to defend her country against genocide charges that the u.s. tries 4th in the hague the court has heard testimony about how the on mars dilatory allegedly committed atrocities against the country's provincial final. watching to w.h.y. from berlin up next char documentary film focuses all the soul ladies commuting between africa and europe i'm terry martin thanks for being with. the attention of the famous naturalist and explorer. truce in the original alexander from the world's 250th birthday. barging on a voyage of discovery. expedition voyage on t.w. place.

yet also no longer wants to answer questions about what makes or african and what makes her german she once had music to speak for itself. it still 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. it's really many who hit their musical stride by navigating different cultures. yoko says father is denying and her mother german moving from africa to hand back at the age of 12 was a shock she experienced racism and suffered exclusion since a day music critics often compare her to the greats of soul and the beliefs.

yeah. you are. actually a kid joy 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 marian mccabe to jimi hendrix was. to. her job every player. 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 her own music. elements of hip hop soul african music under a strong helping africa. is a magical chill and. music straddles the continents but none of the missing is are committed to a single musical style of cash agree and each has developed a 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 them music.

what kind of music do you make when you grow up and 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 influenced their creative apples. nicholas 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 slurs. 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 wasn't even. noise in the family. these kids will. see. it's not like i wanted to be but does do even. engaging in that like this is. not happening. which crowd there is worrying you. you must be we've all authentic though we want to. remove it from you know who. you. know. but today she's making music after all. you need is the youngest of 4 siblings had german mother left the family when neko

was 2 years old and returned to hamburg alone. it was 982 and the start of a traumatic phase in acres life. the children suffered years of abuse at the hands of their stepmother. but naked as a speak about her past from early on she saw to focus on her goals and the positive things in her life finding comfort in the christian faith and its music. it provides an outlet for he experiences and her 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. they turned to the city for help.

how was the city way. you could get some really good social help. so yeah i'm in the river mission firstly the foyer big. is the people that actually. took me in so that's hamburg and then after that obviously i got kind of got transferred to. ca tunisia's hi i'm. the nuns there 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 yes to show me a path and give me opportunities. which i might have not had when i

was in nigeria. nicole learned german fast she got a high school diploma within 18 months and graduated from university with a degree in if knology anthropology and african studies though she had to work odd jobs to finance her studies she still found time to sing and play guitar. because she was introduced to hip hop by german producer d.j. far hot the pair continue to collaborate in the studio to this day. she left hamburg 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 it's love but everything she's been through resurfaces time and again in music and lyrics. make me they.

throw. in this man in this world. wherever. and whenever bump in the sky. going. wherever they. were.

down. found her way managing to put 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 naturalize here 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 organizations that help former child soldiers and advance women's rights.

give men. to. live. live. live. live. my. friends is a common destination for refugees and migrants from former french colonies in africa. and chile kidjo arrived in paris after fleeing between scummiest

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 do you know of us today to talk about her autobiography. better ever. made. 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 then 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. known world. and imagined. like make her 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. it is evident that angelica's 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 are the mark of. 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. despite all the misery there's 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.

there's still time for a quick photo shoot at the radio station until it reaches 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 been in. 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 swilled wearisome 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. a bad. mom. come out the. bad. bad. bad. come. come. come come come. she truly loves the dynamic culture of paris home tuna ray of good recording studios in tyson 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 binny me over somewhere else that has. a leak doesn't put on any airs and graces she cooks herself and likes to show off her cousin eric talents. yes i'm making chicken and shrimps. but some time i. i mix everything together whether it's food or music i mix it all up tied 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. it was dangerous to listen to the french radio station at afi or other foreign broadcasts if a neighbor heard you you could be denounced as a traitor it was a far cry from freedom. of it. the people. had become

a star in beneath 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've 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. to me. uncle nick says parents 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. 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. were to the. rhythms are based on the weather to quarter for quarter or 6 quarter time. when i'm making music i never get out of time if i listen to the clip of it 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 an music 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. though not so sometimes still feels alien and. 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 a 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 people with dark skin. a 7 ish but 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 for me output is always indefinable because i like artists who work like that and i draw inspiration from very different things. and it's about i recorded my nephew's heartbeat away i'll show you.

i mix that with this. man. and it's a backyard inside to go in the car 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.

in the district of jamestown a different tune reverberates from every street side stall. we hear afropop and f.o.b.'s 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 scores where yasser likes to buy fabrics she finds ideas for his stage shows and music video costumes here. through. the outer world.

today she's looking for fabric for a headscarf. consider this my favorite. lines of. my psych you put. it with regards what can we do that she has never turned her back on africa she still feels at home his she says and is more relaxed here than in europe. in ghana she tells us she never feels misunderstood never out of place will stay at it and if it just because of her origin this also is where she reconnects to her musical roots the music she heard in a child it also backs. him on 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. has hit on

a rehearsal room in our house and rehearsals were always on saturdays at 4 o'clock . feel. my my father taught me how to play the jam by a 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. so when i got home i mostly did my own songs with a few notes or chords that i already knew. today your coaches music is rooted somewhere between africa and europe like millions of people today she said once adrift and at home in several places at the

same time. her worldview is all encompassing taking in different languages and cultures but her lifestyle is also complicated. recordings for a video clip with abandon across. your. freedom is within you is the message of his song diamonds the diamonds of life are you'll say the lyrics it's you and nobody else who can crack your code to freedom.

corps band is european and they rehearse regularly in paris but the musical lunatics is a group here in across a bridge to africa that helps her to stay in touch with her good name in brutes. 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 the kids they write this stuff. came to. prefer. to.

get closer as a musical comedian who effortlessly transforms have voice from velvety soft high and fragile to powerful soul tug.

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 thoughtful. he wanted to blaze records nick has voice on the computer playing the pretty pretty used backing tracks over headphones. never work for. example. from our live down because studio work and lyrics are strongly shaped by our 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. back with just with the guitar. and i can misty stood you to do something else but then we ended up recording it on now it's because the song it's done within 24 all as. you know was. true may very well ok. back.

to work for me. to never. go back and. it started snowing. near because 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 snow

in paris. and does world travel and constant exposure to new influences really mold a musical style. year we are very receptive beings i guess for 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 or saw yeah i would see definitely traveling around not just staying in place but just traveling meeting or them musicians playing on different stages. call it shows even food you

can influence your sound like that we knew cuckoo all. the winds that i see specific types of food can influence how you because 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 cold cold. inspires you lot. as the snow is falling now i mean i don't listen to morty but this can't just inspire me to like i don't know like create something. that has really bugged the rhythm is maybe. driving that pat. so it's not like. it's not it's neither with him that used to. be like me. to. do. to you know would still day so africa is in between i knew it was on

the surface even if you can see that. african rhythms 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 e kids or 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 what you.

sign from her humanitarian work she also regularly hosts a current affairs program for the un website. 21st century friendships i think night her 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. on of age. once again his schedule is tight she squeezes in a small studio session with her band. a

song about people who exact control over a country's government. leak and the adventure of music began with personal appeal eval 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 almost. and when 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 put my music in a specific box or john or they would see it's afro pop some with.

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. chemical. it's a frequent flyer. on silly kids. and yet. 3 musicians at home between continents it's in a music that they forge their identity music that knows no exclusion and transcends

boundaries. consumers around the world are in a shopping frenzy. online sales are looming in the run up to christmas. retailers change and our culture is a loser business is bigger protection be. made in germany.

play. play. play play play play play. play christmas touch. was the speech of his life perhaps his best. his most difficult chancellor helmut kohl and addresses the people of east germany shortly after the fall of the old. timers for. journalist peter lim borg was at the scene. 30 years later he looks back on the. president. starts december 19th. w. . place

. this is from taking a stand at the international pool. act of justice. says there is no proof that her country's military carried out genocide against muslims prosecutors are seeking to prove her wrong. also coming up after weeks of impeachment hearings democrats in the u.s. announce their charges and.