tUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo, & Akua Naru – Lady
Been meaning to post this for some time (grading kicked my ass all up and down the street the last couple of weeks. This is now the 2nd collection from the Red Hot organization, which does very fine work around the world on AIDS awareness, to feature the music of Nigerian legend Fela Kuti. In my opinion this one is a consistent improvement over the previous version which had more star power, but less quality. Here we find Baloji, M1 from Dead Prez, LA’s very own KING, master drummer Tony Allen, Sahr Ngaujah (who played Fela in the broadway musical), Kronos Quartet and members of My Morning Jacket, TV on The Radio and the Alabama Shakes paying tribute to the originator of Afrobeat. For me, the most interesting track is this version of “Lady,” the original of which had a killer rhythm but VERY troublesome lyrics denigrating African women who take on “western” aspects of femininity. With Angelique Kidjo and Akua Naru primarily on the vocals (along with Merrill from tUnE-yArDs) the lyrics become more playful and a song that could be described as “anti-feminist” becomes a feminist anthem. Highly recommended.