Field report: Visa For Music 2023 11/22-11/25 Rabat Morocco by Alex Boicel

***left .. DUDU SARR ( Manager of Youssou Ndour ) and also the CEO of Dakar Music Expo in Senegal ..center is BRAHIM EL MAZNED … CEO of Visa for Music.***

In 2023, Visa For Music celebrates its 10th year promoting cultural ties between Africa and Arab countries. It has become an essential meeting place for music from Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. As can be seen not only in the vibrant performances below captured by Alex Boicel, but in the creative energy it brings to the center of Rabat, Morocco each November. Director-Founder Brahim El Mazned sums up the collaborative vibe that is its sustenance and goal as: “It is thanks to the synergy between all its stakeholders, artists, public, producers, institutions, and partner companies, that the cultural ecosystem, of which Visa For Music wants to be a modest actor, will be able to find a virtuous and sustainable economic model, in order to promote music from Africa and the Middle East.”

A Berber group performing at Visa For Music 2023

Les Bantous de la Capitale from Congo Brazzaville perfoming at the Mohammed 5 Theater during Visa For Music 2023. The music of the enduring African Rhumba band has stood the test of time. Formed in 1959 it is a link to the golden era of Congolese Rumba, originally boasting Eduoard “Ganga Edo” Nganga (T.P.O.K. Jazz) and Celestin “Celio” N’Kouka as lead vocalists, Nino Malapet sax and Jean Serge Essous sax and clarinet. Video Alex Boicel

Ziza Youssouf a trio from Mauritanian performing on the Bahnini stage at Visa For Music 2023 in Rabat, Morocco, November 23rd. Ziza Youssouf has evolved over the past 10 years, vocalist Abdelazize released his first album “Andou” in Mauritania in 2013, the current lineup features Patient on guitar and Pape on Kora. They met at a refugee camp in Belgium and bonded through music. Video: Alex Boicel

Aboubacar Traore and Balima performing on the Mohammed 5 Theater stage during Visa For Music 2023, November 23rd. Traore, from Bobo-Dioulasso in western Burkina Faso is a master kamele n’goni player in the Mandingo griot tradition. Aboubacar mixes tradition and contemporary elements in his music. As a griot his lyrics describe the daily life of his people and praise the elders, he also composes original material infused with contemporary elements and collaborations. Video: Alex Boicel

Palmas Africana, an Afro-Caribbean comapny and school founded in 1976 in Baranquilla, Colombia at Visa For Music 2023 in Rabat Morocco. video: Alex Boicel

Estel Mveng from Cameroon at Visa For Music 2023 in Rabat, Morocco

Adédéji on the Bahnini Stage at the 2023 Visa For Music. Soul, jazz and funk infuse the music Adédéji from Lagos, Nigeria as well as the traditions he grew up with in the Yoroba church choir he sang in from the age of six. His album “Afreekanism” featuring the late Orlando Julius, garnered Nigeria’s Legends Of Black Music award for ‘Best Afro Fusion Artist’ in 2017.

TIPIC, an all-star lineup from the Seychelles Islands performing at Visa For Music 2023. The band included Jean Marc Volcy, Tony Julie, Sanley Monnaie, Ralph Cecile and Brian Matombe.

Zinhle Madela of South Africa singing her hit song “Mathandana”(Mathandana means my lover, let's love each other in the Zulu language). Zihle is a rising star based in Durban where she has collaborates with hip hop artists TeabagCC, Mac 11 and Jazzy June. but who grew up in Madeni in the Kwa Zulu Natal region.

Solange Cesarovna of Cape Verde performing an acoustic set on the Moohammed 5 Theater stage, November 25th at Visa For Music in Rabat, Morocco.