America’s Well Grounded harnesses a minimal Afrobeat-meets-reggae groove to propel “Humble Me,” a tune of self-examination that’s dance worthy and lyrically wise.
Ingenious Afrobeat Encounter with Reggae
Category: Single reviews
Reviews of single recordings
Pan-Lusophone sounds by Cacha Mundinho
Netherlands-based band Cacha Mundinho mixes layers of Lusophone influence and jazz rhythms on the delightful “Flor de Cereja.”
Latvian Cross-cultural Mix by DJ Bestixxx
You likely wouldn’t expect music from Latvia to be an intriguingly chill mix of hip hop with acoustic textures and sounds borrowed from Celtic and…
Cool Latin jazz vibes by Hank Hensley
“Hips and Brown Eyes” (from the album Straight No Cover) are clearly important attributes to American artist Hank Hensley, whose thusly named Latin jazz instrumental…
Tae’s Effective Afro-Rooted Grooves
A Nigerian called Tae mixes touches of Afropop and hip hop on “About Us.” The song itself could afford to groove much longer than it…
Classic Reggae from Luxembourg
Ah, Luxembourg, an epicenter of reggae music. No? I guess nobody told that to Le Vibe, whose track “Nobody Knows” handily echoes the classic Jamaican…
Substantial Reggae by Togo’s Yao Olagbedji
African reggae has always been a robust genre, and it gets an even bigger boost on “Sunday Morning” by Yao Olagbedji, who hails from Togo.
Adam Raad’s Soulful Reggae Reflections
His background is Lebanese/West African/Canadian, his song “Reminisce” is a powerful piece of heart-searching reggae, and Adam Raad has got my attention.
Portugal’s Retimbrar Unleashes a Fusion of Tradition and Innovation
Portugal’s Retimbrar takes their nation’s traditional music and lets it run through their own crisp compositions. “Maneio” (from the album Levantar do Chão) shows how…
Temidayo Balogun’s Enchanting Pan-African Jazz Journey
It may be his use of the talking drum that makes him sound at once the Nigerian he is, but the African jazz piece “Ìbà”…