KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Pledge Drive with Minneculture Tonight, Todd and Micah will be playing a crop of great, recent stories from KFAI's Minneculture collective. While you're listing, please show your support for KFAI by pledging at   kfai.org/donate  or by calling  612-375-9030 and making a donation to keep this awesome stuff on the Twin Cities' airwaves. You can even get yerself this dope pop-pop ski cap!!  Each pledge, big or small, is  extremely important to us. We need you to help us keep this  truly public, community-powered, independent station on your radio dial!  

Ep. 12: Siama and Charanga by MinneCulture How has immigration, migration, and connection to the rest of the world shaped the sights and sounds of Minnesota? Meet Siama Matuzungidi , a Congolese soukous musician. He moved to Minnesota in the late 90s after having a prosperous career in Congo, Uganda, and Kenya. His life and music flow like his native Congo River, and today, the Mighty Mississippi. Doug Little and his band Charanga Tropical bring the traditional music of Cuba to Minnesota. Charanga orchestras are mainly popular in Florida, New York, and California -- but Minnesota is home to one of the only Charanga orchestras in country. Ep. 13: Breaking the Mold by MinneCulture A hard-boiled lesbian detective breaks through the lavender ceiling, a Sudanese model refuses to conform her complexion to fit in, and an Ojibwe rapper wants to be the spark that ignites the fire in his people. Nyakim Gatwech is the "queen of dark," a Sudanese model and Instagram star in Min...

Davina and the Vagabonds Live from Minnesota Singer Davina Sowers showcases her formidable growl and velvety purr to a delighted audience at Patrick's Cabaret in Minneapolis on May 10, 2014. Known on the national blues scene for their high-energy live shows, Davina and the Vagabonds ' success comes from a combination of their snappy original songwriting, sharp-dressed professionalism, and Davina's commanding stage presence. These sassy vocals and tight horn arrangements were recorded by Tom Garneau for KFAI's Minneculture . Gospel Machine Live from Minnesota Paying homage to the soul and rhythm and blues sounds of the 1960s, Gospel Machine calls their style "garage gospel." It is a sound that rocks, swings, and grooves. In addition, this brilliant performance at Icehouse in Minneapolis, also features guest appearances by members of the Brass Messengers . Gospel Machine  is Jayanthi Kyle on lead vocals, Wes Burdine on guitar, Jimmy Osterholt on bass, D...

The View from Room 205 by Linda Lutton This one-hour documentary takes an unflinching look at the intersection of poverty and education in our country. It tells the story of a fourth grade classroom at William Penn Elementary , a public school in one of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The piece weaves together human stories in the school, from the children to their teacher to the principal, and pulls back to explain the big picture. It looks at poverty’s hold on school achievement and explores the unintended consequences of a core belief driving school reform today – that poverty is no excuse for low achievement. Peabody Award-winning reporter Linda Lutton of WBEZ Chicago spent months reporting from Penn and the neighborhood around the school. Her work tackles fundamental questions about how we educate poor children, and whether schools can actually overcome poverty. It documents - often painfully - how we struggle and fail to lift pover...