jamaica)

Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was as one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home country as a dancehall artist, he gained popularity in North America with his studio album, Just Reality, in 1990. He released two studio albums, As Raw as Ever and X-tra Naked, which both won a Grammy Award as Best Reggae Album in 1992 and 1993, respectively. He is notoriously popular for “Mr. Loverman” and “Ting-A-Ling”, which were globally acclaimed and deemed his signature songs.  Chevelle Franklyn a Jamaican reggae and gospel reggae singer was the fourth in a family of ten children. She was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen to help support her family, and found work singing at hotels and resorts.

  1. Kinky Reggae – Bob Marley and the Wailers (Jamaica)

Jamaican singer, songwriter, and musician. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley’s contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide. 

  1. I Shot the Sheriff – Bob Marley and the Wailers (Jamaica)

Jamaican singer, songwriter, and musician. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley’s contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide. 

  1. Lape, Lanmou – by Artists for Peace and Justice, Jackson Browne (Haiti)

Artists for Peace and Justice works in direct partnership with communities in Haiti to create pathways out of poverty by expanding access to education and providing training in creative industries.  “Lapé Lanmou, title means “Peace and Love” in Creole.

  1. Memwa’n – by Moonlight Benjamin (Haiti)

Moonlight Benjamin describes her music as a blend of voodoo and rock’n’roll. Born in Haiti, she is both a voodoo priestess and a powerful singer-songwriter with an impressive vocal range. Benjamin sounds thrilling, thoughtful and, at times, downright spooky. Her mother died giving birth to her, and Benjamin was brought up singing hymns in a church orphanage. Later, in Port-au-Prince, she met voodoo musicians and listened to western rock, then moved to France, where she studied jazz. In 2009, she travelled back to Haiti for a voodoo initiation.

  1. Suspan’n – by Caribbean Sextet (Haiti)

Policard the leader of Caribbean Sextet was born in Haiti and was first introduced to music at the age of 10. After integrating a band called the Sugar Jazz in 1969, Policard co-founded the famous Caribbean Sextet, which dominated the music scene in Haiti for several decades.

  1. Poun Paciance – by Orchestre Tropicana D’Haiti (Haiti)

The Tropicana Orchestra d Haiti is named after a famous nightclub in Cuba, was formed in the 1960s and dominated the Haiti jazz nightclub scene.  At that time, French music and Latin music were very popular in Haiti.

  1. Olicha Legba – by Chouk Bwa Libete (Haiti)

For most of the modern era, vodou (or voodoo) dance and rhythms have been practiced far away from prying foreign eyes. The deep hypnotic drum beats and rituals, built around percussion instruments and call and response vocals, were kept secret to such an extent that it’s hard to think of any other form of music that has been so misinterpreted and slandered by a dominant culture. That’s something that Chouk Bwa Libète, a new Haitian group from Petite Rivière des Bayonnais is changing as they travel the world to introduce people around the globe to their undiluted form of traditional vodou music. Chouk Bwa Libète does not add any other instruments into their musical mix. They rely solely on the interplay between the four percussionists and two dancers to create deep and unchoreographed rhythms that encourage audience members to get up, shake themselves off and surrender to a magical trance experience.

  1. US – by Sidhu Moose Wala, Raja Kumari (India)

Sidhu Moose Wala, is an Indian singer, lyricist, rapper and actor associated with Punjabi music and Punjabi cinema.  In 2021, Moose Wala released Moosetape, tracks from which charted globally. He has his fair share of controversies, often getting into legal troubles by promoting gun culture and also using inflammatory and inciting lyrics in his songs.

  1. Yunduya Weyu – The Garifuna Collective (Honduras)

The hybrid culture of the African-Amerindian Garifuna communities, located on the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, is influenced by West Africa and indigenous Carib, as well as the Arawak Indian language. Garifuna music has gained a following in the form of a less traditional style known as punta rock, but the Garifuna Collective focuses on the roots of Garifuna tradition, adding contemporary elements to traditional forms to bring the soul of this music into a modern context.