Issued by UNI International,
African Consciences is a cutting-edge collection of modern urban music from, and inspired by, the African content of its most well-known young lions, all of them backed by the killer instrumental team of
Sly Dunbar,
Earl "Chinna" Smith, and
Donald Dennis. From
Anthony B.'s international dance/club hit "African Queen," as well as
Dead Prez with "Red, Black & Green," Mbegane N'dour, Ekoue, and Hame weigh in with Senegalese hip-hop, and the Suns of Light bring down the mean psychedelic Afro-soul from Gambia. Jamaica's
Sizzla enters the fray with the most inclusive track -- drop-down rub bass, electronic loops, Nambian hand percussion, reggae phrasing, and Ghanian guitar lines all wind their way into "Beautiful," which is the message of the entire proceeding here. This is a monster of a comp -- tough, street-smart, and full of sounds that de-emphasize the "classic" (the music white culture makes its claim for as authentic, and holds as some exotic ideal of "primitive" civilization) and presents the hip sounds of everyday life on the continent and in the international musical discourse of, by, and about the African diaspora in the 21st century -- for a change.