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. coming up ahead. yet also no longer wants to answer questions about what makes her african and what makes her german she wants her music to speak for itself. she too was already a successful young singer when she fled her home in africa but it was in france that she rose to the ranks of a legend. neko was 18 when she left nigeria and wound up in a german often it's for young adults today she's an internationally acclaimed musician. the 3 women who hit their musical stride by navigating different cultures your closest father is denying in her mother german moving from africa to hamburg at the age of 12 was a shock she experienced racism and suffered exclusion since it

a music critics often compare her to the greats of soul and the police. brutality that. exactly been obviously. the families. if. you are. a kid your has been a leading light in the music industry for decades though she's won 3 grammys and the world music category she rejects that label as too restrictive. her role models range from the south african singer mary emma keva to jimi hendrix was. to.

feels most at home here in the nigerian capital lagos even though she lived in hamburg for years. it's a great determination to forge a path towards making music. spears elements of hip hop soul african music under a strong helping africa a. love. was a magical chill and until a key jewel lit has music straddles the continents but none of the singers are committed to a single musical style or category and each has developed her own unique sound there they've built international audiences by working in europe over 3 regularly returned to africa this film explores how they transnational experiences have

shaped they music. what kind of music do you make when you grow up in gonna be mean or nigeria. and then spend a large part of your life in europe. now has the 3 process their experiences of rootlessness and of leaving their childhood homes. and how did going back influence their creative appetites. make this father is nigerian her mother german and she grew up in nigeria in africa she was teased for her lighter skin once she moved to germany she was confronted with racial slur. in

nigeria she sang at school and in the church choir there were no other opportunities to make music. or in nigeria i was too noisy to think. there was a. family. see me. so i wanted to be but does do even. in gauging in that this is like this is. not happening. which crowd. you must be reinforcing example we must. we're moving from you know who. you. know.

but today she's making music after all. is the youngest of 4 siblings had german mother left the family when they kill was 2 years old and returned to hamburg alone. it was $982.00 and the start of a traumatic phase and nick has lined. the children suffered years of abuse at the hands of their stepmother. but negatives and speak about her past from early on she saw to focus on her goals and the positive things in her life finding comfort in a christian faith and its music. it provides an outlet for he experiences and his spirituality. and. when she was 18 nicole and her brother left their father's home and sought shelter

with their biological mother in germany but she had no room for them all alone they turned to the city for help. because the city way. you could get some really good social help. so yeah mission firstly the fire bitch task is the people that actually. took me in so that's hamburg and then after that obviously i got i kind of got transferred to. ca 2 inches high i'm. the nuns there they took care of me for a couple of years and that's my relationship to hamburg mainly obviously because the i feel like they embraced me and they were people who were very nice to me when i 1st came here who were willing to yet to show me

a path and give me opportunities. which i might have not had when allison thank you. nicole learned german fast she got a high school diploma within 18 months and graduated from university with a degree in ethnology anthropology and african studies though she had to work odd jobs to finance his studies she still found time to sing and play guitar. she was introduced to hip hop by german produce a d.j. far hot the pair continue to collaborate in the studio to this day. she left handed more than 15 years ago but she occasionally comes back to visit and to work her management agency is based here. and of course she performs here too like at the big jazz festival in hamburg stockman's. how different

her life is today. but everything she's been through resurfaces time and again in music and lyrics. make me they. throw. in this man. wherever.

down. nikka found her way managing to put in a difficult past behind her now she wants to give something back many of her lyrics are political taking aim at injustice environmental destruction and finance. she uses her international naturally as he to promote humanitarian projects lending her voice to those who would otherwise go on her. voice to condemn the nigerian terrorist group boko haram and back overnight as ations that helped former child soldiers and advance women's rights. to. the

be. right. to. live. live. live. live. my.

friends is a common destination for refugees and migrants from former french colonies in africa. and chile kitchell arrived in paris after fleeing bins communist dictatorship more than 35 years ago. today she can't walk down the street without being recognized. to. and she's much in demand as an interview guest she's been invited to god you know but today to talk about her autobiography. better have a good. look oh it didn't mean it. only. with her animated nature she brings the studio to life singing chatting and spreading an infectious good mood. in the interview she recounts how she left her hometown of course to new and been in and came to paris without any money or a job. her parents who stayed behind in africa feared for their

young daughters welfare in the big city where one could quickly hit the skids in her autobiography entitled spirit rising my life my music she describes this time of her life. and imagine. like make-a she to manage to keep her head above the water by working odd jobs. as long as i could pay my rent and have enough to eat well to be honest i didn't eat enough which wasn't so bad my passion for music supported me i knew if i worked hard and kept on at my music then i would get there eventually. my music she happy by it's evident that angelica life and music are defined by her thirst for freedom her embrace of different cultures a self-confident joy and experimentation and a commitment to stand up for others traits she says she owes to his liberal minded

and culturally astute parents and their mark on it all began in kota new where i grew up i dedicated the book to my father he always brought music and books home and encouraged us to play sports these pleasures always had an educational value my dad was keen to couple learning with fun. i wrote the book mainly to be a few prejudices about africa. that despite all the misery there is joy there too it's not like everyone in africa is suffering. freedom of speech was part of the way of life in my family home. everyone had the right to speak freely our father and mother were ahead of their time. but i don't want anyone to write that about me later i want to tell my own story now to tell the truth about what i am and what is going on in africa today along is happening in africa right now a lot of rapid changes people think this continent will never amount to anything

but it's moving ahead. he said and. there's still time for a quick photo shoot at the radio station angelica he chose day is full of appointments and everything is tightly timed after all she is not in paris as much as she used to be and she's got a lot to do when she is. she still feels at home here in france the former colonial ruler of her homeland binning. clearly french culture has inspired and influenced her but it's safe to say that she's mastered the art of assimilating other cultures and creating something uniquely her. was.

for instance by drawing an unexpected verb from piaf swelled weary shown songs. even the rehearsal as a joy not least because she's being accompanied by the playwright director actor and festival director olivier pete. was that it. was. sour the bad. come. come. come come come.

on chic she truly loves the dynamic culture of paris home tuna ray of good recording studios in thyssen shops and a large african community. she lives with her husband and manager the bassist joy in play in a small house on the outskirts of town when she's not in new york i mean oh somewhere else that has. a leak doesn't put on any airs and graces she cooks herself and likes to show off her colon area talents. yes i'm making chicken and shrimps. some time i. next everything together whether it's food or music i mix it all up time i've been a nice french whatever i feel like as

a child in between under leak was exposed to music from all over the world his father owned an extensive record collection and played the banjo the mother ran a theater play the clarinet and selling. but after a regime change everything was different. the communist banned all music even on the radio which had played everything until then all sorts of music all a sudden boom you got up in the morning and heard get ready for the revolution the fight goes on and you heard the same when you went to bed too it went on all day always the same old news from the same regime. there was no news from the rest of the world if it was dangerous to listen to the french radio station at a fee or other foreign broadcasts if a neighbor heard you you could be denounced as a traitor it was a far cry from freedom. by the of it.

had become a star in painting the country's marxist regime expected her to sing propaganda songs and was displeased when she refused. she was afraid she'd end up in prison. in 1982 she fled to paris on a small plane. when i arrived in france i caught up with all the music i missed out on. french music english american even classical music. the 1st thing i did was literally bay the music. i listen to anything i hadn't heard before and i'm still discovering new things today. i was always curious about what people here were doing. and it's a. function excess paris broadened her musical

horizons it was here that she studied singing as well as law for a while and then developed a profile as a human rights activist. after launching her career with african songs and performances that she developed from traditional dances she came to work with such big music industry names as peter gabriel conason tana just stone and alicia keys. on her travels and on tour she discovered influences of african music all over the world. to me whenever i was in the u.s. or brazil where ever i was i always discovered something of my continent the club the rhythm that came with the slaves. to the city all these rhythms are based on the weather to quarter for quarter 6 quarter time. when i'm making music i never get out of time if i listen to the club

then i know exactly where i am. the music of africa has had a profound influence on world music and there are a few genres where its presence is as strongly felt as in latin american music. blending it into any as it came naturally to under a leaky jewel who is fluent in spanish.

if you're close to his german grandfather worked on ships in hamburg through its port the city has always been a gateway to the world. most of us sometimes still feels alien and unwelcome it's different when she gets to work here she's surrounded by musicians and dancers from all over the world people of all different skin colors and all regions. she spent the 1st years of her life in ghana and other african countries with her

mother a german development aid worker and her canadian father the musician she was 12 when the family moved to hamburg it was hard to adjust to a new culture a new mindset and who had german school where she was the only pupil with dark skin . a 7 foot so here's t.c.k. so i describe myself as a t.c.k. 3rd culture kid. my mother's from hamburg where we're shooting right now. and my father is from ghana. he was born and raised in eastern gonna so i have an entirely different culture namely in the 3rd culture and that's exactly how i see music music is the personal 3rd culture it's everything that is inside you the output is indefinable but for me output is always indefinable because i like artists who work like that and i draw inspiration from very different things. it's about for example

i recorded my nephews heartbeat away i'll show you. i mix that with this. the land. and it's a backyard in senegal indycar and this was the result. of. the sounds of africa a continuous source of inspiration for you caught on. the

continent is abuzz with music it's not a cliché but reality as we discover in the canadian capital accra. in the district of jamestown a different tune reverberates from every street side stall. we hear afro pop and i for these as well as contemporary hits created on computers just like songs anywhere else in the world and yet there's something quintessentially african about them. africa doesn't just inspire through its music this is an artist and of course the way your quarter likes to buy fabrics she finds ideas for his stage shows and music video costumes hit.

the writer for the right. today she's looking for fabric for a head scarf. to use my fabric. was. nice like you but. the big 3 yards what can we do with 3 she's never turned her back on the africa she still feels at home his she says and is more relaxed here than in europe. in ghana and she tells us she never feels misunderstood never out of place was stared at and if it judged because of her origin. this also is where she reconnects to her musical roots the music she heard in a child it out of our. yeah i was growing up here you are continuously

exposed to music. and of course the biggest musical influence was my father who was a high life musician. he had a rehearsal room in our house and rehearsals were always on saturdays at 4 o'clock . am starks or feel. my and my father taught me how to play the john bell little our traditional drum and my mother introduced me to piano. i had piano lessons but it was all very classical i had a very strict piano teacher here in akra. i actually only played mozart and the like with him which i heated up. and so when i got home i mostly did my own songs with a few notes or chords that i already knew. but i knew and either of them are. you

today you cut his music is rooted somewhere between africa and europe like millions . people today she's at once adrift and at home in several places at the same time . her world view is all encompassing taking in different languages and cultures but her lifestyle is also complicated. recordings for a video clip with abandon across. from reality. things freedom is within you is the message of his song diamonds the diamonds of life are yours say the lyrics it's you and nobody else who can crack your code to free them. that.

maybe i. was a cool band is european and they rehearse regularly in paris but the musical lunatics is a group here and across a bridge to africa that helps her to stay in touch with her good name and roots. they currently working on a musical it's a big project that will still take time and work to put together. but now they're rehearsing the song teacher. she says generation. they write to start. changing the.

culture as a musical comedian who effortlessly transforms have voice from velvety soft high and fragile to powerful soltani.

yes because you write songs about people why they come why they go why they fall in love she has called his style soul seeking music. it's february and cold in paris. nikka arrived the previous day commuting between

continents as part of the music business. all 3 sing is returned to the french capital frequently to record which also infuses their music with european influences. from nick has brought some recordings from lagos ideas for new songs to develop in the studio here. she meets up with musician plays and money and a producer she worked with both on her last album was. more. what you want to blaze records nick has voice on the computer playing the preprinted used backing tracks over headphones. you never word for. word for example. from my cell down

because studio work and lyrics are strongly shaped by her life experiences and spirituality. down the tracks step by step and dabs over onto her own original recording. to blaze get it down on his laptop. make us happy i had already done some recordings at home on my computer. that was just with the guitar and i can misty to do it to do something else but then we ended up recording it on now it's because the song is done within 24 hour as. the better. you.

get a. word for me. and there were. back and. it started snowing. nicus freezing. escaping european winters was one of the motivating factors behind her decision to go back

to nigeria. when you're listening to the music can you tell whether it was written and produced under the african sun or in snowy paris. and does world travel and constant exposure to new influences really mold a musical style. yet we are very receptive beings idea is all i know as also as a musician. you hear something somewhere you might not be aware that you are taking that information in until maybe a year after. you know and then you hear it in your record saw yeah i would

see it differently traveling around not just staying in please but just traveling meeting all of them was a shan's playing on different stages. called shows even food can influence your sound like that we knew cuckoo all. the winds that i see specific types of food can influence how you be called man then that can also have an effect on how you cook for yourself and how you cook also shows how you make music so. the called the called. inspire as you lot. as the snow is falling now i mean i don't listen to much but this can just inspire me to like i don't know when i create something. that has read the book the rhythm is maybe. dragged up pat. so it's not like.

it's not it's not a reading that is a good substitute it would be like me. to. do. to you know but it's still there so africa is in between i knew it was on the surface but it gets the that. trick in britain speech was strongly in all 3 women's music. and there's another thing that makes them stand out a voice a cadence that is clearly african in origin and very hard to copy.

the out. from africa via europe to new york. a few years ago until a kid draw adopted the city as her 3rd home. today she's on her way to the united

nations she's been a unicef goodwill ambassador since 2002. i want to make up with you. aside from her humanitarian work she also regularly hosts a current affairs program for the un website. 21st century friendship 9 him music has always appealed for peaceful coexistence between races and the sexes. as a presenter she embodies a life lived between continents and cultures a citizen of the world in the truest sense. of evil rainfall immediately back. once again his schedule is tight she squeezes in a small studio session with her band. a

song about people who exert control over a country's government. leak and the adventure of music began with personal appeal and migration. 3 have made cross cultural innovation their guiding principle and the source of their inspiration.

all the places i've been have shaped the person i am i travel because i have the health and strength to do so and counters with other cultures allow us to grow and recognize the world in its globalism. you are stuck in your own blinkered world where everything is only black or white instead the world has all the colors of the rainbow. a fear of the foreign leads to the creation of isolated worlds and truths . but you can't just live for yourself. i always say hate and love aren't forces generated from outside and they come from within us. it's a home 1st. and we're not in a 100 years everyone will be t.c.k. . case meaning by cultural and multicultural and i think many people find it mentally strenuous because then you can no longer say what is what and who comes from where. so it's making older people

a little nervous. and many people have my music in a specific box or john or they would see it's afro pop some with see. contemporary afro beat some would see it's hip hop so it's conscious. i would say it's all of the. conscious. life electronic synthetic authentic. can we call. it a frequent flyer. on surely kids will. need and. 3 musicians at home

between continents it's in a music that they have forged their identity music that knows no exclusion and transcends boundaries. kick off. another blockbuster weekend in the bonus leg a good run around a dozen or to move in the 1st place. likely to be called on time on the 2nd. glove box corner in injury time to take all 3 points against by in munich against

a top of the table. god. save the planet not mine john. we quarter davi dontcha and it says it straight we have to do something. the climate crisis is threatening our very existence. many germans would agree but are they prepared to change their habits. and humanity besides. close up 90 minutes from. now to look at me on such an ugly yes especially as you can. bloody near putin in the middle of his election campaign to turn the camera back on

the horse in the year 2000 a documentary secretly cruel or cold a power grab that. actually comes everything was precisely planned the structure of the freedom of russia. vladimir vladimirovich to the ends justify the means. contains witnesses starts december 13th on d w. this is news and these are our top stories the leaders of ukraine and russia are in paris for the 1st talks in 3 years aimed at ending the conflict in eastern ukraine it's the 1st time glad to hear putin and a lot of you would have met french presidents emmanuel mccall and german chancellor angela merkel are brokering the meeting. the world anti-doping agency has

banned russia from international sports for 4 years that includes the upcoming summer and when.