Connecticut, USA - ASAP: the Afrobeat Sudan Aid Project was released in late 2004 on the Apple iTunes Music Store for retail sale, the first charity project hosted by iTunes. All proceeds from the sales of the album are to go towards the relief of the victims of ethnic violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. Produced by independent student-startup Modiba Productions, ASAP is an all-star compilation of some the hottest overground and underground Afrobeat artists today, including Tony Allen (ft. Fela Kuti), Antibalas, Dele Sosimi, Keziah Jones, and many others. In addition to its primary mission of fundraising, Modiba hopes that this project will raise awareness about the dire situation in Darfur: by some estimates, over 250,000 people have died due to dehydration, disease, and at the hands of the Janjaweed – armed horsemen supported by the government of Sudan.

To accomplish this task, Modiba has teamed up with TrueMajority, a grassroots education and advocacy group founded by Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's that is committed to social and political justice. TrueMajority has already done extensive work in Darfur, sending camera crews and attempting to bring witnesses into the United States (the US State Department refused entry). Apple Computer has also provided key support, prominently featuring the album and allowing 100% of the sales from ASAP on the iTunes Music Store to go towards relief for the victims of the genocide. You can also purchase a hard copy of the album featuring the cutting-edge digital graphics magic of Adam Tuck on TrueMajority’s website starting in early December – just in time for the holiday season. Also, be sure to check out a promotional video for the album on TrueMajority’s website, a montage of images from refugee camps, interviews, and music put together by independent film maker Joe M. F. Wilson and starring some of artists on the compilation.

“The U.S. election may be over, but there are still millions of people outside this country who need our help right now. As a nation founded on the principles of freedom and human rights, the crisis in Darfur – which has been labeled a “genocide” by the U.S. Congress – must be at the top of our priorities. We ask that you forward this email to as many people as possible and spread the word far and wide that music is here to help, and encourage friends and family to go out and purchase a copy of the album (or ten!) for themselves, for others, for complete strangers, for whoever. Cool beats and hot danceable grooves, social justice and political activism – this is the spirit of Afrobeat that is so desperately needed on this increasingly complacent but still beautiful planet of ours.”

More about ASAP and Afrobeat

The album features “Progress” by Afrobeat founders Tony Allen and Fela Kuti, and a previously unreleased live version of “Uprising” by Antibalas. Other artists contributing material include: Kokolo, Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, Dele Sosimi, Wunmi, Ikwunga, Keziah Jones, Franck Biyong and Massak, and Baba Olagun.

Afrobeat has earned an international reputation since the 1970s as music of infectious rhythms with a message of social and political action. Nigerian Fela Kuti, the founder Afrobeat music, was famous for his political outspokenness in criticizing the corruption within the Nigerian government and others. Africa's Bob Marley -- nicknamed "The Black President" -- Fela Kuti was the voice of the discontented masses in Nigeria and throughout Africa for nearly three decades. Since his passing in 1997, there has been a resurgence of activity in the Afrobeat movement. An accessible and danceable blend of funk, West African styles, pop, jazz, and hip-hop, its appeal stretches across a broad range of ages and demographics.

In today's turbulent international political climate, artists throughout the world have seized upon Afrobeat as a way to amplify the voices of those who are suffering. Afrobeat is the ideal soundtrack to mobilize relief for the victims of this dire African crisis. According to TrueMajority, the project’s sponsor:

"Life is bleak in the Darfur region of Sudan, where 1.8 million people are refugees from military attack. With intense grooves and furious horns these Afrobeat artists campaign for a better future throughout the continent, and do some immediate good for the Darfurians. Proceeds from the album go to the Kebkabiya Smallholders Charitable Society, a local community group in Sudan helping their countrymen find food and shelter as they flee the attackers. From the Tony Allen classic ‘Progress’ (featuring Fela Kuti himself) to Antibalas’ call for ‘Uprising,’ this is a revolution which dances."

Track listing:

1) Star Wars (Modiba Darfur Remix) - Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble
2) Di Bombs - Ikwunga
3) More Consideration - Kokolo
4) Garan Garan - Keziah Jones
5) Progress - Tony Allen (feat. Fela Kuti)
6) Turbulent Times - Dele Sosimi
7) Mister Sinister - Kokolo
8) U.S.A. - Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble
9) What A See (Tommy 'Tikk Takk' Piper Mix) - Wunmi
10) Uprising (live) - Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra
11) Afro Map of Space - Franck Biyong and Massak
12) Libation for Fela - Baba Olajagun

The Modiba Productions Team

Herman, Brenner, Ahl, and Tuck are students at Wesleyan University, class of 2005. Wilson is in his final semester at the New York University School of Film. Herman, Brenner, and Ahl are three of the four members of Wesleyan's "World Music Collective," a student organization responsible for bringing musicians from around the world to the Wesleyan campus and organizing their performances.

Herman and Brenner have previously done work for Afropop Worldwide – a non-profit radio show (on NPR) and website dedicated to bringing the music of Africa and the African diaspora to the world – as concert reporters, music reviewers, and website managers. Both have spent significant time in Africa. Herman, a major in Music, studied music and culture in Mali while living with a local family in the capital of Bamako. Brenner, a Philosophy major, spent time researching culture and social and environmental development in Botswana while living with a number of local families throughout the country. Both have extensive experience studying African music, history, and politics at Wesleyan.

Ahl is a studio engineer that has studied recording at Berklee College of Music, University of the Arts, and Wesleyan University, where he has worked as a studio manager. His recent work includes a live concert by the The Flux Quartet, NPR favorite Noah Baerman's newest CD release What It Is, and a live performance by Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble (one of the contributing artists on the compilation). He has also recorded, mixed, and mastered a number of albums by Wesleyan a cappella ensembles. He spent the past summer perfecting his live sound production skills at the Knitting Factory in New York City and continuing production of a full-length studio album for a Washington-based hip-hop ensemble called the “Educataz.”

Adam Tuck has studied studio arts, illustration, computer graphics and graphic design at Wesleyan University and Corcoran. His recent CD projects include Steal by the Wesleyan Spirits and Illumination by The Vineyard Sound. He has acted as design and graphics consultant for the Connecticut State Library, illustrated a Spiderman Ashcan comic book submitted to Marvel, and illustrated issue four of The Book of Jesse put out by ThirdPartyPolitics LLD.

Modiba Productions is also currently developing a feature-length documentary on African music in New York. For the film, Modiba has worked in collaboration with many of African music's most prominent artists, including Thomas Mapfumo, Oumou Sangare, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Vusi Mahlasela, Antibalas, as well as numerous local personalities and performers.