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01. KEZIAH JONES - Afronewave
02. KEZIAH JONES - Nollywoodoo
03. KEZIAH JONES - Hypothetical
04. KEZIAH JONES - Lunar
05. KEZIAH JONES - Utopia
06. KEZIAH JONES - Falling
07. KEZIAH JONES - Memory
08. KEZIAH JONES - Rugged
09. KEZIAH JONES - + The Free
10. KEZIAH JONES - Laughter
11. KEZIAH JONES - Praise
12. KEZIAH JONES - Angels+Devils
13. KEZIAH JONES - Postcolonialmothership
14. KEZIAH JONES - Ancestors
ARTIST
TITLE
Captain Rugged
FORMAT
LP+CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
BEC 5161671 BEC 5161671
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
1/7/2014

LP in a gatefold sleeve, comes with a CD (three bonus tracks included) and booklet. Introducing Captain Rugged. Five years after Nigerian Wood (2008), Keziah Jones is back with a personal and political project, wearing the outfit of an Afro-superhero (the "Captain Rugged" of the title), his quirky and socially-committed double. Nigerian, Afro-politan, universal, Captain Rugged tells us about modern Africa and its urban movements. He was born among the ghettos and skyscrapers of bustling Lagos, flying around in his cape and shaking the city with his angry beats: "Here I come, an Afro superhero, Captain Rugged," cries Keziah. This is a concept album in the shape of a manifesto. "I've been nurturing this character for the past 10 years. This superhero business is a satire on power, politics, and magic. I'm telling the epic story of refugees, immigration, and exile. I wanted to portray these personalities as particularly rugged and robust: they're survivors, superheroes... African superheroes. That was my ambition for this album." Keziah is following in the footsteps of Fela Kuti, a fellow countryman and great defender of pan-African-ism who was imprisoned several times for speaking against the Nigerian dictatorship. "I met Fela in the year before he died, and he emphasized the necessity of creating music that relates directly to reality." Lagos allowed Keziah to give life to Captain Rugged, a more powerful, outspoken and liberated avatar. Keziah Jones assesses the relationship between the northern and southern hemispheres. "What I want to show the world is the modernity of post-colonial Africa, far from the image that the Western world carries of a continent devastated by famine and/or war. I'm talking about young urban Africa: 20 million people live in Lagos! Modern contemporary African culture is a reality." Today, African culture has proven its vivacity and is nourished by the Diaspora. His music is blufunk, but with an infusion of a punk-funk attitude crossed with Yoruba rhythms. Recorded between London and Paris, mixed in New York, the album has a psychedelic quality that he sums-up with a rather engaging description: "George Clinton sharing a joint with Fela."