I managed to get a hold of this album last year, two years after it's release, thanks to a friend of mine who recommended the song 'Heartbeat' which blew me away straight away. Since then I've been listening to Nneka pretty much all the time and have absolutely fallen in love with her latest album 'Concrete Jungle' (2010), her music and her voice.
Nneka, a beautiful young and talented Nigerian-German woman (aged 31), not only has amazingly diverse rhythms and melodies in each of her songs but she also sings about issues that truly matter - poverty, loss of spirituality in the modern age, greed, the problems that persist in the African continent and subjects that touch everyone's heart and soul.
Her music makes you want to get up and move as well as think about problems that persist across the globe. Her album is about fighting for who you are and not denying your history or giving into pressure. There are such a mix of genres in this album ranging from soul, rap, reggae, hip-hop, acoustic, blues and she has successfully managed to combine these genres together to create a very funky sound. Listen to it and make up your own mind. Turn that bass up and enjoy!
Although I love the entire album, my favourites so far are Suffri, Walking and Come with me.
No one has said it so well in a while...
or should I say sang it...
