Outside of Peruvian rap-rock, few genre tags raise eyebrows quite like the words "Nigerian disco." An African take on the 1970s' most reviled musical movement looks weird on paper, but a new compilation from Comb & Razor Sound shows how well it works in execution.
Brand New Wayo: Funk, Fast Times and Nigerian Boogie Badness 1979-1983 covers a short chunk of time in Nigeria's musical culture — one that might have lasted longer had the label spearheading the movement at the time, Phonodisk, not been so financially mismanaged.
The producers and musicians responsible for these 15 tracks took inspiration from where they could. Hints of Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and even The Bee Gees' Children of the World hang in the air. But a strong funk edge comes through in Segun Robert's "Big Race." The song's quick pace fits well with the words, which are about winning the race of life. Quirky keyboards fiddle away in the background as if George Clinton himself had written them, while the hard-nosed percussion helps form an undeniable groove. An irresistible funk workout, "Big Race" is what happens when you export an import.
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