Fight to Win
For a long time,Femi Kutihas lived in  the shadow of his father, the late, greatFela Kuti. Femi's last  album,Shoki Shoki,  served notice that he was developing into a major force in his own right.Fight to Winis the man stepping into his maturity. From the killer funky  opening groove of "Do Your Best," this is a man with something to say, and the  voice and words to say it. "Traitors of Africa" is scathing in its damnation of  Nigerian politicians, while "One Day Someday" offers hope for the future.  Perhaps the most moving track, however, is the slower "'97," an impassioned and  understated memorial to the members of the Kuti family who died during that  year. Instrumentally, this is a much more sophisticated record, not so frantic,  but still twitching its hips and allowing Femi to show that he's become an  excellent saxophonist. Femi is, at this point, poised to become a music figure  on par withBob Marley: a  remarkable singer and songwriter who can stand as a voice for the downtrodden  around the world.--Chris Nickson