10 Travel Books That Inspired My Love of Adventure Long before I became a writer, I was a voracious reader: In my teens I would often read a book in two days. Over time I came Keep Reading
Hoppin John Recipe (Good Luck New Years Day Meal!)
Hoppin' John is a "soul food" that is a must-have New Years Day Meal in the American South, but its origins can be traced to West Africa and European cultures dating back to the Middle Ages. Back Keep Reading
GLOBAL CUISINE: Mary’s Oatmeal Fruitcake Christmas Cookies Recipe
Mary's Oatmeal Fruitcake Christmas Cookies Recipe It would be impossible to overemphasize how much I love oatmeal raisin cookies. I may rarely eat oatmeal for breakfast, but for some Keep Reading
INTERVIEW: Afropop Icon Baaba Maal
If you’re curious enough to trace hip-hop’s lineage back to its roots in Africa, you’ll find a direct line to the West African storytelling tradition of the griot. Griots are oral Keep Reading
GLOBAL CULTURE: The North Indian Tabla
The most important percussion instrument in the North Indian classical musical tradition, the tabla is actually a pair of drums that evolved around 450 years ago from the pakhavaj, a Keep Reading
GLOBAL CULTURE: Burning Spear, Jamaican Reggae Dub Legend
Burning Spear Jamaican Reggae Dub Legend Over the past few years we've spent a lot of time in the Caribbean, a region we love for the richness and depth of its culture. With Keep Reading
Bret’s Bourbon Balls Recipe
A low-sugar variation on the classic Joy Of Cooking recipe for bourbon balls, I've made these delicious (and potent) treats every Christmas for the past 4 or 5 years and they've always been a big hit Keep Reading
Caribbean Music Styles (An Introduction to Caribbean Island Culture)
The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to 19th centuries, found millions of people taken from their homes in central and western Africa and shipped across the ocean to work in the Keep Reading
INTERVIEW: Keali i Reichel on Maui, Hula & Hawaiian Culture
With a Grammy nomination, the first-ever certified Gold record for a predominately Hawaiian language album (for 1997’s Kawaipunahele), and four Entertainer of the Year awards from the Hawaiian Academy Keep Reading
The West African Griots
West African Griots are artisans responsible for keeping the time-honored traditions of the past alive through music and storytelling, creating narratives that may be passed down orally to future Keep Reading
GLOBAL CULTURE: African Rock ‘n’ Roll Roots
African Rock 'n' Roll Roots Think rock 'n' roll is the devil's music? Blame it on the drums. The roots of rock can be traced all the way back to the throbbing tribal percussion Keep Reading
GLOBAL CULTURE: Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaica’s Dub Legend
Lee Scratch Perry Jamaica's Dub Reggae Legend Long before dubstep, drum 'n' bass, trip-hop or even hip-hop were invented, there was legendary Jamaican producer Lee Scratch Keep Reading
