If you’re a regular reader, then you know we love Nigerian-German songstress Nneka. Her new album, Concrete Jungle, has been out for a few months and she’s now on tour with Nas and Damian Marley, aka Distant Relatives. A product of that collaboration is a remix of Nneka’s “Heartbeat” featuring Nas. I like. A lot.
Download it here.
h/t @olaTUNJI
The Super Eagles are kicking off against Greece shortly, so today’s 2010 World Cup music moment comes from Nneka. She’s got a song, “Viva Africa,” on Listen Up, the official 2010 FIFA World Cup album. Here’s the just-released video. We like Nneka around here, but this song and video get a *Kanye shrug* from me. The kids are cute though.
Last night, BBC Radio One premiered an hour-long documentary on the story of modern “African” music, hosted by UK-based Kenyan DJ Edu (whose weekly show, Destination Africa on Radio 1Xtra, I’ve been listening to for a few years now).
Singer Nneka (who is a great talent but always nervous in interviews) rambles on a bit about her name and her father before talking about oil politics, the Niger Delta, the Ogoni and Ken Saro Wiwa. Timely of course given the constitutional crisis in the country.
* Incidentally, this is from Youtube’s Causecast Channel, about which I don’t know enough yet, but looks like a place where entertainers and celebrities announce themselves on “causes.”
Interview with Nigerian singer, Nneka, about her new album (the cover of which is striking) by my friend, Siddhartha Mitter, in “The Boston Globe” this weekend.
Her US tour dates are now available.
* The video above for her single “Kangpe” was filmed in Cote d’Ivoire.
Nneka is like the Angelique Kidjo of hipsters. [Liz at Rivvmixx reminds me that Nneka is also about to collaborate with The Roots.]
Download her mixtape with J Period here.
