Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sound of the Underground Lagos Dance Floor 1974-1979
Let’s be real for a moment–I don’t know much about the sound of the underground Lagos Dance Floor during the years 1974-1979. The truth is those years were a blur for me, what with the fall-out from Watergate, the quaalude abuse and my unseemly fixation with disco, Suzanne Somers, and Farah Fawcet. It was terrible. The definition of insanity is watching hundreds of episodes of Three’s Company and expecting them to turn out differently. Dammit Jack Tripper, why won’t you just tell Mr. Roper you’re not gay! He seems swinging and open-minded. He’s wearing a leisure suit for chrissakes! But I digress.
So Nigerian disco-funk. Right. Totally passed me by. However, I have been developing a nasty addiction to this stuff these days. It might not be as good as ludes but it’s close. And you can drive while listening to Nigerian disco-funk, which is always a plus. According to Dusty Groove, these tunes are the “kind of upbeat jamming funk performed in Lagos clubs and bars at the time…a distillation of the longer grooves of Fela, pushed a bit towards an American funk sound too.” If the music is any indication, Lagos clubs and bars must have been a good time between 1974-1979. Call me crazy, but I’d rather hear this stuff than Flo Rida’s “Low” played ad infinitum. Then again, there was that whole Nigerian civil war going on, which I imagine probably put a damper on the festivities.
Some of the political instability weaves its way into the fabric of the record, with T-Fire (presumably, T-Pain’s more talented African cousin) dropping the triumphalist, “Will of the People,” and Bongos Ikwue & The Groovies’ “message of uplift in “You’ve Got to Help Yourself.” The latter is a pretty awesome song, but I would’ve expected a man named Bongos to have included more bongos. I highly recommend this record if you like funk music, dancing, or Three’s Company. This is the sort of stuff they were bumping at the Regal Beagle after-hours. Shit, give Larry Dallas an 8-ball and some African disco-funk and clear your dance floor.
Buy Nigeria Disco Funk Special
Download:
MP3: Jay U Experience-”Some More”
MP3: S Job Movement-”Love Affair”
April 17th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
The Nigerian Civil War [Biafran Secession] raged from 1966-69, and hinged on oil, north/south representation,successive military coups, and God knows what else. At it’s end, over a million Igbo had died. As usual, the supporters of either side were drawn from a fine collection, including the US, France, Britain, the USSR and South Africa.
By the mid 70’s the oil money was enriching the well-connected and utterly bypassing the Niger Delta. Corruption was endemic.
Nigerian popular culture had a lot to say about it via cabaret and catchy melody. Afro-pop superstar Fela Kuti was prominent in his marathon musical condemnations– “Army Arrangement”, “ITT”, “International Sufferhead” come to mind. His outspoken-ness earned him an assault on his family compound in Lagos, and then a jail sentence. Amnesty Int’l took up his cause, and he was released.
But yes, anything beats any version of “Lo Rida” spun into infinity.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Hot shit! Nothing like a little Naija jamming to get the adrenaline flowing.
As for Nigeria, well we could spend hours, days, weeks, months, years talking about the instability. What does it say that the men Fela called out in “Army Arrangement” back in 1984- Obasanjo and Yar’Adua are the men who have been in power for the last 10 years. Obasanjo and Yar’Adua, neither of which are from the Niger Delta have been living fat off of the oil riches of the region, along with every other non-Igbo or non-Ijo in power.
Oh well- not much a college student in Baton Rouge, Louisiana can do about it for the moment.
Anyway, keep it coming.
April 18th, 2008 at 11:57 am
As urgent as I expected it to sound.
Thanks for turning me on.
April 18th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Yes! This compilation is incredible. And if it can get a lazy fuck such as myself to shake it, it must be doing something right.