Shoki Shoki
1998 album by Femi Kuti
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Shoki Shoki is an album by the Nigerian musician Femi Kuti, released in 1998.[2][3] The album was released in the United States by MCA Records in 2000.[4] A remix album, Shoki Remixed, was released the same year.[5]
Nigeria's military government banned the album's second track, "Beng beng beng", due to its objections to the sexual subject matter.[6]
Production
Kuti is backed by his band, Positive Force; the album was produced by Sodi and engineered by Mark Saunders.[7][8]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Robert Christgau |  [10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[11] |
| NME |  [12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
NME thought that "as basslines, horns and sprightly riffs spiral in a million directions, he also proves keen to continue Fela‘s fight against a range of foes, particularly the Nigerian authorities."[12] Entertainment Weekly stated that Kuti "brilliantly forges a link between Afrobeat and James Brown, spicing his percussive stew with acid jazz, hip-hop, and soul flavor while remaining true to his roots, proving himself an able ambassador to all rhythm nations."[11]
Rolling Stone opined that "throughout the showy Shoki Shoki, he treats Afrobeat's basic rhythm formula as sacred, adding only slight embellishments and updates."[13] The Windsor Star concluded that "while Fela's music often flew off into extended groove workouts, Femi packages his songs into neat arrangements with carefully punctuated horns, call-response vocal dynamics and locked-in polyrhythms."[14]
AllMusic wrote that "like his father, he never lets the lyrically conscious material get in the way of pushing irresistible grooves."[9]
Track listing
- "Truth don die" – 6:17
- "Beng beng beng" – 4:43
- "What will tomorrow bring" – 5:40
- "Victim of life" – 6:14
- "Blackman know yourself" – 5:15
- "Look around" – 6:00
- "Sorry sorry" – 6:37
- "Eregele" – 7:15
- "Scatta head" – 8:20
See also
- Fela Kuti - Femi's father