Rating: * * * *
No surprises Fela Ransome Kuti, the Godfather of Afrobeat, is first up on this collection with the rump-shaking Who're You?. In fact, the latest compilation in the Nigeria Special series is inspired by Kuti and his big brassy bands Nigeria 70 and The Africa 70 who combined traditional Nigerian music, the modern highlife style, and jazz and funk to create the influential sound.
Long epic tracks are often the norm in Afrobeat. However, the remarkable thing is how blokes like Kuti and like-minded souls Saxon Lee (Mind Your Business) and Eric Showboy Akaeze (with the 10-minute cheek-rattler We Dey Find Money) keep the tracks tight and relentlessly funky.
Cuts like Ariwoo Yaa, by Bob Ohiri and Uhuru Sounds, has squally jazz and quavering psychedelics throughout but a tight melodic groove holds the song together to make it mesmerising despite the din.
There is little let-up across 11 tracks, from the jaunty, near-reggae chink of Mad Man Jaga's Hankuri, to through the brassy rumba of Do The Affro Shuffle, to Black Santiago's organ-fuelled Ole.
The perfect mantra for this is don't stop 'til you get enough.
Scott Kara
