STOCKING STUFFERS: Afropop Worldwide's Top Ten Releases for 2008

Afropop Worldwide is pleased to announce our picks for the Afropop Worldwide Top Ten Releases of 2008.

Congratulations to all the artists and to their record labels for winning recognition as one of the ten Afropop Worldwide Releases of the year. (In order to be considered, an album must be released in the US in 2008.) Below the Top Ten list here you will see additional “Highly Recommended” 2008 titles as well as our selections of the best of the many compilations of historic material that came out in 2008.

We hope that you as a music lover buy some of these titles, both for your own pleasure and to support the artists. Media outlets are welcome to publish our list. It must be credited as “published by www.afropop.org © 2008”

More information at www.afropop.org

In no particular order:

Chiwoniso, "Rebel Woman" (Cumbancha) (Zimbabwe)
Aterciopelados “Rio” (Nacional) (Columbia)
Toumani Diabaté “The Mandé Variations” (Nonesuch) (Mali)
Seprewa Kasa “Seprewa Kasa” (Riverboat) (Ghana)
Seun Kuti “Seun Kuti & Egypt 80” (Disorient) (Nigeria)
Emmanuel Jal “WARchild” (Sonic360) (Sudan)
Orchestra Baobab “Made in Dakar” (Nonesuch) (Senegal)
Mayra Andrade “Navega” (Nacional/Sterns Arc Ltd) (Cape Verde)
Buena Vista Social Club "Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall(2 CD) [LIVE] " (Nonesuch) (Cuba)
Kasai Allstars "Congotronics 3" (Crammed Discs) (Congo)

Chiwoniso, "Rebel Woman" (Cumbancha) (Zimbabwe)
Rebel Woman was recorded in Zimbabwe, Germany, South Africa, England, and Vermont, and yet it has a compellingly unified sound, rich with layered vocals, punchy guitar riffs, percussion breakdowns, eloquent brass commentary, and the ubiquitous tonal plink of mbira. With this release, Zimbabwean music may need to acknowledge a new sub genre—call it Chi-Pop!
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music Artist Site See Video

Rio

Aterciopelados “Rio” (Nacional) (Columbia)
Aterciopelados' grooving, guitar-driven, edgy-but-uplifting rock music recalls bands such as The Police and Talking Heads. Hector Buitrago's entrancing guitar melodies and Andrea Echeverri's raggedly tuneful vocal flights are so seductive that the language barrier melts away on its own. But what gives this band's music its universal appeal is something less tangible: a quality of dry-eyed optimism that proves both persuasive and reassuring in troubled times.
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music Artist Site

Toumani Diabaté “The Mandé Variations” (Nonesuch) (Mali)
Toumani Diabaté of Mali is routinely referred to as the greatest living kora musician. What really makes Toumani the greatest is the virtuosity and creative brilliance he displays on the venerable 21-string harp of his Mande ancestors. And nowhere does he show that better than on his new solo CD, The Mande Variations. This is a hypnotic masterpiece, and a landmark release for, yes, the greatest living kora musician.
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music Artist Site See a Video

Seprewa Kasa “Seprewa Kasa” (Riverboat) (Ghana)
The musicianship is superb on these jewel-like performances, from the soaring vocal harmonies to spare, grounding percussion, and lacey, rhythmic string interplay. Crucially, there is also a looseness and ease in the performances, a complete absence of fussiness: Seprewa speaks, guitar answers! This utterly unique CD is nothing short of a revelation for lovers of acoustic string music. Kudos to these fine musicians for putting the venerable seprewa back in the limelight after all these years!
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music

Seun Kuti + Fela's Egypt 80

Seun Anikulapo Kuti “Seun Kuti & Egypt 80” (Disorient) (Nigeria)
The funkiest big band in Africa is alive and well...But the great credit goes to Seun himself, for having the vision and temerity to keep his father’s musicians together and work with them, despite the generational divide, for coming up with such a fine set of songs, and for wisely waiting ten years to produce this album, making sure that it would not disappoint.
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music Artist Site See a Video

WARchild

Emmanuel Jal “WARchild” (Sonic360) (Sudan)
Sudan’s top rapper tells his harrowing story of being drafted into the ranks of an SPLA youth militia and surviving through hell before being rescued and transforming himself into a hopeful, charismatic and super-talented rapper. Jal’s arresting raps bravely critique hip hop culture—violence, bling, sexism—and his sound is rich with melodious and evocative vocal layerings.
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Orchestra Baobab “Made in Dakar” (Nonesuch) (Senegal)
Aside from timeless music, Orchestra Baobab conveys a priceless sense of continuity and community. At a time when so many greats of African pop’s golden age are dead, marginalized, or forgotten, it is beyond refreshing to find a session in which Youssou N’Dour, Africando, and the memories of greats from Guinea, Mali, Congo and beyond rub shoulders amicably, and still feel relevant. That alone is reason enough for Baobab to stick around and keep making music for as long as they possibly can.
CD Review by Banning Eyre Buy Music Artist Site

Navega

Mayra Andrade “Navega” (Nacional/Sterns Arc Ltd) (Cape Verde)
Mayra Andrade’s debut recording is a revelation. Singing with supreme confidence, she shows a vocal range beyond her 23 years. At times playful and sexy, and at times growly and mournful, her voice contains shades of Billy Holiday and fellow Cape Verdean, the legendary Cesaria Evora. But it’s not just about the vocals--her band is the perfect accompaniment, masters of technique who never overshadow the star. This recording was released in Europe in 2007, but made its way to the United States via Stern’s in the summer of 2008.
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Live at Carnegie Hall

Buena Vista Social Club "Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall(2 CD) [LIVE] " (Nonesuch) (Cuba)
Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, Ruben Gonzalez, Eliades Ochoa et al were in top form for this career-capping performance, which sounds better on this recording than it did in the hall. Keep the 8-million-selling BVSC CD on the shelf and put these two volumes on your playlist. This is the way to remember Cuba’s world-conquering, all-star nostalgia group.
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Congotronics 3

Kasai Allstars "In the 7th Moon, the Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic" (Crammed Discs) (Congo)
Easily as good as its predecessors, this entrancing set of urban bush grooves rooted in the vast Congolese interior unfolds with gentle, deep-toned drums and clamoring voices, understated electric guitars, thumb pianos, and most memorably, various wooden xylophones some of which produce such other-worldly tones that it is at times hard to believe they haven’t been electronically enhanced.
Buy Music Artist Site

Staff Pick:

Lee "Scratch" Perry "Scratch Came, Scratch Saw, Scratch Conquered" (Megawave) (Jamaica)
"Scratch Came..." is the latest and greatest of three albums that this reggae legend put out over the course of a year. "Having a Party" starts the album off with, “This is a skeleton from outer space having a party…” And what a party it is. Scratch weaves bizarre, minimalistic spoken word performances together which might seem silly at first, but demand further listening. There is a sophistication in the silliness as Scratch looks at life’s fleetingness, as objects and desires “come and go”. Party album of the year from the 72 year old dub master.
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Also Highly Recommended:

Femi Kuti “Day by Day” (Downtown) (Nigeria)

Mamadou Diabaté “Douga Mansa” (World Village) (Mali)

Samba Mapangala & Virunga "African Classics: Samba Mapangala & Virunga" (Sheer Sound) (Congo/Kenya)

Fallou Dieng "African Classics: Fallou Dieng" (Sheer Sound) (Senegal)

La India Canela “Merengue Tipico from the Dominican Republic” (Smithsonian Folkways) (Dominican Republic)

Etran Finatawa “Desert Crossroads” (Riverboat/World Music Network) (Niger)

Toumast "Ishumar" (Real World) (Niger)

Nation Beat “Legends of the Preacher” (Modiba Records) (Brazil)

Les Amazone de Guinee “Wamato” (Syllart/Sterns) (Guinea)

Issa Bagayogo “Mali Koura” (Six Degrees) (Mali)

Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara “Soul Science” (World Village) (U.K./Gambia)

Toubab Krewe “Toubab Krewe Live at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC” (Upstream Records) (USA)

Markus James "Snakeskin Violin" (Firenze Records) (USA/Mali)

Retrospectives:

Lucky Dube "Retrospective" (Rykodisc) (South Africa)

Franco "FRANCOphonic: Franco & le TPOK Jazz" (Stern’s Africa) (Congo)

Rail Band “2 Mansa” (Stern’s) (Mali)

Balla & Ses Balladins “The Syliophone Years” (Stern’s) (Guinea)

Compilations:

Various Artists “Acoustic Arabia” (Putumayo) (Various)

Various Artists "Ayombe: the Heart of Columbia's Mussica Vallenata" (Smithsonian Folkways) (Columbia)

Various Artists "African Scream Contest: Raw and Psychedelic Afro Sounds From Benin and Togo 70's (Analog Africa) (Togo and Benin)

First published: afropop.org