• 
  Alkibar Gignor : La Paix
  
  Malian garage-rock group Alkibar Gignor deliver gloriously rough album.
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  Brownout : Oozy
  
  Latin-Funk group Brownout get down with some seriously laid-back swagger.
• 
  Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars: Radio Salone
  
  Sixteen great new tracks from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.
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  Funk Ark : High Noon
  
  Group from DC brings the Afrobeat fire.
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  , Amadou et Mariam: Folila
  
  Amadou and Mariam continue their foray into fusing their Malian styles with the sounds of western artists.
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  Nneka: Soul Is Heavy
  
  Nigerian-German soulstress channels her inner neo-soul star on her latest release
• 
  Sauti Sol: Sol Filosofia
  
  Kenyan, Afro-fusion outfit Sauti Sol continue their exploration of all things "pop."
• 
  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
  A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
• 
  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
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  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
  Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
  Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
• 
  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
• 
  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.

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.