Zé Manel - Africa Unite (Maron di Mar 2001)

Artist: Zé Manel
Title of the song: "Africa Unite"
Name of the album: "Maron di Mar"
Release date: 2001

Lead vocal: Zé Manel
Background vocal 1: Dimita Batise
Background vocal 2: John "Dubi" Hampton
Drums: Zé Manel
Percussion: Zé Manel
Bass guitar: Dennis Smith
Rhythm guitar: Zé Manel
Piano: Steve Carter
Synth harmonica: Zé Manel
Music: Zé Manel
Lyric: Zé Manel

Singer and multi-instrumentalist, Zé Manel is the most famous and influential contemporary musician to emerge from the West African country of Guinea-Bissau. By the age of seven, Zé, playing drums and acoustic guitar, had become the main attraction of Super Mama Djombo band. During the 1970's, this seminal orchestra played a major role in the liberation struggle of this former Portuguese colony.
In 1982, Zé released his first solo album "Tustumunhos di Aonti" (Yesterday's Testimony), which sounded the alarm over the formation of a new repressive ruling class in Guinea-Bissau. The album was a national event (people in Guinea-Bissau today still sing the songs from this soulful, relevant album), but the political environment was heating up and Manel's fans were concerned for his safety. Manel fled his homeland. This self-exile took him to Portugal, France and, finally, the United States.
His American debut album, "Maron di Mar" on Cobiana Records and released in 2001, was an instant success. It received rave reviews from European and American media and was nominated for best album at the All African Kora Music Awards in South Africa, and best world music album at the Just Plain Folks Music Awards in the USA.
He returns with a new album "African Citizen" on the M10 label. His message in the title track is more global. Zé calls for African unity, peace, and stability on all the continents. He delivers his messages in the most beguiling of tenor voices accompanied by his acoustic guitar and percussion. In this latest release, Zé's uniquely innovative talent expands the boundaries of both traditional and contemporary Guinea-Bissau dance music, creating a new musical genre that is urban yet profoundly steeped in the roots of his homeland.
In 2004 the CD "African Citizen" won best album and best song of the year in the African music category.
This is an organization which instead of having Corporate sponsorship, is put together by Songwriters, Recording Artists, Music Publishers, Record Labels and others in the Music Industry.
He performed a stirring rendition of the winning song Voz do Sangue with his band at the award ceremony in Los Angeles and was presented with the two awards.
Sung in many languages (Kriol, Portuguese, English, and French), the lyrics are as declamatory and inflammatory as his rhythms are infectiously danceable. Zé sings of love for family and friends, respect for women, compassion for children, social justice, and he poignantly describes the ravages of poverty, prostitution, AIDS, and the dictatorships that repress the advancement of people. Zé said he faced the challenge of blending cultures while preserving his own. "I am respecting our traditional music, but we want to make more progress towards meeting other cultures".
The album was recorded in the United States with guest artists from around the world. African Citizen reflects Zé's dream of cultural fusion : one world, one people, many voices.

Buy his music and read more at http://www.zemanel.com/

• Category

  Music

[neuroanimal]

Corruption is a disease in African government. Dictatorship is a disease in the African continent. That's why we have a war, a starvation, instability. We gotta unite, there's no other choice, to save the continent, to save our people. Nations of the South Africa, North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, All Africa - Unite. War in the North, in the Southern Africa world, in the East, in the West, in the Central Africa world. Can somebody help stop the fighting?

[Michael J Caboose]

Shut the fuck up.

[jackmandjak]

Big up! Zé Manel

[Debra Tejada]

To stop the fighting you need the corrupted leaders to leave and get a better generation of leaders who do not fall under the "French" demands. France along with the corrupted leaders are stealing all the resources from Africa and pocketing the money while African people are starving. No one should be starving in Africa, they are self sustaining if people are not stealing their resources.

[Debra Tejada]

I am amazed how ignorant people can be. There is disease there because they do not have the resources there like other countries and continents. Educate yourself before you tell them to stand up and rid themselves of disease and stop depending on others. The French have destroyed many countries in Africa....do your homework.

[OilyBoily84]

The time will come when we have to start working as equals or rather all sufficient and share a focus together so that we build this earth without the neccessaty to judge. Judging and controll just shows one thing, lack of self insight.

[OilyBoily84]

The Africans being in poor condiations does not and have never lacked anything inside, it's just the europeans had more focus in the materialistic pursuit so some dark forces, what we call for ex the Illuminati, used that to create a slave force in America. The thing is all things change and when the focus comes to Africa they will rise and by then many white people might have lost their focus thus the powerbalance have shifted.