The Afrobeat Blog Best Albums of 2009

Ready or not, 2010 is upon us. While revising my list of goals for the new year, I took a minute to look back on 2009 and all the great music that was released throughout the year. Last year, I made a top ten list for 2008 of African music. This year, I'm taking a more expansive approach, including 15 albums and not limiting my selection to any one continent. If you haven't heard any of these albums before, I strongly suggest checking them out:

1. Mulatu Astake & The Heliocentrics-Inspiration Information 3
2. Oumou Sangare-Seya
3. Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara-Tell No Lies
4. Extra Golden-Thank You Very Quickly
5. The Very Best-Warm Heart of Africa
6. Chico Mann-Analog Drift (Muy...Esniqui)
7. Aphrodesia-Precious Commodity
8. K'Naan-Troubadour
9. Staff Benda Bilili-Tres Tres Fort
10. Pax Nicholas and the Nettey Family-Na Teef Know De Road of Teef
11. Ikebe Shakedown-Hard Steppin'
12. Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada-Coconut Rock
13. The Superpowers-Trance for Nation
14. The Black Seeds-Solid Ground
15. Gokh-Bi System-Voice of the Jeli

Here's to even more great music in 2010!

Book Review: The Tao of Wu-The Rza

The Tao of Wu, a memoir by a founding member of The Wu-Tang Clan and music industry mogul, The Rza, is a deeply profound collection of stories, lessons, and thoughts. The Rza not only gives readers an insider's perspective on how The Wu-Tang Clan came to leave an indelible mark on the music industry, but he weaves the teachings of Taoism, Islam, and his own hip-hop philosophies into his story.

The Rza presents very meaningful, profound teachings through his own unique language and perspective. Using the common denominator of knowledge, The Rza is able to present truths taken from Taoism, Islam, the game of Chess, and a variety of other philosophies from different parts of the world. In using broadly accepted principles, he is able to let readers relate to his experiences, which is no small feat considering he has seen and done things of which most readers will only have dreamt.

For anyone who is a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan, this book is a must-read. The Rza details exactly how the group came to be from the Kung-Fu movies that piqued his interest in Eastern culture, to the strategies he employed to market and promote the individuals in the group to become stars and lift the profile of Wu as a whole. His heartfelt memories of the events leading up to Ol Dirty Bastard's death as well as his description of how he prevented Method Man from being shot to death in a housing project in Staten Island are both moving accounts.

This book is informative on many levels. It permeates knowledge both ethereal and material. The Rza is a perfect example of why hip-hop culture deserves much more credit than it gets as a legitimate, thought-provoking art-form.

Help The Sway Machinery Make Their Pilgrimage to Mali

As I mentioned in my article in The Huffington Post, The Sway Machinery have been invited to perform at The Festival in The Desert, a music festival in Northern Mali featuring some of the best musicians in the world. They're also planning on recording an album in Bamako, Mali at Ali Farka Toure's studio. They've enlisted an Emmy Award winning documentarian to go with them on their trip to share their journey with the world.

I'll let Jeremiah Lockwood, The Sway Machinery's frontman, tell you the rest: "The missing ingredient is not passion or artistic achievement or even opportunity...we have already received the invitation to perform at one of the largest music festivals in Mali on the same stage with the legends of West African music! The missing ingredient, sadly, is money. At this moment, I come to you all with open hands, wishing that you will open yourselves to our passionate desire to see this project to fruition and that you will help us in any way you can!"

If you are willing and able, please donate what you can to make this amazing journey possible.

Zongo Junction w/ Meta and The Cornerstones Tomorrow Night @ Public Assembly

If you're in BK tomorrow night and looking to get funky with some afrolicious flavor, check out Zongo Junction, the monthly afrobeat party at Public Assembly featuring Meta and The Cornerstones this month. This party is dedicated to showcasing the freshest afrocentric talent in the city, so take advantage of the opportunity and show some support to some of the freshest cats on the scene doing big things for the afro-community.

Film Review-Throw Down Your Heart

Throw Down Your Heart tells the beautiful story of Bela Fleck's journey to Africa to find the true history of his instrument, the banjo. Traveling from Tennessee to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali, Fleck finds what he's looking for on a deeply spiritual level transcending language and cultural barriers along the way.

This film is more than documentation of Bela Fleck's trip across Africa. It is a testimony to the amazing power of music to unite and act as a universal language. The filmmakers and sound engineers do a spectacular job of capturing the process by which Fleck is able to connect musically and otherwise with musicians and people across the continent. The moment in The Gambia where he sees the akonting for the first time (the instrument most widely regarded as the banjo's direct ancestor) is truly priceless.

My favorite segments of the film were in Mali and Tanzania. Having spent time in East Africa myself, I could relate especially to the culture and scenery of Tanzania shown in the film. The city of Bagamoyo in Tanzania gives the film its name. Bagamoyo translates to Throw Down Your Heart in English. The city got its name from the East African Slave Trade. Slaves would be taken to the Tanzanian coast on the Indian Ocean. After seeing the beautiful ocean, the ships, the sand, the waves, they would never return to their inland village. They would, "Throw Down Their Heart" and never return.

Fleck's trip to Mali will make any African music enthusiast extremely jealous. He is greeted at the airport by Oumou Sangare and given an ambassador's welcome. He then collaborates with Malian musical legends Djelimady Tounkara, Basekou Kouyaté, and Oumou Sangare with the help of Brooklyn's own Banning Eyre (shout out to Afropop Worldwide) to make some beautiful music that bridges the gap across the Atlantic Ocean seamlessly.

This film and the album to which it gave birth, are not the first of their kind. American musicians have traveled to the motherland to get in touch with their musical roots many times before. I've reviewed albums and read books that all detail the same experience, but this film and album especially are different for several reasons.

First of all, Bela Fleck isn't just your average musician. Regarded as one of the best banjo players in the world, Fleck shows why in this film. His magically swift fingers glide up and down his fret board throughout the film which mesh perfectly with the African style highlighted especially by Djelimady Tounkara in Mali. Not just any musician could speak the African music language so fluently. A key element of the film was Fleck's experience time and time again, stunning people in new countries or towns with skill on the banjo. It's exactly that skill that allowed him to gain people's respect so instantly.

Second, because of his status, experience, and success as a musician, Fleck is able to go on a trip of which most musicians can only dream. He has the money and connections to go exactly where he wanted to go and connect with exactly the right people to make beautiful music everywhere he went. Having traveled in Africa myself, I can say from experience, it's not cheap or easy to fly from New York to Kampala, Uganda, to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to Dakar, Senegal, to Bamako, Mali, back to New York. Overall, that must have cost over $50,000 at least for him and his entourage, and that's just travel expenses.

All that money spent is definitely worth it. This is a beautiful film and album that give credit where it's due. It's not particularly common for established American musicians to travel across the Atlantic just to pay homage to Africa and its historical contributions to American music. This film will inspire you to make a pilgrimage of your own or simply to look at music of the American south from a new perspective.

Two Afro-Jams This Weekend

DJ Afro-Marc will be throwin down this Friday night at The Knitting Factory for Ikebe Shakedown's EP Release Party. Mamarazzi and Zongo Junction will also be hitting the stage in a night full of Afro-funk. Combining traditional African rhythmic textures with melodies and grooves steeped in American funk, soul, & jazz, Ikebe Shakedown offers a unique & powerful sound. The 8-piece, Brooklyn-based band formed in early 2009 and, after a slew of dates around NYC, recorded their debut 7” single and EP, Hard Steppin’, at Dunham Studios in June.


If you didn't get enough afro-funk on Friday, Saturday night, Makossa International is the summer dance party you needed: Highlife, Soukous, Afrobeat, and some hot new styles--bringing together some of the highlights in Brooklyn's equatorial music scene. The event takes place at Studio BPM, located at 237 Kent Avenue between Grand Street and N. 1st Street. Makossa International warms up at 10 P.M. with a DJ set from Awesome Tapes From Africa. King Expressers, on at 11pm, features players from Antibalas and Akoya Afrobeat. They bring a new style spun off of their favorite African dance music with soulful and exciting horns and harmonies.

Mandingo Ambassadors hit at midnight: led by legendary Guinean guitarist Mamady Kouyate, The Ambassadors play an entrancing, endlessly grooving style that is 100% Manding. The party continues into the night with more Awesome Tapes. There is a suggested donation of $10 at the door.

Bawku West Collective

Bawku West Collective is a loosely-knit group of musicians based around the community of Zebilla in the Bawku West District of northern Ghana. Luke Bassuener volunteered there in 2003 and incorporated some field recordings into an album for his Indie Rock band This Bright Apocalypse. He went back in 2008, and with the help of Charles Braimah (a.k.a. DJ Bones), made more field recordings and incorporated them into an album to benefit the artists that helped make the album.

Fair trade music production is a cause I whole-heartedly believe in. The music industry has a long long history of exploiting musicians, especially African musicians. Efforts such as these are a great start towards tipping the scales back in musicians' favor. Not only do the proceeds go back to the musicians and their families, but the beats are pretty tight as well. The album is available on CdBaby and Itunes. Do your part, and get a dope album for a good cause.

Album Review: Coconut Rock-Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada

Sometimes music has a way of transporting your mind into another world, creating a new environment in your imagination, furnished with the perfect soundtrack/theme music. Coconut Rock, the album from Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada set to be re-released on ESL Music December 8, 2009, contains that transcendental property to a higher degree than any music I've heard in a long time.

Ocote Soul Sounds is a collaboration featuring founders of two supergroups, Martin Perna of Antibalas, and Adrian Quesada of Grupo Fantasma. Perna drew his inspiration for the project from his experience living in a fishing village in Michoacán, Mexico. He sought to create music that was accessible without a 12-piece ensemble and a baritone saxophone. He began writing guitar music with more "intimacy and immediacy".

Perna and Quesada first collaborated several years ago when Perna passes through Austin, Texas on his way to Mexico. It was when his bio-diesel car broke down on the way back that their collaboration entered its second iteration, giving them the time to finish their first album, El Niño Y El Sol. Their complimentary styles have allowed them to create soundscapes made up of interlocking melodic and rhythmic elements that foster a Latin-psychedelic backdrop, transporting listeners to a funky Latin dreamworld.

Certain tracks allude to different Afro-Latin genres. Tu Fin, Mi Comienzo has a distinctly cumbia feel. Vendendo Saude E Fe has an Afro-Brazilan feel with Portuguese lyrics. Marcos Garcia of Antibalas and Chico Mann is featured as a vocalist on several tracks as well, lending his signature electro-afro voice to the cornucopia of styles present on the album.

Coconut Rock is the type of album you need to listen to more than once. It's a densely layered, intricate collection of compositions that blend influences and styles from track to track. I'll admit, the first time I listened to the album, I was expecting something other than what was there. Being a huge fan of Antibalas, I was expecting more afrobeat, more instantly gratifying grooves that hook you instantaneously. Going back and listening to the album for a second time, I've realized this is an album you that takes time to digest. It's deep. Once you gain access to what Perna and Quesada are saying, you'll connect on a much deeper level. That's when you'll gain access to their world.

DJ Underdog-Africa Plays On 5

He's back again. Africa Plays On, the recurring afro-heavy mixtape from D.C.'s dopest beatmaker, DJ Underdog, has reached Vol. 5 status. If you missed the first four, all will be forgiven if you snag this juicy chunk of rhythmic flavor.

Zongo Junction @ Public Assembly-11/19

Zongo Junction, the new monthly afro-jam at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, is going down this Thursday night. No Small Money Brass Band and Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds are hitting the stage along with Zongo Junction. It's about time afrobeat grooves started emanating from venues other than Zebulon on a regular basis. Zongo Junction is leading the charge, carrying the afrobeat torch, breathing life into the music on a monthly basis. Come out and support a band that's on the cusp of the afrobeat movement.

Public Assembly-Front Room-Thursday Night

New Single from Toumani Diabaté and Ali Farka Touré

Kala Djula is the new digital singe taken off the forthcoming album from Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, Ali and Toumani. The slow, enchanting song will be released with the rest of the album in February 2010, but is available via Amazon and Itunes in the meantime. The collaboration between the two icons of Malian culture was the second and last album they recorded together. Cachaito Lopez is featured as well.

Booty Crisis at Public Assembly this Saturday Night!

It's that time again party people, Planet Rump is throwin down at Public Assembly this Saturday night in a legendary night of electro-funk that will be sure to make history as one of the craziest parties to hit Brooklyn in years...

Planet Rump presents BOOTY CRISIS, the monthly dance party devoted to showcasing funky-fresh electro acts that will make you shake your ass HARD. This month they present flavors from around the world: Chico Mann the king of instant-vintage electro-freestyle-Latin-Afrobeat, Tayisha Busay ---glitter-garnished fly-girls armed with synths, drum machines and live percussion, and Hiro Tha Jap---fashion icon spinning booty-shaking club music all night. Planet Rump will perform their infectious brand of live electrofunkrap. DJ A-ko will get the party started on the ones and twos. Plus the National Breakin' League will present a special dance showcase. It's a futuristic party from the past, every month at Public Assembly.

In partnership with Sound Liberation Front & AfroMarc Productions.

BOOTY CRISIS
Saturday, November 14th10pm-4am$10
Public Assembly-front room

70 N. 6th St. (between Kent and Wythe)

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

(718) 384-4586

L to Bedford

Public Assembly

New Single from Kokolo-Afrika Man

Kokolo, one of the dopest afrobeat bands that's been doing it the longest on the international scene, recently put out a new single, Afrika Man. Get the track here. If you're reading this from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, or Turkey, look for Kokolo at an afro-spot near you, as they're touring Eastern Europe in the month of November. Check out the video below.

The Best of the Black President-Best of Fela Reissued by The Knitting Factory

As I mentioned in my article in the Huffington Post about FELA! the Broadway show about the Black President, The Knitting Factory is re-mastering and re-releasing all 45 Fela Kuti titles - his entire catalog - in unique digi-packs with the original artwork over the next 18 months. The reissue series marks the first time that all of Fela's titles will be released on vinyl in North America, as well as the first official release of the entire Koola Lobitos catalog, Fela's 1960s highlife band.

The first release, the Best of The Black President, comes with a dvd, A Slice of Fela. This dvd is jam-packed with amazing concert footage, segments of documentaries, and interviews with Bill T. Jones, Carlos Moore, and Sahr Ngaujah. As someone who considers himself pretty knowledgeable about Fela Kuti, I gained a lot of insight and information about Fela's life and music from the footage on that dvd, a reason to get the re-issued album alone.

Fela, and afrobeat, have been picking up considerable steam over the last several years due to the work of several artists and dj's like Antibalas, Akoya, Rich Medina, and host of other people too numerous to name here (see my Afro-links section). This reissue series will only give that revival a serious kick in the ass. Get T-Shirts, tracks, ringtones, and a whole bunch of other Fela related goodness here.

EarthRise Sound System-The Yoga Sessions

Any aspiring yogi knows that when channeling transcendental energy, nothing helps focus the mind like music. Especially music that is downtempo, deep, and steady. EarthRise Sound System, Derek Beres and David “Duke Mushroom” Schommer, have put together an album of remixed chants and percussive elements that will definitely help the mind channel its energy.

Derek Beres is a writer, yoga instructor, and dj. He blends those three elements of his personality with his production partner Duke Mushroom—a producer, writer, and performer who has played on over 50 records in the past two decades. Their objective with this record is to move you inside and out. They channel elements of their multicultural experiences seamlessly to create a deep expressive collection of songs.

Derek Beres and Duke Mushroom are two multi-talented cats are capable of making great music. The album doesn't officially drop until January 2010, but you can check out the tracks on their myspace in the meantime.

New Chico Mann Video-Say What Short Film

Chico Mann just released a new short film/music video that is downright funky. The storyline, production value, and music are all tight. Check it out!

Album Review: Warm Heart of Africa-The Very Best

If you were lucky enough to catch Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit Are The Very Best, the free mixtape that took the music world by storm when it came out in late 2008, then you were most likely blown away by Esau Mwamwaya's voice and Radioclit's ability to seamlessly create inventive mashups that conveyed creativity, originality, and most of all, potential.

That potential is realized and then some on Warm Heart of Africa, the debut full-length album from The Very Best out September 29, 2009 on Green Owl Records, that upholds their claim and reputation. While Warm Heart of Africa doesn't have the instant gratification of the mixtape, its grooves are every bit as infectious. The album also features guest appearances from industry icons Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and M.I.A.

The Very Best's ability to fuse their disparate sensibilities so seamlessly is unprecedented. Esau Mwamwaya's irrepressibly vivacious voice makes no effort to hide his Malawian roots singing in his mother tongue, Chichewa, on over 95% of the album. Radioclit, Johan Karlberg and Etienne Tron, are able to blend their self-proclaimed "ghettopop" sensibility perfectly with Mwamwaya's African personality creating a uniquely contemporary international sound.

Radioclit showcases their ability to recreate a track with an original identity on the album's title track (my personal favorite song on the album). Remixing "Guitar Boy", a highlife song originally recorded by Nigerian star Sir Victor Uwaifo in the 1970's, Radioclit create a backdrop that's irresistibly catchy over which Esau Mwamwaya and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend's voices dip and sore. The Very Best remix of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" was one of the most popular songs off their mixtape; "Warm Heart of Africa" could be their signature hit this time around.

Other irresistibly danceable tracks include "Nsokoto", a beat that bumps hard like a club track yet still has an African identity. "Rain Dance" featuring M.I.A. is equally contagious and conveys a strikingly similar combination of raw African energy with an electronic dance beat. The Very Best remix of "Paper Planes" first caught international audiences attention, so it's good to see M.I.A. collaborating with the group again. "Kamphopo", a remix of "Heart it Races" by Architecture in Helsinki, is the only track held over from the mixtape.

Albums like this don't come around very often. The group's ability to turn mainstream audiences on to music with an unfamiliar African sound could result in a reception most African musicians singing in their native tongues are incapable of obtaining. Critics from mainstream outlets like the NY Times, Rolling Stone, Spin and a host of others have already lavished praise on the album, so time will only tell if mainstream listeners will open their minds, their ears and their wallets to give this album the success it deserves.

Album Review: King Coya-Cumbias de Villa Donde

Imagine if The Rza composed a film score to a horror movie set in the Argentine Andes. That's the vibe of Cumbias de Villa Donde, the new album by King Coya out October 13, 2009 on Nacional Records (the record label pushing the envelope the hardest in Latin Music). Downtempo, yet still danceable, the beats are eerily, electronically, funky.

King Coya is the digitalized, imaginary version of Gaby Kerpel, the renowned Argentine composer whose credits include the scores to De La Guarda and FuerzaBruta. Kerpel is part of the critically-acclaimed Argentine experimental cumbia collective Zizek, an ensemble known for pushing genres and breaking rules.

Coya is a term used in Northern Argentina, referring to a local in a yarn cap, reserved in nature and small in stature, playing an instrument like the charango; the miniature guitar used in Argentine folk music. King Coya tracks grew out of live sets at Zizek’s infamous club nights, performing in front of raucous late-night crowds in Buenos Aires.

With the help of some special guests like Grammy-nominated Petrona Martinez and Cucu Diamantes (of Yerba Buena), King Coya has contributed a strong album that truly pushes the envelope of contemporary Latin music to a new level.

OK Africa CMJ @ The Knitting Factory BK

As most New Yorkers know, CMJ is the time of year where you can see the most live music in the shortest period of time if you're so inclined to do so. I've stayed out of the mix for the most part this year, but I have to give a shout to my peoples over at Okayplayer and Modiba Productions for putting on this little soiree at the Knitting Factory this saturday night. African Hip-Hop luminaries Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew and Blitz the Ambassador are headlining the evening full of African beatmakers guaranteed to make that ass shake.

Help Support the New Chico Mann Album

Ever wanted to be an executive producer of a dope nasty album? Well, here's your big chance. Chico Mann is trying to raise some funds for their next album, and are accepting contributions to the beat-making fund. There's all kinds of incentives to contribute, and all kinds of levels at which you can. Even if you can just throw a few dollars their way, you'd be doing the world a favor by helping an artist share their gift with the world.