Music » African Music

The Zulu a cappella ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo, named for their hometown and for the Zulu word for "axe," was "discovered" by Paul Simon, who recorded them on his landmark 1986 album Graceland. By 1990 Mambazo had recorded three more albums for Warner Bros.--the Grammy-nominated Shaka Zulu, Journey of Dreams, and Two Worlds, One Heart--and solidified their reputation as one of the endearing and enduring world-music groups. This 17-track collection compiles their greatest hits from the label. With the bulk of the music composed by leader-composer Joseph Shabala, this CD captures the ensemble's ebullient mix of African American gospel harmonies, Kwa Zulu/English lyrics, and percussive sounds. From the choral-beat box splendor of "Homeless" and "Amazing Grace" with Paul Simon to the Caribbean-tinged "Township Jive" and the gospel-like "Leaning on the Everlasting Arm" with the Winans, Ladysmith Black Mambazo give us a stirring soundtrack for the new South Africa. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Political activist, outspoken radical, and inventor of Afro-beat, Fela Anikulapo ("he who carries death in his pouch") Kuti left behind him an incomparable legacy of music when he died in 1997. His struggles against the Nigerian state became the stuff of legend in his home country; his denunciations of world leaders such as Reagan and Thatcher gained him notoriety abroad. But his music remains as his supreme achievement over and above the details of his amazingly courageous life, even if many (most) of his lyrics are angry condemnations of politicians. His vast output of recordings can hardly be distilled onto two discs, but Black President (named after a classic 1981 album) is nevertheless a good introduction to this extraordinary man and his music. The album lacks any personnel details and fails to indicate the origins of each track, but it scarcely matters: Fela's band, Africa 70, was a large and always flexible group (it rarely actually boasted 70 members), with the only constant presence being his 30 backing singers, most of whom were also his wives! Throughout, the beats are solid, the solos are never overpowering, and the rhythm--the powerful, hypnotic rhythm--is always preeminent. If, in the end, it's impossible to divorce Fela Kuti's music from his life, it is at least a real pleasure just to play this album and let his grooves possess your spirit. --Mark Walker There is nothing subtle in the roiling Afro-funk of the late, great Fela Kuti. His twitchy, stomping rhythms are up in your face, his brass section sounds ready to skirmish with the JB Horns, and his confrontational, politically charged lyrics make modern punk or hip-hop sound like parlor chatter. This phenomenal collection from an artist easily the equal of Marley, Hendrix, or Dylan is nothing less than essential. --S. Duda

Release Date: 2001-07-17, Audio CD, Mca

Release Date: 1990-10-25, Audio CD, Capitol

Quite possibly the most beautiful and influential West African record ever released internationally, Juju Music remains a revelation. With a phalanx of electric guitars that functions like a percussion section, and talking drums that sound like a gossipy Greek chorus, Nigerian juju star King Sunny Ade and His African Beats, all 20 of them, proved that African music could be as complex, dramatic, and symphonic as any European ensemble. Some thanks must go to French producer Martin Meissonier, who took the basic elements of Ade's sound--unison guitars, Yoruban drumming, seamless song medleys, and self-reflexive lyrics--and added a diverse assortment of Jamaican production techniques to heighten, deepen, and psychedelicize a sound that, with Ade's deliciously sweet vocals and the haunting strains of Demala Adepoju's Hawaiian steel guitar, was plenty wild to begin with. A masterpiece. --Richard Gehr

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: EVORA,CESARIA
Title: VERY BEST OF CESARIA EVORA
Street Release Date: 09/24/2002
Domestic
Genre: CAPE VERDE

Release Date: 2001-07-24, Audio CD, Mca

Release Date: 2002-12-03, Audio CD, Popular African Music

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