The 12th season of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange will open with two documentaries about Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, the originators of Afrobeat. Premiering on the WORLD channel at 8 PM ET on January 20th will be Joel Zito Araújo’s film My Friend Fela followed by Birth Of Afrobeat from director Opiyo Okeyo. Araújo follows Carlos Moore, a close friend and official biographer of Fela’s around as he talks about unknown aspects of the late musician’s life. The director seeks to challenge the notion that Fela was the “eccentric African pop idol of the ghetto” by looking at archival interviews, photos and Moore’s conversations with Fela’s wives, family and bandmates. Moore also looks at Nigerian political strife during Fela’s lifetime and Pan-African ideology that shaped his beliefs and influenced his music. 

The premiere episode will end with the short film Birth Of Afrobeat. The live-action and animated feature reveals iconic drummer Tony Allen’s story as he records the album What Goes Up with the American band Chicago Afrobeat Project in 2017 and discusses and how and Fela created the Afrobeat genre. “Season 12 launches with two films that pay tribute to the enduring legacy of two cultural trailblazers and the music they created which has done so much to unite people around the world around political struggles and shared realities,” said Black Public Media Executive Director and Leslie Fields-Cruz. 

Each episode of season 12 of AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange will also be available for streaming on worldchannel.org beginning on the day of its broadcast premiere.

For more information on the series and its episodes, visit www.blackpublicmedia.org. For viewing information, check local listings or visit www.aptonline.org

Nicholas L. Ashe who plays the Queen Sugar character Micah West will host the 10th season of AfroPop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange.  The series new season brings a collection of films about Black life worldwide addressing immigration, arts, social justice, heritage and more. Season 10 will premiere on Dr. King’s birthday Monday, January 15th at 8 PM ET on the WORLD channel. It will air weekly through February 12th.

Ashe is best known as Micah on the award-winning Queen Sugar from Oprah and Ava DuVernay. He started acting at age 10 as Simba in the national tour of The Lion King. He has also appeared in film and television including 2016’s Custody with Viola Davis and Are We There Yet?

AfroPop premiered in 2008 on public television with Idris Elba as the host.  The series was created after a number of films about life in Black Diaspora needed distribution. It has since aired 47 documentaries, nonfiction and fiction shorts providing a platform for filmmakers of color to tell their story. It is the only public television documentary series on life in the African diaspora.

To find out more about AfroPop, visit  www.blackpublicmedia.org. For viewing information, check local listings or www.APTonline.org.

[youtube id=”9HU3ITf4GJQ”] Nikki Beharie is the host of Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange’s ninth season and this is the trailer for the season. Afropop starts its next season with An American Ascent on January 16th. The film is an award-winning documentary about the first African-American team to attempt climbing North America’s highest peak, Denali. Angela Tucker is the producer of Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange and Duana Butler is the director. To find out more about AfroPoP, visit www.blackpublicmedia.org. For viewing information, check local listings or www.APTonline.org.