Paris Africain Rhythms of the African Diaspora [Hardcover]

The growth of African immigration to France at the end of the Twentieth Century wrought cultural change in this epicentre of the avant-garde in European art and music. James Winders presents the story of African immigrants to France as a unique chapter in the long history of the reception accorded expatriate artists in Paris.Introduction Immigration in 20th Century France from Belle Epoque to European Union 'African' Pop Music in France African or French? : Neither and Both The Mitterand Years Creole Culture and the Zouk Explosion The Welcome Mat Withdrawn?: The Second Generation of African Musicians in Paris Politics of Language and Space: Troubling New Political Prospects and Challenges Musician of Senegal and Mali: Re-emigrants and Those Who Never Sought to Emigrate The 'Traditional' Music Backlash Hybridity and the Future of Francophone Popular Music 'Fourth World' Music and Culture at Century's End

James A. Winders has written a wonderful introduction to cultural globalization. He places the reader in the cultural milieux and changing political environments in which male and female musicians from Sub-Saharan Africa created and recorded 'world music' in late twentieth-century Paris. Drawing on dozens of revealng interviews, Winders lets musicians tell us about the immigration experience and their lives as artists in a Paris roiled by conflicts over racism and the nature of French national identity, while remaininga site of rich cultural exchange. - Donald Reid, Professor of History, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Paris Africain provides a fascinating look at not only the world of African musicians in contemporary France, but also black life and questions of race, politics, and immigration in general. Winders combines a detailed knowledge of French politics and society with a thorough appreciation of African musical forms and the people who have created them. No one who is interested in France today should miss this book. - Tyler Stovall,lÓ'