On
One Foundation, reggae band
O'Yaba incorporates elements of African pop as well as American pop/R&B, and the result is a CD that, despite its imperfections, is fairly fresh-sounding. Some of the material is a bit innocuous, but when
O'Yaba addresses social and political issues, its songs can be memorable. "Tell Me Mama," for example, is sung from the perspective of a disenchanted child whose natural father is no longer around, and who finds his mother's live-in boyfriend to be cold to him and less than father-like. Almost as strong are the socio-political reflections of "Armageddon" and the title song. Meanwhile,
O'Yaba's cover of
Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" is likable, though it falls short of excellent. For the most part,
One Foundation isn't a great album, but it's decent more often than not, and it indicated that
O'Yaba was a band to keep an eye on. ~ Alex Henderson