The World: Global Hit

A daily spotlight on international musical artists and trends. Created by host Marco Werman, the Global Hit features interviews with musicians, critics and deejays around the globe.

South Africa’s Pilani Bubu has ‘jumped off the shoulder of giants’ to create music filled with tradition

The singer-songwriter has always straddled between the worlds of globalization and the traditions of her homeland.

04-17
04:13

The University of Liverpool new master’s makes a whole degree of Beatlemania

The Beatles degree dives into the band's shifting perceptions over more than half a century, and how it's affected other sectors such as tourism. Holly Tessler, the professor who founded the program, joined The World's host Marco Werman to explain more about what the degree entails.

10-05
04:21

Kiki Valera on Son cubano and how he developed a unique musical perspective

At the age of 16, Valera started to salvage radio and TV parts out of discarded electronics to build his own shortwave receiver and transmitter, connecting him to a wider world of musical trends.

08-25
08:07

Lakou Mizik’s new album highlights Haiti’s creative spirit

Hatian band Lakou Mizik’s “Leave the Bones,” in collaboration with DJ and producer Joseph Ray of Nero, mixes traditional sounds with electronic beats.

08-13
07:49

Haitian American artist Momma Nikki sings about a complicated father-child relationship — and reconciliation

On their most recent album titled “Momma Exposed,” Seattle-based, Haitian American artist Momma Nikki pays tribute to their late father.

06-23
08:07

Dedicated BTS fans buy tickets to join virtual K-pop concert

Even fans in the US tuned in at 5:30 a.m. to watch the live BTS concert online. Culture critic Maria Sherman, author of "Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS," joins us to talk about BTS fandom.

06-14
03:39

Forging new space: The multidimensional Afrofuturism of Sammus

For Dr. Enongo Lumumba Kasongo, whose stage name is Sammus, Afrofuturism has been a well of inspiration and a living current underneath all her work.

06-07
08:04

A new film explores the stories of 6 men from China who survived the Titanic sinking

Some hid their experiences after being scapegoated for surviving the shipwreck.

06-04
04:50

The ‘strange grace’ of singer Arooj Aftab

In her latest record, “Vulture Prince,” Pakistani composer Arooj Aftab uses words from Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and 11th-century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, alongside electronic samples and touches of jazz trumpet.

05-04
08:08

Femi Kuti and Made Kuti continue Afrobeat legacy in two-part album

The roots of Afrobeat — not to be confused with the more pop-oriented Afrobeats, which has exploded in popularity in recent years — is socially conscious music, according to Made Kuti, Fela Kuti's grandson.

04-12
06:12

Genesis Owusu's debut album 'Smiling With No Teeth' doesn't shy away from issues of race

Ghanaian Australian artist Genesis Owusu speaks with Marco Werman about his experience growing up in Australia and how Prince inspired him to be true to himself.

03-03
05:33

Artist Shungudzo feels an urgency to 'use her words' to fight against racism

In her music and poetry, Shungudzo tackles the racist experiences she had growing up in Zimbabwe and the US.

01-18
08:26

‘African in New York’: Shirazee's personal twist on an iconic song by Sting

With Sting's blessing, Benin-born musician Shirazee flipped his 1988 hit "Englishman in New York," to "African in New York." Host Marco Werman speaks to Shirazee about his inspiration for the song.

12-11
05:35

‘Osmanity': Ottoman Empire's founder inspires a new album

Trumpet player and ethnomusicologist Will Magid is the creative force behind the musical project Balkan Bump. He has a new album out Oct. 23 called "Osmanity."

10-14
04:01

US immigration politics make their mark on Grammy-nominated J.S. Ondara

The World's host Marco Werman interviews Grammy-nominated musician J.S. Ondara.

01-17
07:31

Iconic musician Carlos Santana creates ‘mystical medicine music to heal a twisted, crooked world’

Woodstock 50th anniversary music festival has been officially canceled. Carlos Santana, who performed at the epic 1969 Woodstock festival, talks to The World about the power of music to unite and heal a troubled world.

08-01
07:54

This Ugandan rapper was ‘miseducated,’ Lauryn Hill-style

The 1998 album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" helped change Sarah Tshila's direction in life. This Ugandan-born college graduate with a degree in computer science decided to become a musician.

03-12
03:23

This Kenyan musician followed his love for Dylan to a new life and career

Kenyan musician J.S. Ondara left his home in Nairobi, Kenya, for Minneapolis five years ago — to pursue a music career. He's about to tour for his debut album, "Tales of America."

03-01
04:19

Zimbabwe's Oliver 'Tuku' Mtukudzi's career spanned four decades and 67 albums

Mtukudzi, Zimbabwe's most successful musician, largely steered clear of politics in his songs and told stories about people's everyday life struggles.

01-23
05:33

The World's favorite albums of 2018

There was a lot of great music released this year, but we had to narrow it down. Here's a selection of our favorites as chosen by The World's Marco Werman, April Peavey and Brandi Fullwood.

12-27
08:26

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