MCK.

Angola needs more artists So, we met. He's young. Tall. Slim. Thoughtful. Clever. Gentle. What more could you want? And he's brave. I've written to Stern's suggesting they sell his music. They should. People would buy it, and like it. It's good. Good tunes, and good words. Might even say brilliant. I've listened to the whole album, Nutrição Espiritual, and liked it all, but a few really stood out. The last bonus track - Duas faces da mesma moeda (Two sides of the same coin) - is a brilliant argument about socialism and capitalism. One voice shouting out all the awfulness that has happened under socialism here, taking Castro down with him; the other voice shouting down the ghastliness of capitalism, the wild brutal greed. It's quick, engaging and so bloody true. I'm sorry to bring things down, but I found myself chuckling the second time I listened through, reflecting on a truly awful debate I heard in Cambridge (yes, the university) with students - did someone say they're the *best* in the world? - discussing economics. It was appalling. Dreadful. Ignorant. Shameful. And here I am, in Luanda, listening to a young rapper, taking the ideologies to pieces, dissecting theory and fact superbly, quickly, swiftly and, heck, musically too. Ey pah. Another one I like is track one, Palavras de abertura (Opening words), with a great line about the great Starlet, a car for which I have a personal soft spot, and another cracker: We're going to take down the party flags and raise up our brains. Track 2 sampling Salif Keita's Moussolou is very beautiful, musically, with slow rhythmic claps kicking in, and more good good truths coming through, coming through, and a chorus from Beto de Almeida that takes you so far down you wonder if you can keep listening: I'm going to laugh so I don't cry/ But one day in my life/ I'm going to sing in order not to think about all the bad stuff in this life. It's about an average day for a student in Luanda: strikes, police, teachers not teaching etc. I could keep going down the list: track 3 is fab, as is track 4, and then track 5 takes you away again, up high, with samples from the wonderful Oumou Sangare. This works: the Angolan rap and the more traditional West African mixes. Not mad about track 6, but quickly rescued in 7 with Algo a dizer (Something to say) and the lovely Toya Alexandre's chorus. You want to keep pressing repeat. It goes on... track 14 I love... superb casual piano sloping and slopping and more lush lyrics that should slap you in the face even if you are only half awake. And that goes to You too. Yes, You. I'm going to stop. Get hold of Stern's and tell them to get hold of the music. If you don't understand Portuguese, don't worry: find someone who does. On the left, Luís Diogo da Silva, artist and car-cleaner. On the right, MCKatrogipolongopongo, rapper and philosophy student. 'Art gives me freedom. Angola needs artists as much as businessmen.' 'Angola has 18 provinces, not just Luanda.' 'Angola doesn't have an owner, she belongs to all of us.' fonte: http:/unstrung.blogspot.com