Nneka's Concrete Jungle

Nneka stopped off in London Wednesday, coming off her US tour with a few stops in Europe before heading back to the States to join the Distant Relatives Tour with Nas and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. Miss Egbuna has just released her first US album, Concrete Jungle, which includes tracks from the award winning No Longer at Ease, released in Europe and Nigeria, and her debut album Victim of Truth and we were lucky enough to see her do her thing live at Scala London.

I can trot out the usual cliches about good things and small packages but it wouldn't do her justice. Petite, yes, powerful, undeniably. Her voice takes you on a journey through the songs - you follow her on Come With Me, raise your fist on Africans, resolve to maintain Focus. The commentary made by The Uncomfortable Truth and Kangpe are on familiar and moving experiences and you can't help but question the part you play in the world as you sing the refrain on V.I.P (Vagabonds in Power). Politics is never far from the mind with her music but it is not a narrowing element, instead like she she says, it is about love, about taking it all in. Suffri is both about vulnerability and strength, Heartbeat both about love lost and feeling ignored in the world, of being exploited and she performed it as an amazing end to the set. She sings the intro quietly, the anticipation is palpable and finally the release of the audience singing the chorus as she brings it home.


She asks early on 'you feel me?' and by the end of the night you most definitely do.

Youthful but mature in her art, this artists star is definitely in the ascendant. Likened to Erykah Badu, she counts Fela Kuti, Bob Marley (who has a song entitled Concrete Jungle) as well as contemporary rappers Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Lauryn Hill as influences, but her style, like her voice, is unique and distinctly hers.


Her new single Walking is out now.

See her American journey through her video diary on the Nnekaworld YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/nnekaworld or on okayplayer.com which has a few more clips as well as articles.


See more pictures (as above, most taken by Tomi Job) on our Facebook page.

T.J. & S.D.