Afrodisia

KARIMA SU OKAYAFRICA!

www.okayafrica.com

Our first introduction to Liberian-Italian rapper, singer, dancer and beatsmith Karima(full name Karima Gehnyei aka Miss Annie) comes from her “Bunga Bunga” video lampooning Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Pulling double duty as the vocalist for indie afrohouse duo PepeSoup, Karima struck out to pursue her solo career after a trip to Liberia late last year propelled her to speak out against Italy’s overtly racist attitudes towards immigrants, particularly those of African descent.

Her debut album 2G, which stands for “Second Generation,” takes its name from the popular catchphrase used in the public discourse surrounding Italy’s exclusionary immigration policy, otherwise known as jus sanguinis. The album can best be described as a no-holds-barred indictment of Italian racism as well as a call for Africans on the continent and throughout the diaspora to remain connected to their roots. Following in the vein of her satirical take on Berlusconi’s sex party scandal, 2G‘s centerpiece track “Orangutan” is a synth-driven 8-bit tune which makes direct reference to Italian politician Roberto Calderoli‘s churlishly racist comparison of Italy’s first black ministerCécile Kyenge to an orangutan. Clocking in at just under 25 minutes, the ten-track LP also peppers vocal samples from Fela Kuti, The Last Poets and Quentin Tarantino‘sDjango Unchained. Click here to read more.. »

Kasai Allstars “Beware the Fetish” (Crammed Discs)

The Guardian.com

Six years after their debut album, the Kinshasa-based collective are back with a double album of lengthy, hypnotic songs that provide a furious reminder of the wilder side of Congolese music. Kasai Allstars are a 16-piece band made up of five different groups from the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, joined here by an extra 24 guest musicians. All of the tracks involve chanting, an insistent array of percussion and relentless riffs from guitars, xylophones and the amplified, distorted likembethumb piano. There are some extraordinary moments, from the unaccompanied chanting and likembe workout on Thus Spoke the Ancestors to the suitably spooky and edgy title track. Several of the musicians took part in the Congotronics vs Rockers project three years ago, along with members of Konono No 1, their producer Vincent Kenis and singer Juana Molina, and the final track is a suitably frantic reminder of that tour. Play it very loud.

Robin Denselow