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[kelpmore]

During her studies, she came across the single, “Once in a Lifetime,” an Afrobeat-inspired tune from Talking Heads. Encouraged by the African sound of the record, Angelique Kidjo told her fellow students about the rhythms she heard. They insisted — incorrectly — that it was rock. “I said, ‘That’s not rock and roll,” she told the L.A. Times. “It’s African music.”

Perhaps fueled by that experience, Kidjo’s Remain in Light recreates the 1980 LP as an authentic Afrobeat record that dives head-on into the Fela Kuti-inspired aesthetic of the Talking Heads original. Though a widely heralded classic, the group’s album only scratched the surface of West African funk. They synthesized the sound, blending it with pop and rock to make it more palatable for mostly white American listeners. Conversely, Kidjo’s interpretation feels more legitimate and offers an unfiltered representation of the Motherland’s polyrhythmic dance.

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