• 
  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
  
  
• 
  Mamadou Diabaté: Courage
  
  Mamadou Diabate, the kora master, takes a fresh look at Mali instrumental music with his new CD Courage.
• 
  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.
• 
  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.
• 
  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 >>

This young Cuban vocal quartet is based and records in France, which helps to explain the great production values on this, their slamming debut release. Still, this group wants you to know that they are not Cuban exiles. In fact, they performed in Havana last December, and their remake of the Buena Vista Social Club's signature tune, "Chan Chan," is a runaway hit on Cuban radio. Orishas call their version "537 C.U.B.A." and it's a celebration of the island nation from afar, 537 being Cuba's long-distance telephone exchange. The song is also brilliant marriage of Cuban pop and hip-hop that sounds as fresh and exciting as anything currently happening in either of its root genres.

Orishas take their name from the deities of the African Yoruba religion, Santaria, which thrives in Cuba centuries after it was brought over by slaves from Nigeria. The evocation of Cuba's African side--made explicit in beautiful percussion passages--is not exactly controversial: the word is that Fidel himself practices Santaria. But this combined with the fact that Orisha's lyrics strongly evoke the black experience in Cuba, gives the music a certain edge, an important element in hip-hop.

Best of all is the way A Lo Cubano blends the sophisticated harmonies and rhythms of Cuban pop with hip hop aesthetics. Roldàn's classic sonero vocals are part of a continuum that spans attitude-drenched rap and the harmonized call-and-response arranging that has animated Cuban music for over a century. While plainly hip-hop, songs like "Represent" and "Orishas Llegó" stand up to anything Cuba has produced for sheer tunefulness and musicality. "1.9.9.9" unfolds in close to pure Afro-Cuban rhythm, but even the more familiar hip-hop grooves in these 15 dynamic tracks exude undertow and sensuality distinct to Cuban music. This is a welcome departure from so much international hip-hop, which just mimics the American style in a different language.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org