Non-profit AIDS relief organization Red Hot has a history of releasing great benefit albums, most notably 2009's Dark Was the Night, which had a guest list that read like a Who's Who of Indie Rock. For the organization's latest compilation album, Red Hot has gathered an eclectic mix of musicians from America and Africa to cover songs by the late Fela Kuti, who died of complications from AIDS in 1997.
Among a mix of African musicians that include former Fela Kuti bandmate Tony Allen, Red Hot + Fela features well-known Indie and Hip Hop artists like tUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Childish Gambino, My Morning Jacket, Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard, TV on the Radio's Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe, and Chance the Rapper. The album offers an interesting and lively update to Kuti's Afrobeat sound, provided by a cast of musicians whose careers are in some way influenced by the Nigerian music legend. It's well worth your time (and money, should you choose to purchase it).
If you like it, you should buy it from Knitting Factory Records. View the Red Hot + Fela tracklist below.
1. Baloji & L’Orchestre de la Katuba [ft. Kuku] - “Buy Africa”
2. tUnE-yArDs, ?uestlove, Angelique Kidjo, & Akua Naru - “Lady”
3. Spoek Mathambo & Zaki Ibrahim - “Yellow Fever”
4. Nneka, Sinkane, Amayo & Superhuman Happiness - “No Buredi”
5. Just a Band & Childish Gambino - “Who No Know Go No”
6. My Morning Jacket, Merrill Garbus, Brittany Howard - “Trouble Sleep Yanga Wake Am”
7. Kyp Malone, Tunde Adebimpe, Kronos Quartet, Stuart Bogie - “Sorrow Tears and Blood”
8. Superhuman Happiness, Sahr Ngaujah, Abena Koomson, Rubblebucket - “ITT”
9. Tony Allen, M1, Baloji - “Afrodisco Beat 2013″
10. Just A Band, Bajah, Chance the Rapper - “Gentleman”
11. GendEr Infinity - “Hi Life Time”
12. Spoek Mathambo, Cerebral Cortex, Frown - “Zombie”
13. King - “Go Slow”
