The HighLife

Jammin' since before jammin' been jammin'! A masters course in sustained groove.  This is how you change your world.  It's not the song, the message.  Live from 1983, a very good year i might add, this is...


Fela Kuti - M.O.P. (Movement of the People)

It's Friday again people!  Hope your week has been awesome.  It's been an African kind of week for me.  I've been dropping highlife and afrobeat tracks all week, and today we'll be concluding the series with a diverse set of tracks that truly hit at the essence of the genres.  Relax, drop your inhibitions, pick up your feet, and dance like you're the only one in the room.  This is Afrobeat.  Welcome to The Jumpoff!

And i'm spent!  That'll it do it for now.  Hope you've enjoyed the selections.  Until next time, be easy.
Afolabi

p.s. Flavorheard w/ Certified Max  of Certified Bananas @ Middlesex Lounge  tonight.  Do it!

Back on the grind!  But it's cool, it's officially springtime!  There a fresh new week ahead, and i'm looking forward to some upward trending weather.  Hopefully the tracks this week do the same, quality-wise.  Welcome to The Jumpoff!

A-Side
We'll ease into this with a song by a Nigerian afrocentric-jazz musician.  The song is an homage to afrobeat pioneer, Fela Kuti (the title is his full name).  True to the afrobeat sound, the piano groove works you through the entire song while all the other instrument jam out.  And by the time the song is over all you want it to do is keep going.  Kayode Olajide - Olufela


B-Side
If there ever was a song made, as far as i'm concerned, that would warrant the classification of "perfect".  This next song would be it.  This song jump started my interest in all things afrobeat.  The horns are the energy that float over the everlasting groove percolating underneath.  And is it ever percolating.   When listening to this, ignore the horns for a bit, let the keyboard and guitar take you, and then bring it all back together.  You'll be glad, and singing that groove to yourself for the rest of the day.  The song pretty much advises you to be wary of would-be showoffs/posers/power-trippers, and gives examples of where said "power show"(s) could take place.  So, if you're on one, get off the high horse and relax.  Fela Kuti - Power Show


That's it today.  Hope the week goes swell.  Until next time, be easy.
Afolabi

Fela Kuti - Question Jam Answer
This song may initially come off as a little off-beat and dissonnant.  It's not, just keep listening and it'll all come together eventually.  The song is about arguments and their futility.  It also alludes to the fact that when two sides don't see eye to eye, there is no saying what it could escalate to.  "Jam" in the song title means 'to crash into'. "Shele" in the chorus means 'to happen'.  So "when Question jam Answer...another thing go shele o".  The "another thing" is left to the imagination.  Fill in the blank with whatever you think 'another thing' could be.  Word to the wise, it's easier just to not quarrel.

Happy monday y'all!  I have a feeling that i was not alone in being unmotivated today, but i'm just speculating.  Today's tracks have a very African bent to them.  Inspired by today's b-side, i was reminded of the songs on the a-side.  They fit so well together, i had to drop them on you.  Welcome to The Jumpoff!

A-Side
They say that imitation is one of the highest forms of flattery.  So that could technically be translated as remixing/remaking someone elses song is a high form of flattery.  The Red Hot Organization is an AIDS benefit organization that does their work through pop culture mediums, i.e. making tribute albums/compilations.  I remember when i first heard about this album a couple of years back, i was still a fledgling afrobeat appreciator at the time, but i knew most of the songs that were used in the disc.  Which automatically made it soo much cooler in my view.  I was somewhat aware of the reach of Fela Kuti's music internationally, but didn't realize the extent to which it had pervaded the US. Seriously, the collaborator's list is like a virtual who's who of musicians that are awesome, at least in my book.  So here's two tracks from Red Hot + Riot.  They're both really sweet, but listen for Talib's part to drop in the first one, too good!  Talib Kweli/Dead Prez/J Ben (Shuffering and Smiling) - Gift of Gab/Lateef from Blacklicious (Kalakuta Show)



B-Side
New music alert!  One of my favorite rappers of all time is releasing a new album, The Ecstatic, on February 24th.  This is apparently the second leaked track from the album. Don't ask which was the first, i somehow missed that one.  And it's really not important, the album will be out soon enough.  But as for this one that we do have, i've been letting it wash over me all day, so i'll start from the beginning for you.  Like his first album, it's obvious that he's very much inspired by Fela Kuti.  This song makes that clear right from the get.  This track isn't sampling a song like he did on Fear not of man, but the man speaking at the beginning is Fela if you don't recognize his voice.  Points on that; but upon first listen to the rest of the song, you may want to dismiss it.  Please don't, play it back like 4 times and let the drums get in your system.  Don't expect some melodic chorus, just do it like he says 'simmer down'.  I also appreciate The Roots reference he throws in for good measure. Without any further ado, your turn... Mos Def - Quiet Dog


So that will do it for today.  New Mos Def album, February 24th, February 24th, New Mos Def album.  That's not a typo!  Until next time, be easy.

Afolabi

Fela Kuti - Fogo Fogo



I'd like to be able to one day say that there isn't a Fela Kuti song that i haven't heard.  For a little while i was starting to think that, until i came across this gem of a track.  I've literally listened to this song on repeat for the last two weeks, and i don't think that's going to stop for a good while. From the repeating guitar riff, layered over the snare and drum kicks that drop in and out like exclamation points on the groove, this is Afrobeat at it's finest.  The only thing that could be better than hearing this here is hearing it live.  Which, i imagine, would be more raucous.  The song is sort of a parable about people who would take advantage of your generosity and in the process cause you ruin.  I'll set the scenario.  You should also know, fogo, in Yoruba, means to break glass. So, Fela goes out with some people and he buys them drinks all night until he's out of money. These guests then get drunk  and proceed to break the bottles of all that they've had, beer, whiskey, palm wine, etc, on the floor leaving the expense of repairs and clean up to Fela.  The chorus "fogo fogo, ebe mi", essentially then is sarcastically speaking to the culprits saying that he'll assume responsibility for the glass breaking, but please believe, you fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice,.. well, you can't be fooled again. (i just had to one last time)

One of the very first posts i had on this site included music from Seun Kuti.  There's also a video of his encore performance at Paradise in Boston, courtesy of George, in the Vids tab (highly recommended viewing).  So as if he wasn't cool enough already, i just found out that he was one of the performers at the Dec 11, 2008 Nobel Peace Prize Concert honoring Namibia's Marti Ahtisaari.



And then to boot, he also recently released his first official music video for "Many Things", off his debut album, Think Africa.



I was going to add more to this, but i'll stop myself now.  Look out for more on him later.

Fela Kuti & Roy Ayers - 2,000 Blacks got to be free

This is from a 1980 collaboration, Music of many colours, by these two music giants.  And it is simply a clinic in sustained groove.  Interestingly enough, its message is one of unity and collaboration.  But it's the music that brings it all together. Just press play, and let the groove wash over you.

It's that time again.  What time, you ask? Time for a fresh installment of something from the 'dark' continent. Though i wonder about that, we probably get more sunshine over there than anywhere else in the world, but whatever that's irrelevant.  Now to the music.

 

Fela Kuti - Confusion (Parts 1 &2)

There are some songs that i listen to pretty much every day.  It's not a long list, and this song is part of that short-list.  That could probably be explained by the fact that this song is 25 minutes long.  The first four minutes of this are very sparse, really not musical at all. You could say it feels like a there a storm building of random instruments, but in no clear direction.  Then all of a sudden the keyboard starts building up, the military style snare cadence joins, the bass joins, then comes the downpour. Two guitars, claves, congas, horns, bass, drums, keyboard, all join together in one the best grooves you've ever heard.  Seriously, leave this on in the background of anything you're doing, work, play, chilling, partying, whatever; guaranteed someone will be moving, maybe you even.

This aptly titled song is about when things are in a state of confusion.  But more specifically it's a social statement about when a country is in a state of confusion, and how that permeates all aspects of life.  "When we talk say confusion, everything out of control. When everything out of control, we go say it be kpafuca o. Kpafuca na quench." Kpafuca stands for when something is gone/erased/etc.  Whether it be a colonial mentality that keeps like people divided; or Lagos traffic which is worse than New York but with no traffic police or signals; or even police stations with no police officers.  This all happens, it's a real world we live in.  So while you're grooving out to this think about what you can do to help bring order to not just your own little plot of land, but the world in general. Make a difference, do something.  Oh, and before i forget.  My favorite part of the song is the last 3 minutes of the song, when the keyboard is doing some of the funkiest riffing to break down a song you'll ever hear. If you have been listening to the whole song, by the time this part hits you'll know what i'm talking about.

A couple of days ago i made a post about Felabration.  In the process of creating that post, i found that there were are a lot of songs that i really wanted to highlight but couldn't.  That gave way to the birth of this little project, that i'm going to name AfroFriday.  Every Friday, i'll be posting a new Afro-centric, Afrobeat or otherwise, track on here.  Today's post will the first of the series, but stay tuned for more every week.

Fela Kuti - J'en wi t'emi (Don't gag me)

I'll kick off by highlighting a couple of lines.  "T'in ba r'oto ma so, o le p'anu mi de. J'en wi t'emi o.  O le p'anu mi de." (When i think the truth i will say it, you can't keep my mouth shut. Let me speak my piece.  You can't keep my mouth shut!) Those are the first words sung on this track, essentially boiling down to 'Don't gag me'. The next highlight, "Otito koro, omo ara'ye o fe" (The truth is bitter, the people of the world/society doesn't want it).  Truer words have never been spoken on a track.  Expression is everything, and expressing the truth is life.

Musically, this song is amazing.  The guitar riff sets the tone and pace, and it rolls through the entire track.  The bass line and percussion are also steady mainstays throughout as well.  The flavor comes with the horns.  It accentuates the base groove, and raises the tempo seamlessly.  But the best part is when the horns drop out to bring you back to base groove.  This is 13-plus minutes of get-down laid down on wax.  You add that to the that knowledge Mr. Kuti is dropping, you get an amalgamation of sound and groove that can only be described as simply, the truth.