Starting around 1980 came the roots phase, championed by King Sunny Ade's percussion-heavy juju music. The music really moves, proving that good arrangements rather than force or bluster are what makes a groove deep. Keyboards, electric guitars and backbeat drums blend easily with the gossamer melodies of African instruments like the 21-string kora and the percolating wooden balafon. And Bambino's sweetly rendered vocal passion places him on the short list of world-class African singers. A lot of different eggs have been broken in the quest to turn this brand of roots music into universal pop.
Bambino reaps the rewards, serving up one very tasty omelet.
Khaled's voice is electrifying, almost fearsome in its grandeur, but still warm, even sentimental at times. Singers from the Arab-speaking world have always had the potential to rock, but they've usually been done in by production notions that don't travel well. Not so for Khaled. His stylistic vocabulary gracefully encompasses rock, soul, funk, rap and reggae. As for travel, it's been in Khaled's blood ever since he was forced into exile from his war-torn country a decade ago.