Femi Kuti: Shoki Shoki

Musically inclined children of pop stars face a lot of pressure to perform up to the standards set by their famous parents. Yet those expectations increase considerably when your father is not just a potent musical force, but a legendary folk hero and revolutionary, as well. Surely, Femi Kuti—scion of the great Nigerian Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti, who died in 1997—understands that the path he's chosen will invite countless comparisons to his father. But, to his credit, he displays so much confidence that any concerns he may harbor are deeply hidden beneath his exuberance. Shoki Shoki arrives on these shores at an interesting time: Femi Kuti's native land is in worse condition than even Fela ever saw, with AIDS, poverty, and corruption tearing Nigeria apart. Yet a newfound sense of globalism has lent such strife more universality than it might have been afforded 20 years ago: For once, the West seems not only in tune with international music, but with the politics and problems of other countries. Femi Kuti takes advantage of the new global stage in ways his father never really attempted, embracing Western dance music, hip-hop, and technology without compromising the purity of his passionate music. Shoki Shoki simplifies and stylizes the funky, percussive rave-ups of Fela (which often took half an hour to build up steam) into more concentrated bursts of energy and syncopation that somehow never sound too short. "Victim Of Life" fits several breakdowns, sax solos, and slogans into six minutes, while "Blackman Know Yourself" sounds at times like The Jungle Brothers during the group's "Pass The Peas" peak. The rest of the album capably brings Afro-beat big-band music into the present, with songs ranging from the sexualized throb of "Beng Beng Beng" to the conspicuously minor-key "Sorry Sorry." While Femi isn't as wild as his father, with Shoki Shoki he proves his skills as a bandleader, using rhythm as a platform for politics without neglecting the propulsive point of the beat. Fela Kuti would be proud that his son has set the world dancing once again.