African Gems - April

This is the first in a series of posts to highlight the riches of African music from the 50's to the present. If you think that African music is 'world' music, you will be surprised to find heavy funk, dirty cuban rhythms, psychedelic rock, ry cooder soundtracks, and gospel music.

Listen

Kelen Ati Len - Orchestre du Bawobab - not available on iTunes

A Funk classic, one of my favourite tracks of all time.

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Emnete - Mulatu Astatke - link

Mulatu is the father of modern music in Ethiopia. He played the vibes and was a bandleader. You've heard his stuff on Ethiopiques 4 and the Broken Flowers Soundtrack. Smooth.

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Hihache - Lafayette Afro Rock Band - link

You've heard this sampled a million times:

Biz Markie’s “Nobody Beats the Biz”

LL Cool J’s “Jinglin' Baby”

Nas’s “The Foulness”

Public Enemy’s “Can't Truss It”