The Very Best: Warm Heart of Africa

Afro-pop dons neon-pink scrunchie, heads to club, gets down to geopolitical rap

While I never needed to hear the T-Pain Auto-Tune vocal effect in Chichewa, the beats and hooks on this collaboration between Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and London-based DJ/producer duo Radioclit are inventive enough to forgive the occasional overindulgence. Featuring guest vocals from M.I.A. and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, Warm Heart’s Afro-pop jams are influenced by both the polished pop of American and British ’80s groups and the more aggressive side of the modern global discotheque.

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