Rolling afrobeats thread 2014

Also I don't really want to complain about seven out of eighteen tracks being already released, fantastic hit singles in a variety of styles. (Tyga remix doesn't count. He could have kept that one.)

http://www.dailytimes.com.ng/article/wizkids-ayo-album-fans-want-their-money-back

hmmmmm

ha agreed

that said 'in your bed' is dope

Pffft. Nigerian press loves a scandal and some backlash was inevitable in the age of twitter. There are some lazy parts but the album knocks imo.

not as good as the tiwa savage record which is the benchmark imo

Jaiye Jaiye, Show U The Money, In My Bed, Ojeuelegba, On Top Your Matter, In Love, For You, Ki Lo Fe, Bombay, One Question, Murder, Joy, Caro... 13 strong to great songs, and you could make the case that I left out a couple of pretty good ones too.

In other news, I'm enjoying this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kalAlZcJRg
(Iyanya and Emma Nyra - My Lane)

and this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkk6wifoVEU
(Sean Tizzle - Rara)

Think for Wizkid the benchmark a lot of people had in mind was Superstar, this wasn't it. Had doubts when it became clear that Samklef wasn't going to be involved at all.

Superstar was a very different album though. He had very little pressure on him then as opposed to now and there's no way you're not going to hear that in this new album. Also, he's all over the charts/radio on other people's songs so a certain fatigue is inescapable. But he's been branching out and that's a good thing imo. A lot of the songs here make Superstar sound old. A song like Celebrate is pretty close to the Superstar sound but it feels dated on this one. His main problem as a songwriter is that he has to reach for his past every time he wants to say something meaningful.

I see a lot of people talking about his redundancy and laziness but really, he improves every single song he jumps on the remix of.

What other 2014 Nigerian albums are better than it though? I can imagine a case being made for the Sean Tizzle album but apart from that? The Phyno album was pretty uneven. P-Square's album has Collabo, which is awesome, and some hits. What am I missing?

a whole bunch of the songs you listed as highlights have been out for ages...

It's definitely different and I would never hold that against it but by any metric I can think of it just isn't as good. I think the laziness thing is all media bluster but when an artist tries to branch out and people complain that it sounds redundant or uninspired its usually pretty telling. His style isn't all that versatile, which isn't surprising wwith guy that half the time goes into the booth and freestyles. A lot rests on how he interacts with the beats, which is where I think the album is mostly lacking.

The thing is not many Nigerian artists have released wall to wall great albums these past few years and for the ones that have the level of expectation is different. If artists like Tiwa Savage, P-Square and D'Banj released less than stellar follow-up albums, we'd see a pretty similar response.

I know a lot of them have been out for a while but I don't really see how that affects the quality of the album. It's full of hits. How bad do y'all think the bad ones are though? And which ones do you actively dislike? I could definitely live without the Tyga remix but even most of the weaker ones are pretty nice.

i also sorta suspect looking for Great Albums from this scene is a fast track to missing the point

it is afroPOP and very dancefloor oriented so

Well that's my point basically. Ayo has eight singles out and a few more on the way afaict.

I agree that Tiwa Savage made a better, more versatile album though.

Loving the new Neptizzle mix. The "Dorobucci" / "Sekem" / "Gallardo" / "Shoki Remix" stretch in particular is just fabulous.

And always happy to hear Uhuru's "Y Tjukutja".

Speaking of Uhuru it's interesting how they're kind of infiltrating Nigerian afropop w In My Bed, Skelewu Remix and For You after Tchelete and Khona. Also Dtunes' Rara, posted above, bears their influence.

Speaking of Uhuru it's interesting how they're kind of infiltrating Nigerian afropop w In My Bed, Skelewu Remix and For You after Tchelete and Khona. Also , Dtunes' Rara, posted above, bears their influence.

Double!

That crossover area is probably my favourite part of this whole spectrum right now.

Nekupenda as well...it's almost, dare I say, balaeric?

I mean that in the most superficial of ways obv

The phrase should only ever be used superficially IMO

haha well i just mean that it's not literally balearic as in it comes from the other side of the continent

Does anyone know where I can find the albums D'Banj released with Don Jazzy? I'd like to hear them.

New Skales is just perfect imo. Breezy, sweet and bouncy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inGbDCA9Dsk#t=13

fyi

http://www.thesinglesjukebox.com/?p=13152

Singles Jukebox crits Sept. 9th dissing WizKid's vocals on "Show You the Money"

Lol

My sister has all the Don Jazzy produced albums but skimming through now and the quality is very poor, I remember them being on itunes but it seems not anymore, should I upload?

Yes please!

His first 3 solo plus the curriculum vitae Mo'Hits album
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gab7hhtgh6fivvr/Dbanj.rar?dl=0

Perfect. Thanks!
Any thoughts about why Bother you didn't hit, btw? I like it a lot, actually.

dont worry one of those TSJ dudes is a spaceghost purrp stan and the other one is alfred so

No problem, Bother you isn't a bad song but alas it doesn't bang in the whip. More seriously it revisits old territory in Scapegoat yet somehow it doesn't really feel like a D'banj song. His personality usually bleeds through his tracks but Bother You feels subdued and neutered.

The Scapegoat retread thing makes sense. But while it doesn't bang in the whip, the friendly disco party vibes make it a keeper to me.

I'm loving the nautical metaphors in Skales' Give It To Me btw - been missing that set of cliches. Are nautical metaphors common in other/older Nigerian songs?

Well, there's Rayce's recent Jack Sparrow, sort of...

…and the Castro tragedy becomes an international news story…

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/24/asamoah-gyan-denies-murdering-rapper-human-sacrifice

(and of course Castro is described as a "rapper", because, yeah…)

I forgot about Jack Sparrow! I love that one too lol.

Loving this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms5LgLvUoPg

Boj "Trips"

Yeah that's nice. He's also featured on this one, which I like a lot even though Naeto C is a bore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fy1zrXdSeE

Googling to see who is paying attention to this music:

So Jon Caramanica reviewed D'Banji & others for the NY Times at Irving Plaza in NYC in 2012 but nothing really since.

http://dailypost.ng/2014/09/25/africa-music-awards-2014-davido-tops-nominees-list/

Nigerian artist, Davido and South African musicians Mafikizolo and Uhuru received the highest number of nominations at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) according to a list released on Wednesday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Davido and Mafikizolo got six nominations each while Uhuru got five nominations.

Mi Casa (South Africa) and TemiDollFace (NIGERIA) got four nominations each while Zahara (South Africa) and Wiyaala (Ghana) got three nominations each.

Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania), Amr Diab (Egypt), Angelique Kidjo (Benin Republic), Tiwa Savage (NIGERIA), Patoranking (Nigeria) and Noura Mint Seymale (Mauritania) all had two nominations each.

Other nominees were Fally Ipupa (DRC), Sakordie (Ghana) and Davina Green (Zimbabwe) who got one nomination each.

Nominees for the Producer of the Year were Don Jazzy (Nigeria) for the song ‘Eminado’; Robbie Malinga and Mojela Thebe (South Africa) for ‘Impilo’; Uhuru (South Africa) for ‘Tchelete’; Mikky Me (Nigeria) ‘Down’ and Del’B (Nigeria) for ‘Pull Over’.

Worth it for the guitar alone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eD7GcAJiR8

Runtown "Baby Answer"

Everybody seems to be going highlife these days...

Meanwhile, in Ghana dancehall is stronger than ever. This one is fun (and it has Parade-era Prince strings):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjaNEyADbhE

Kaakie "Ronaldo"

http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs129/1112375229202/img/131.jpg

BRIAN ENO-CURATED FELA KUTI BOX SET IS OUT TODAY

ON KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS

FELEBRATION EVENTS SCHEDULED ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR OCTOBER

WATCH: Brian Eno talking about his love of Fela via YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tABl5cVKJhM

LISTEN: Fela Kuti's "Colonial Mentality" off the Finding Fela soundtrack via Soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/knittingfactoryrecords/16-finding-fela-colonial-mentality

WATCH: Trailer for Finding Fela, the recently-released documentary from Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney via YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=937SQ8-6RV4

Knitting Factory Records today releases the third installment of their Fela Kuti Box Set Series. The box was curated by long-time admirer Brian Eno and his album selections span the ten years in which Fela's afrobeat progressed from its formative stage to a rich maturation of the form. It begins with 1971's Shakara and ends with 1980's I.T.T.(International Thief Thief). It also includes London Scene (1972), Afrodisiac, Gentleman (both 1973) and Upside Down(1976). The penultimate selection is 1976's Zombie, which was a huge hit in Nigeria. There are only 2,000 copies of this limited edition box set: The albums are pressed on 180 gram vinyl, come with a poster reproduction from a Fela Kuti & Africa 70 show in Brussels, and a fourteen page booklet.

Says box set curator, Brian Eno, "Before about mid-September 1973 I didn't have much interest in polyrhythmic music. I didn't really get it. That all changed one autumn day when I walked into Stern's Record Shop off Tottenham Court Road. For reasons I've long forgotten, I left the store with an album that was to change my life dramatically. It was Afrodisiac by Fela Ransome-Kuti (as he was then known) and his band The Africa 70. I remember the first time I listened and how dazzled I was by the groove and the rhythmic complexity, and by the raw, harsh sounds of the brass, like Mack trucks hurtling across highways with their horns blaring. Everything I thought I knew about music at that point was up in the air again. The sheer force and drive of this wild Nigerian stuff blew my mind. My friend Robert Wyatt called it 'Jazz from another planet' - and suddenly I thought I understood the point of jazz, until then an almost alien music to me."

October marks the annual Felabration month. Felabrations are the annual celebrations that commemorate the life and music of the late Fela Anikulakpo Kuti. The original Felabrations date back to the early 1970's when Fela and his band took over The Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria and performed until the sun came up. Felabrations take place all over the world to coincide with Fela Kuti's birthday on October 15th.

This year also saw the release of Finding Fela, a documentary directed by Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney. The documentary follows the life of Fela Kuti and the creation of the Broadway musical, Fela! Many of the national and international Felabrations will be hosting screenings of Finding Fela - the full list of Felabrations are below.

Felebrations & Finding Fela Screenings:

Atlanta GA - 10/1 - 10/4 - Spreadlove ATL - multiple venues (w/ Finding Fela screening) - Tickets

Oakland CA - 10/11 - Juke! Felabration @ Somar Bar - Tickets

Washington DC - 10/15 - Lil SoSo @ Den of Thieves (w/ Finding Fela screening) - Tickets

Washington DC - 10/15 - DJ Underdog + Rich Medina @ Liv Nightclub - Tickets

New York NY - 10/15 - Chop & Quench (the Fela! Band), Debo Band, and ?uestlove @ Le Poisson Rouge - Tickets

Los Angeles CA - 10/17 - Jump N Fun w/Rich Medina @ The Echo - Tickets

Denver CO - 10/18 - Groove Productions @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom - Tickets

Oakland CA - 10/18 - Lagos Roots Afrobeat Ensemble @ The New Parish - Tickets

San Francisco - 10/18 - Jump N Funk w/ Rich Medina & The Lijadu Sisters @ Mighty - Tickets

Dallas TX - 10/24 - Sandaga 813 - Tickets

http://www.knittingfactoryrecords.com/artists/fela/

http://findingfela.com/

https://www.facebook.com/felakuti

oh man. want. i have the ginger baker one.