You know it’s true - it’s mad crazy right now for an African. Flee by boat from corruption and poverty only to get baseball batted by some Italian kids? The trip from Africa to Europe is ill. With a shock of hair and packing a little punch, singer Nneka hops between her mother’s Germany and her father’s Nigeria regularly. Everywhere in between she chants righteous frustration as if her name were Lauryn Marley. Let mixtape king J. Period start you on your trip before Nneka’s appearance on David Letterman with the songbook “The Madness.”
J. Period is a sleepy-eyed bandit - the last five years have seen him touring with Kanye, K’Naan, P. Diddy, and Lauryn Hill while churning out smart, episodic mixes of the Roots, Biggie Smalls, Q-Tip and many, many others. His “The Messengers” mix for K’Naan (FREE) was pretty special, making work with Nneka seem inevitable. “The Madness” splices elements of her upcoming US release Concrete Jungle with some Big Boi, Nas, and elder statesman Fela (from beyond the grave).
Nneka’s reedy chant-sing style is more urgent than beautiful. She’s on a mission to chant down Big Oil corruption in Nigeria, saving some choice words for Europe as well. With a whiff of roots reggae and a Fugees aftertaste, Nneka is a youthful vintage that’s been paired well with thick slabs of heady nostalgia. The “Walking” remix, a mixtape highlight, drops a shantytown on Lil’ Mama’s “Lip Gloss,” turning the MAC/ L’Oreal ad into a call to arms. “The Madness” positions Nneka like a nested rook, a useful roll player in the African diaspora’s new music assault.
Nneka’s Concrete Jungle is in stores
Catch Nneka on “David Letterman” on CBS February 3 and on her US tour through February 14
Get your currency converter out and pick up the sweatshirt.
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