By Chris Onuoha

Nigerian sensational international Afrofunk musician Ade Bantu, has made a remarkable inward into the music industry with his new album, “What is your breaking point.”

The Afrofunk exponent who has consistently positioned his afrobeat genre with his eponymous 13-piece band, which remains more than 26 years after its founding, performing on the international scene, is set to unveil his latest effort, featuring African-American rapper, Akua Naru.

Bantu who is driven by a strong desire for social justice as well as lyrics have from the start addressed issues around corruption, injustice, migration, xenophobia and urban alienation across the globe. The tracks contained songs like; Wayo And Division, Japa Japa, Ten Times Backwards, Worm & Grass, Borrow Borrow, Africa For Sale, Na Me Own My Body (feat. Akua Naru), Breaking Point, Your Silence and We No Go Gree.

Asides from recording and composing music, BANTU have been credited with the recent revival of the live music scene in Nigeria through Afropolitan vibes, a monthly concert series & music festival that they have been hosting for over most of the last decade in Lagos.

Ade Bantu has been on the international scene since 1996 when he formed the band with another brother, Abiodun in Germany creating a musical acronym: Brotherhood Alliance Navigating Towards Unity (BANTU) with a unique and immediately recognizable fusion of Afrobeat, Afrofunk & Yoruba music.

Announcing the new album in a press release, Bantu in this new album, pushes the boundaries of funkiness and political prowess even further than its predecessors. It is also the first to feature a female guest lead, in this case the renowned African American rapper Akua Naru.

According to the statement, Naru is artistically and politically BANTU’s “sister from another mother;” her music as deeply spiritual and locked into the groove as her politics are radical, shaped by the same forces and viewpoints that shaped BANTU’s from gospel and blues to Angela Davis to Malcolm X and Fela.

“From its first release, “No Vernacular” in 1996 to the present, BANTU has scored a series of hits across Europe and Africa garnering itself major awards. Indeed, the list of artists who’ve collaborated with BANTU is a testament to the power, originality and talent of the band: an international cornucopia including UB40, Tony Allen, Patrice, Brothers Keepers (which they created), Xavier Naidoo, Gentleman and Burna Boy just to name a few,” stated the release.

It also stated that the collaborations helped the band earn several major Continental awards, including the Kora Awards (the Pan African equivalent of the Grammys) for “Best Group West Africa” and “Best Group Africa” while securing others nominations such as the Channel O Music Video Awards and The Headies.

The System is Broken, the Sound is Resilient
“Every song on What Is Your Breaking Point, spreads its own bit of Nigerian star dust over the listener,” stated Bantu.

Speaking further, Bantu said, “In this sense, What is Your Breaking Point is as much a statement as a question, forcing the listener to pay attention to the changes in politics and the evolution of music in Africa’s most populous and culturally important country, and from a global perspective.

“In this regard, each song opens a rich tapestry of sounds, lyrics and narrative that woven together portray a compelling, angry yet hopeful vision of Nigeria and in extension Africa and its possible futures,” he mentioned.