exploring the dynamics and complexities of specific, national or transnational, social

systems, their multilayered affinities to heritage, variegated experiences, expressive forms,

eclectic repertoires, techno cultures like remix (disco), dub (reggae), scratching and sampling

(hip-hop), DJs, improvisations (freestyles), sonic explorations (Sun Ra) and networks of

exchanges, that affirm ever-widening creative capacities would be central. Next, insofar as music

of the African diaspora encompasses vibrant mix of registers and diverse range of genres, like

jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, reggae, calypso, zouk, rhumba, soukous, kwaito, afrobeats, highlife,

soca, punta rock, samba, baile funk, which in dominant cultures spheres are often exoticized, in

salacious tones, and positioned peripherally, the preceding provides invaluable conceptual frames

to explore cogent topics and areas of own research interests.  music of the African diaspora, with its remarkable range of originative practices, transnational currents, nuanced interactions, exchanges between disparate milieus, is not a mere popular cultural phenomenon. It articulates distinct experiences, engenders expansive reference points, assorted human rights struggles, diverse trajectories for voice, agency, self (re)definition, spirituality, amongst other significant attributes