In A Long Way To The Beginning, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 aim to reshape Fela's politically-charged afrobeat for the modern ear. The group's highly-anticipated third studio album, co-produced by Robert Glasper, is a relentless 7-track excursion into horns, drums and call and response. Glasper's keyboard appears on several tracks, while additional collaborations arrive throughout the release from M-1 of Dead Prez ("IMF"), Nigerian songstress Nneka ("Black Woman"), and Ghanaian/NY rapper Blitz the Ambassador ("African Smoke"). The album's combination of classic afrobeat sounds and contemporary social commentary is most apparent on lead single "IMF (International Mother Fucker)," a horn-flanked jab at the International Monetary Fund's intervention on Nigerian economic and oil policies. Watch the video for "IMF" below and scroll down to see the band's upcoming North American tour dates along with our own NYC contest. Grab a copy of A Long Way To The Beginning, available on iTunes now from Knitting Factory Records.
>>>Buy Seun Kuti & Egypt 80's 'A Long Way To The Beginning' LP via iTunes
>>>Stream 'A Long Way To The Beginning' via NPR
>>>Enter to win tickets to Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 Live in NYC w/ Rich Medina
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 2014 Tour Dates:
06/10/14 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
06/11/14 Washington DC Howard Theatre
06/13/14 Manchester, TN Bonnaroo Festival
06/14/14 Black Mountain, NC Pisgah
06/17/14 San Diego, CA World Beat Center
06/19/14 San Francisco, CA SF Jazz Center
06/20/14 Boonville, CA Sierra Nevada World Fest
06/21/14 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst
06/22/14 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
06/28/14 Somerset, UK Glastonbury Festival
07/11/14 Quebec City, QC Festival d’ete International De Quebec
07/12/14 Toronto, ON Phoenix
07/13/14 Detroit, MI Concert of Colors
07/14/14 Chicago, IL Concord
07/15/14 Iowa City, IA Englert
07/16/14 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
07/20/14 Vancouver, BC Vancouver Folk
07/21/14 Seattle, WA Neumos
07/22/14 Portland, OR Star Theatre
07/23/14 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
07/24/14 Missoula, MT Top Hat
