Femi Kuti - One People One World '2018

Tracks list

In the five years between Femi Kutis Grammy-nominated No Place for My Dream and
One People One World, hes been a busy man. He regularly performs at The Shrine,
the performance space he built as a memorial to his late father Fela Kuti, hes a
touring musician, and he also serves as a traveling ambassador for Amnesty
International. (He also found time in 2017 to break the Guinness world record
for the longest-held single note on a saxophone -- 51 minutes and 35 seconds.)

One People One World is Kutis tenth album with his longstanding band Positive
Force and its musical director and guitarist Opeyemi Awomolo. Unlike the
righteous anger that inspired almost all of his previous recordings, One People
One World is by contrast more affirmative; its celebratory without sacrificing
its activism. While Afrobeat is at the core of these 12 songs, Kuti picks up on
the mosaic he began weaving on No Place for My Dream by incorporating the
harmonies and rhythms of reggae, highlife, soul, R&B, hip-hop, and other global
sounds into its mix, adding depth and complexity without sacrificing immediacy
and accessibility. The title-track single commences with driving Afrobeat horns,
but the rest of the band erupts into calypso and highlife celebration as Kuti
and his backing singers deny racism, greed, and hatred the power to conquer the
earth. With an infectious, swinging organ, Africa Will Be Great Again is a
protest jam that details the corruption and greed that hold her back as a
continent, but its pulsing wave of salsa, soca, and highlife makes it an
irresistible anthem as Kuti posits the reclamation of the continent as the
cradle of civilization and the heartbeat of the world. The DAngelo-esque soul in
Its Best to Live on the Good Side is carried by slinky, bubbling basslines,
vamping R&B guitars, and a swirling organ. When the horns enter, thunder cracks
as circular drumming and percussion thread in Afro-Cuban (Yoruban) rhythms.
Second single Na Their Way Be That opens with cooking reggae before Femis
soulful saxophone solo and an Afrobeat chant cut in from the margin. Evil People
is stomping, funky R&B, fueled by J.B.s-style horns, layers of breakbeat drums,
chunky wah-wah guitar, and congas. Immediately following is Equal Opportunity,
where Kuti and his backing chorus evoke the celebratory vibe of Curtis Mayfields
Move on Up, and add jazzy Rhodes piano and Afrobeat horns and rhythms. Even
straight-up Afro-funk jams like Dem Militarize Democracy open to embrace driving
son rhythms, popping R&B basslines, and souled-out vocal and guitar choruses.
The dubwise soul of closer The Way Our Lives Go is the sets most poetic and
inspiring track. Kuti and Positive Force dont let up at all during One People
One World. Impeccably sequenced, it runs from strength to strength, dazzling
with expansive sonic textures, killer arrangements, and a musical genre palette
that exists seemingly without boundaries. As a recording artist, Kuti has been
reliably consistent, but this date is his masterpiece.

Tracklist:
01. Femi Kuti - Africa Will Be Great Again
02. Femi Kuti - Best To Live on the Good Side
03. Femi Kuti - One People One World
04. Femi Kuti - Na Their Way Be That
05. Femi Kuti - How Many
06. Femi Kuti - Evil People
07. Femi Kuti - Equal Opportunity
08. Femi Kuti - E Get As E Be
09. Femi Kuti - Corruption Na Stealing
10. Femi Kuti - Dem Don Come Again
11. Femi Kuti - Dem Militarize Democracy
12. Femi Kuti - The Way Our Lives Go (Rise and Shine)
13. Femi Kuti - E Dey Their Body
14. Femi Kuti - Too Much on My Mind

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