Flag42; 2015
The good people at Flag 42 have been churning out some interesting stuff of late. The label’s musical diversity has been well demonstrated by its recent string of releases, including Jemedari’s Coastal-themed Msenangu, Rosa’s Mr. DJ and newer rap and trap sounds in Tuko Juu, Siku Hizi, and the scathing Uvece.
Their latest release, Ngayo by Jerry featuring Benady, Phonez, Jemedari and Kimathi, hits us with throwback rhumba sample and takes us a little further back in time when lingala and rhumba dominated Kenyan dancefloors.
The instantly recognizable sample is from Congolese singer-songwriter and member of Franco’s TPOK Jazz Madilu System’s Ya Jean, a track that was hugely popular when it was released in the early 90s and remains a strong favourite among lingala and rhumba die-hards.
THE BOTTOM LINE
It’s always nice to see labels and artists dusting off those old records and rejuvenating some classic tunes. Flag 42 are becoming pretty adept at this. Check out another equally interesting Bob Marley -Tom Mboya sampling effort of theirs here.