This is a celebration of the West African musical tradition - upbeat and extremely rhythmic - and its impact on modern music. This is artists expressing respect for the foundations of afrobeat, funk, jazz, soul, and dance laid down by innovators Fela Kuti and Africa '70.

About some of the artists on AFRICAN XPRESS:

Like father like son, Femi Kuti is the undisputed inheritor of the genius of Nigerian afrobeat begun by the legendary Fela Kuti. Femi's version is the most exciting new sound to emerge from Nigeria in years, borrowing the best elements from his father's powerfully polyrhythmic prototype: a funky, jazzy, heavily percussive sound that took James Brown's beat back to Africa.

Tony Allen is the Nigerian-born drummer, composer, and songwriter who, along with Fela Kuti, pioneered afrobeat music in the 1960s. Since then, Allen continues to push the envelope, fusing afrobeat with modern funk, rock, and hip-hop. His music is, without doubt, extraordinary, fully of funky, groovy rhythms as well as hard-hitting lyrics. It is polyrhythmic food for the soul.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra creates the next generation of afrobeat in the tradition of Fela Kuti. This fourteen-plus piece band hits hard with the left and the right - monstrous harns and bass layered over funky beats and breaks coupled with furious lyrics that challenge the "system" in English, Yoruba, and Spanish.