Who is Nneka?

Toast is the resident logistician for LxNxM and according to the stats y’all are showing us more love – I just want to say we appreciate each one of you. This creative endeavor has brought our crew closer, and our ideas have only start to take root…

Keeping the love going, I have been mesmerized by the next level soulstress Nneka. We mentioned Nneka a few months back vis-à-vis a collaborative mixtape she dropped with tastemaker J.Period titled The Madness (Onye-Ala).

Nneka has experienced a much deserved rise to global status since then.  The Nigerian-German/Nigeria- raised singer has landed a song “Viva Africa” on LISTEN UP! the official FIFA 2010 World Cup soundtrack, she also just joined Nas and Damian Marley on the Distant Relatives tour – making me regret missing their Seattle stop even more.

There is something higher about Nneka’s music. An anthropologist by training, she resonates her human experience to the listener with poetic clarity – in my humble opinion she is definitely channeling something the world needs in her music. Check out Nneka’s official site to cop her first U.S. release, Concrete Jungle and learn more about this visionary artist.

Nneka x J. Period – The Madness (Onye-Ala)

Tastemaker J. Period has blessed us with another heater of a mixtape.  This time he teamed up with the Nigerian-German artist Nneka, who is new to my ears but has been doing her thing, for the most part outside of the US, since 2003.  This is definitely worth the free download, and it’s a great introduction to someone that I hope to see a lot more of in the future.

A seasoned performer, songwriter and winner of the 2009 MOBO Award, Nneka presents The Madness (Onye-Ala) as an introduction to her first US album, Concrete Jungle in stores February 2, 2010 on Yo Mama/Decon/Epic. The album is collection of tracks detailing her personal experience growing up in Nigeria, the corruption and beauty found there and the universal themes of love, growth, and seeking the ultimate truths. The Madness (Onye-Ala) is a peek into the life and sounds of Nneka, as well as a tribute to the influence Hip Hop has had on her music.

Download The Madness (Onye-Ala) here (right click, save as), and check out more J.Period & Nneka downloads here.  Tracklist and videos after the jump.

The Messengers

Thanks to the homie Gabriel Teodros for hooking up this link through the facebook a couple months ago.  I should have posted it sooner.

The Messengers

Acclaimed DJ/Producer, J.Period, and rising Somali-born MC, K’NAAN, are pleased to announce a unique and powerful remix project, paying tribute to the lasting legacy of these musical giants. Weaving afro-beat, reggae, ska, folk music and rock into this genre-bending musical experience, The Messengers stretches the boundaries of hip hop—and the mixtape genre itself. Remixing the classic work of Fela, Marley and Dylan, The Messengers captures the timelessness of their sounds and the continued urgency of their messages. The result, as fans have come to expect from J.Period, is like no mixtape you’ve ever heard.