Brian Shimkovitz is the person behind one of the most notable music blogs available. Awesome Tapes from Africa — the blog, label, and DJ project — was initially created as a way for Shimkovitz to share the music he had come across while on a Fulbright scholarship in Ghana. He was interested in the variety of genres and artists he found, distributed mainly on cassette tapes at markets, but that he had not come across outside West Africa. Most Awesome Tapes From Africa releases are official re-releases of out-of-print cassettes from African musicians and bands. In addition to the website and his show on dublab, Shimkovitz DJ’s concerts, clubs, and at festivals.