• 
  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
  A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
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  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
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  Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
  
  Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage.
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  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
  Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
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  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
  Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
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  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
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  Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
  
  West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
• 
  Sia Tolno: My Life
  
  Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph.
• 
  Zieti: Zemelewa
  
  Eclectic blend of Afro-infused pop out of Cote d'Ivoire.
• 
  Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
  
  Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit.
• 
  Tinariwen: Tassili
  
  Touareg desert legends return with an offering that is meandering, sorrowful and proud.
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  Los Rakas: Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada
  
  Oakland/Panamanian rappers -call it "Panabay"-- return with good results.
• 
  Cheikh Lo: Jamm
  
  The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record.
• 
  David Rudder: Random Notes
  
  Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.

All Reviews >>

These four sides of classic 1970s afrobeat vinyl from Nigeria recover two great albums that might well have been lost to history.  Though produced by Fela with perhaps the strongest band of his three-decade-plus career, these tracks let trumpeter Tunde Williams and baritone sax man Lekan Animashaun take the microphone while the maestro assumes the role of sideman.  Tunde Williams' "Mr Big Mouth" slinks in with the familiar, restless sizzle of hi-hat and feathery funk of strummed electric guitar building to a tuneful blare of horns.  Williams can't match Fela's bluster at the mic, but he's got an edge of his own as he slams the corruption of Lagos contractors.  The vocal is memorable, but it's the spot-on music and arranging that makes this grade-A afrobeat.  William's B-Side, "The Beginning," is a slow and moody instrumental, contrasting lush brass section passages with an eloquent trumpet solo.  Williams was truly one of the most talented soloists Fela ever worked with.  He left Africa 70 in 1978, and this album fell victim to a dispute between Fela and his label, Decca.  So we're lucky to have it.

Lekan "Baba Ani" Animashaun, Fela's baritone man to the end, is also a better instrumentalist than singer, but it is fascinating to hear his lithe, slightly nasal voice weaving through the punchy replies of the band's trademark female chorus.  These two numbers--"Low Profile" and "Severe"--have a fractured history.  First recorded in 1979 during the dark days following the Nigerian army raid on Fela's compound, they were not finished until 1986, and released only in 1995, to little fanfare.  The songs were often played at Fela's Africa Shrine in Lagos, though, and much loved by the city's diehard afrobeat fans.  "Severe" has a big, satisfying sound, and an exquisitely wailing baritone sax solo.  In all, this release is an indispensable addition to the growing catalogue of historic afrobeat.