• 
  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 >>

If Susana Baca delivers the urbane, understated side of Afro Peruvian music, Peru Negro kicks out a decidedly more hot-blooded variety. Not that Baca doesn't swing with passion, and not that this group doesn't kill you with subtlety--hanging rhythms, pregnant silences, and sparse instrumentation. It's just that Peru Negro comes across with more of the edgy urgency of village life. Call it Susana Baca on steroids.

As Afropop's Peruvian music aficionado Dan Rosenberg wrote, "While many Peru Negro legends such as Lucila Campos and Chocolate have moved on to pursue solo careers, this group is still regarded, along with Susana Baca, as the cultural ambassadors of Peru. Unlike Baca whose ensemble often interprets Peruvian classics from a Cuban-Jazz perspective, leaving room for improvisations and solos, Peru Negro stays closer to traditional acoustic arrangements."

The eight-piece group originally came from El Carmen, two hours south of Lima, but they're city folk these days. They made this album in 1999 in Amsterdam, resulting in a clean, natural recording that retains that wild village spirit on every track. The lead track, "Ruperta" says it all, its understated rhythms creating a fiercely tugging undertow through which richly harmonized female vocals swim effortlessly. Singers Monica Dueñas and Eilna del Rio trade powerful leads and backing vocals from track to track. A few melodies are familiar, notably the sensational "Samba Malató," which was a standout on Luaka Bop's Soul of Black Peru compilation when performed by Lucila Campos.

Given the extraordinary power of this music and the small number of titles available internationally, this is significant release. Beyond all that, it's great and compelling roots music by any standard.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org