Bantu (album)


BANTU is a self titled international debut studio album by BANTU. It was released in 2004 on Nitty Gritty Music. The album features Adé Bantu and his brother Don Abi aka Abiodun sharing lead vocal duties on all songs. The subject matter of the album centers around Pan Africanism, racism, xenophobia, love and a strong yearning for home. Most of the lyrics on BANTU are in English. A few choruses are sung in Yoruba while Pidgin English is interspersed to create a distinct Nigerian flavor. Other languages sung or rapped in by guest vocalists include Wolof, Spanish, Swahili and German. The album BANTU also features a remake of the Third World 1983 classic ″Lagos Jump The album was described by music critic Karsten Frehe as a colourful mix of Afrobeat, Pop, a little Reggae, Funk, Soul & Hip Hop

Recording and production

The album BANTU was recorded over a two year period with various producers based in Germany. Production duties where handled by Rub Nuca, Beatschmieda, Trulaikes, Pionear and BANTU band member Don Abi. The production style of the album is a combination of programmed beats, samples and live instruments played by studio musicians notably amongst them are Jamaican drummer Sly Dunbar and Peter Tosh guitarist Earl "Chinna" Smith who both feature on the song ″Omowale″. Guests vocalists include African Rap pioneers Positive Black Soul and Pee Froiss from Senegal on ″One Vibe One Flow Pt.2″, Sami Sosa who raps in German on ″How Many MC's″, Kenyan-Rwandan sisters Sonia & Priti Kaitesi handling lead or chorus duties on and Cuban singer Mirta Junco Wambrug. The album Introduced “The Sound Of Fufu” a term coined by Adé Bantu to classify BANTU's genre of music which is a combination of Hiphop, Dancehall and Afrofunk elements

Track listing

  1. Lagos Jump 3:29
  2. Dance To My Boogie 3:52
  3. No More No Vernacular 4:37
  4. Omowale 4:09
  5. Add Subtract 3:46
  6. Ilé 4:57
  7. Temperature's Boiling 4:24
  8. One Vibe One Flow 4:34
  9. Watchout 4:34
  10. How Many MC's 4:05
  11. Blood A GO Run 4:39
  12. Me, You & The Moonlight 4:58

    Musicians

– Lead vocals, Backing vocals

Don Abi aka Abiodun – Lead vocals, Backing vocals

Mirta Junco Wambrug – lead vocals, Backing vocals

Daniella Sonia Kaitesi – lead vocals, Backing vocals

Tesiree Priti Kaitesi – lead vocals, Backing vocals

Sami Sosa - Rap

Positive Black Soul - Rap

Pee Froiss - Rap

Carlos Robalo - Backing vocals

Blain Paulos - Backing vocals

Reiner Witzel - Saxophone & Flute

Sebi Duwelt - Keyboards

Bernd Keul - Bass

Manougazou - Guitar

Sly Dunbar - Drums

Earl ″Chinna″ Smith - Guitar

Donald Dennis - Keyboards, Bass

Tunji Beier - Talking drum, Percussion

Joseph Kirschgen - Drums

Florain Beckman - Trumpet

Domee - Scratches