Search - Nneka :: No Longer At Ease

She will blow your mind!!

Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 07/15/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Nneka is a 26 year old Nigerian/German singer/songwriter with her musical influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Bob Marley to Lauryn Hill. Her music is an eclectic hybrid of Dub, Soul, Hip Hop and even Electronica and Rock, with mostly socially conscious lyrics touching on hardship and injustice in Nigeria and often interjecting Biblical quotes.



Opening cut "Death" is a lilting Dub with echoing effects. The lovely "Heartbeat" features tinkling ivories and skittery beats. "Mind Vs heart" is a breezy Soul song with sprinklings of guitar, while "Walking" is Reggae with a traditional Gospel feel with inspirational lyrics about the walk/struggle black people have to make.



"Suffri" (meaning softly) is sung in Pidgin English with lyrics touching on the ills in Nigeria; electoral malpractice, the rich oppressing the poor, etc. "Come with me" is an acoustic Folky song with her vocals gaining intensity towards the end against a wall of harmonies. "Gypsy" has a Dub feel with Hip hop beats. "Halfcaste" is somber Hip hop with Nneka rapping autobiographical lyrics.



Touching on the tough life on the streets is the Reggae-ish "Street lack love" with sprinklings of tenor sax delicately floating in the background, while the self explanatory horn-peppered Reggae of "Niger delta" talks of the destruction and neglect of that region of Nigeria in the process of getting oil. "From Africa" is rhythmic traditional Igbo music sung in Pidgin English.



My favourites are the slowed down Rock-tinged "Running away" (sung in a delicate upper register - think Debbie Harry on the chorus of Blondie's "Rapture"), the even Rockier "Focus" (with rapped/sung lyrics and Monk-style choir harmonies), and the absolutely stunning "Deadly connection" (again sung in that delicate upper register and adorned with hand claps and a jittery bassline and some fuzzy effects providing a backdrop for the Pidgin English-sung chorus).



Her experimentation is reminiscent of Erykah Badu. "No longer at ease" is her sophomore disc (her debut was 2005s "Victim of truth" which I shall seek out) and I highly recommend this to any lover of good music. Brilliant!!

"