''AfroFlow'' is a musical group, heavily influenced by African beats through drums, spoken word, and call and response. The group started the Afroflow tour in 2006. They have partnered with the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

(ACS) to speak out against the tobacco industry and to reach out to young adults about the dangers of tobacco use. The group consists of Mike-E, DJ Invisible, Kenny Watson, and Sowande Keita.

Band members

* Mike-E – Spoken Word * DJ Invisible – DJ (Carl Hollier) * Kenny Watson – Vocalist * Sowande Keita – African Percussionist Mike-E was the one who started this group. He has already been performing when he decided to get together a group of individuals to spread the word on creating a cancer-free world. His music has even been used by the Barack Obama presidential campaign. Sowande Keita is the son of the

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

player, King Sundiata Keita. King Sundiata was a master drummer and tuner of djembe, and played djembe with musicians including The Wailers and Carlos Santana. Sowande followed in his father's footsteps as a djembe master. DJ Invisible, Based out of Detroit, also tours with Pimp my Ride Xzibit and is a United States Music & Culture Ambassador DJ INvisible is also a Multi time Detroit Music Award Winner. Kenny Watson has performed with bands such as he Electrifying Monica Blaire, The Lovely L-RENE, Relativity, The D'sean Jones Quartet.

Style of music

AfroFlow literally means "flowing from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

". It recognizes where the music comes from and was also named out of respect for Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who created a style of music called afrobeat. AfroFlow is, "the root of hip-hop, R&B,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

." They incorporate all these styles into their music.

Performances

During performances, AfroFlow is known for pulling people on stage from the audience. They believe that entertaining should be interactive and the crowd is a vital part of every performance. They have even brought audience member who are currently smoking up on stage to quit right on the spot.

Acting

Mike-E also has 13 acting credits to his name, including small parts in ''The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations'', ''The Ides of March'' and ''Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. He also modeled Pelle Pelle clothing for an international print campaign.

Partnership with American Cancer Society

It all started when Mike-E was asked to perform at an American Cancer Society conference for the South-Atlantic Division. Here, he did a combination of hip-hop and spoken word to entertain and educate and to create awareness about cancer and the effects of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

use. The American Cancer Society realized the great partnership that could be formed to help spread the message. From that point, Mike-E traveled to hospitals, cafes, middle schools, along with a variety of other locations before they decided to take it national. Mike-E wrote poems about the tobacco industry long before his partnership with ACS. He states, "I believe that tobacco companies are knowingly engaging in legalized

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

." AfroFlow has committed their entire work to educating others about the harmful effects of tobacco use and educating other on how to stay healthy. In 2008, AfroFlow performed at the Great Lakes Regional Summit. It was here, with the help of others, that they were inspired to create a Fight Back song. The song includes the three main elements of Relay for Life: Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back. Mike-E has also appeared in a variety of Public Service Announcements for ACS.Archived a
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Wayback Machine

References

{{reflist

External links

Afroflow Website

DJ Invisible Website
American world music groups