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  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.
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  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.
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  Guelewar: Halleli N Dakarou
  
  Re-released and remastered live CD from this 80's experimental Senegambian outfit.
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  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.
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  Cheikh Lo: Jamm
  
  The unique Senegalese singer and multi-instrumentalist crafts an eclectically excellent record.
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  David Rudder: Random Notes
  
  Calypsonian David Rudder returns with an album that covers various styles with excellent results.

All Reviews >>

This fine collection captures the early electric pop music of Zambia, sounds from before the so-called “kalindula” era, sampled in a companion CD, Zambush: Volume 1. Here we get great recordings from three of Zambia's most influential early pop musicians: The Big Gold Six, Emmanuel Mulemena, and Nashil Pichen Kazembe. These recordings take place in the context of the rumba explosion out of the Congo, so it’s no surprise that they bear that strong imprint. But there is also evidence of local music and language being transformed into pop music, as was happening in so many other parts of the continent at the time.

The Big Gold Six took their name from their sponsor, Players No. 6 cigarettes, with the big gold letters. (Rank commercialism was already in full swing!) A smooth and polished outfit, they crank out 13 crisp, lively tracks here, complete with brisk guitar work from Bestin Mwanza, and warm vocal harmonies performed by the entire band. Among the rumba and son echoes, we get songs like “Bana Mayo Banomba (Mothers of Today),” with a 12/8 beat and loping bass line that clearly paves the way for electric kalindula music that would come of age in the 1980s.

Emmanuel Mulemena was a talented singer and composer who benefited from President Kaunda’s call for 90% local music content on state radio. His debut album, sampled in 4 sweet tracks here, came out that same year: 1974. The rumba flavor is muted here, angular acoustic guitar picking giving his songs a distinctly roots feel. The third artist featured here, Nashil Pichen Kazembe, has an unusual history. He married a Kenyan woman, converted to Islam, and spent years in Kenya before returning to Zambia to become a star in the mid ‘70s. His rumba oriented music has a particular polish reflecting this broad experience. As a sign of this music’s enduring impact, Nashil was voted best Zambian artist of all time in a 2000, millennium-end, national radio poll.

This collection makes a splendid counterpart to Zambush, Volume 1, which focuses on the kalindula era in the 1980s. Together, they flesh out a rich, hidden vein in the ever unfolding Afropop story.