Apartheid Is Nazism

1	Afriki 5:06
2	Jah Houphouet 5:24
3	Apartheid Is Nazism 4:48
4	Idjidja 5:01
5	Sahel 4:10
6	Sebe Allah Y' E 4:45
7	Kiti 5:15
8	Come Back Jesus 5:33
9	Djinamory 4:40

Barnes & Noble

Like the man many thought he might succeed, Bob Marley, Ivory Coast's Alpha Blondy uses the reggae beat to fuel a pan-African political agenda. Backed by the estimable Solar System band, Blondy sings in French, English, Arabic, and his native Dioula and is one of Africa's biggest concert draws. On his most political album, Blondy demands that the U.S. take action against the then repressive South African regime, which suppurated like Babylon on the edge of the continent. The Solar System melds Wailers-like arrangements with Afro-Beat excess -- four guitars, backing vocalists, a horn section -- to mesmerizing effect. With apartheid toppled, Blondy has nonetheless found his work cut out for him as West Africa boils over into political instability and bloodshed. He's still recording from his base in Paris and continues to sell out the biggest venues across Africa, Europe, and America. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

While it might be sacrilege in reggae circles to say that any artist could challenge Bob Marley's mastery of the genre, Alpha Blondy fires a dead-on shot literally heard around the world with Apartheid Is Nazism. Furthermore, this work proves that great reggae does not have to come from Jamaica. "Afriki" opens the album with a nod to Jamaica, but while the music is classic, offbeat reggae, there is a strong African feel here, especially in the backing vocals. On every track, the carefully arranged and smartly played music of Blondy's band, the Solar System, tickles the ears with muscular polyrhythms and a variety of stealthily intoxicating percussion. Maneuvering skillfully on top of all of this is Blondy's uniquely plaintive voice. Blondy, like many reggae stars before him, tackles political issues with a dagger wit and thundering basslines. The title track, one of only two songs sung predominantly in English, pleads for America to "break the neck of this apartheid." Like the patois in which Blondy makes his incantations, his religious message is more mixed than the standard reggae paeans to Jah Rastafari. With tracks like "Come Back Jesus" and "Jah Houphouet" on the same album, it's clear that Blondy is attempting to strike a universal theme in the same way Marley did. While Blondy's career can't measure up to Marley when taken as a whole, Apartheid Is Nazism can stand up to most Marley releases. Matthew Hilburn