Pop culture can be as forbidding as it is inviting, particularly in areas that invite geeky obsession: The more devotion a genre or series or subculture inspires, the easier it is for the uninitiated to feel like they’re on the outside looking in. But geeks aren’t born; they’re made. And sometimes it only takes the right starting point to bring newbies into various intimidatingly vast obsessions. Gateways To Geekery is our regular attempt to help those who want to be enthralled, but aren’t sure where to start. Want advice? Suggest future Gateways To Geekery topics by emailing [email protected].
Geek obsession: Vintage Afro-pop
Why it’s daunting: African pop encompasses dozens of styles, hundreds of artists, thousands of recordings, and of course any number of foreign languages. There are many reasons to take the plunge, but almost as many reasons African pop tends to make inroads among American music lovers only via well-known performers like Paul Simon. Granted, the Nigerian Afrobeat of Fela Kuti (and his sons Femi and Seun), with its feet in American jazz and funk and pidgin English lyrics, and the entrancing Zulu a cappella chorale Ladysmith Black Mambazo (via Simon’s Graceland) have made their mark, and the knotty, Arabic-tinged Ethiopiques series has become something of an indie-rock staple. But with the boost provided by the passel of Fela reissues from a decade ago, and with a number of excellent compilation series currently available—not to mention those from the ’80s and ’90s, most sadly out of print—there are any number of ways to dip one’s toes into an immeasurably rich area, especially for those who like complex beats and guitars going every which way. And no, there isn’t any one kind of “Afro-pop”—it’s shorthand. To hear the best of it is to want to get more specific quickly enough.
Possible gateways: The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto (Earthworks, 1985); Golden Afrique Vol. 2 (Network, 2005); The Best Best Of Fela Kuti (Barclay/Universal, 2000)
Why: These three compilations beautifully lay out three of the continent’s important pop sensibilities. The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto introduced many Anglophone fans to the stirring, hard-loping township jive (mbaqanga) that ruled apartheid-era South Africa; it’s one of the all-time great compilations, moving like a single thing up to the a cappella Ladysmith hymn that ends it. Every song is great. Repeat: every song.