On my last five out, I’m sure Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Noir Desir, and Wilburys will show up in some top 31s; so, will instead share a bit about the two that may be more unlikely to do so (but maybe will pleasantly happy to see them do so)…. I’ve got a iTunes playlist of my most favorite African songs that I’ve been assembling over the years and listen to regularly (mostly Afrobeat, Afrofunk, or High-Life from 70s from Western Africa). A decent amount of my US list was US artists who borrowed some of the African influences; I gravitate a bit to the source too. As I already revealed my country-by-country, a handful did make my final 31. Soul Makossa and Sweet Mother were a couple that were in some iterations of my 31 that just missed in the end.
If you’ve never heard Soul Makossa, if you’ve heard Michael Jackson’s Wanna Be Starting Something or Rihanna’s Don’t Stop the Music, you might recognize it (Dibango sued both). It’s got a funky beat, that is a combo of brass and electric bass.
Sweet Mother is sometimes called Africa’s Anthem; it is one of the most popular songs in African music history. More in the High-Life genre — great guitar melody with the conga drum accompaniment. I put down for Nigeria, but Cameroon claims it too.