Dangerous Minds | THE KING MEETS THE PRESIDENT IN AFRICA: MICHAEL JACKSON VS. FELA KUTI

Thursday, July 01, 2010

 

 

 

 

The wonderful Tracii Macgregor at Gargamel Music hepped me to this latest project put together by New York hip-hop DJ/producer/scene-vet Rich Medina. Like any device, the mash-up/remix can yield a good amount of garbage (Gaga vs. Bieber, etc.), unless the sources are well-chosen and assembled.

It hardly gets better than pop king Michael vs. Nigeria’s Afrofunk prez Fela Kuti—much has been made of how Fela and James Brown mutually influenced each other, so the R&B/Afrofunk connection is hardly a surprise. Medina’s put together 10 rounds of it forThe King Meets the President in Africa, which is downloadable for free. Unfortunately, the videos below are uncredited—if Rich did these as well, I’d consider him even more of a badman talent than I already do.

by Ron Nachmann 

 

Shadow & Act | Music Break – Michael Jackson X Fela Kuti

Thursday, June 24, 2010

By Tambay, on June 24th, 2010

Why didn’t I think of this? Tomorrow will be the 1-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. Time flies, huh? In celebration, DJ Rich Medina went to work to create this mash-up of some of MJ’s hits with the beats of another master musician, Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti. The King Meets The President In Africa, as it’s called. I can only imagine what it would have been like if these two toured together.

guardian.co.ok | Don't just beat it, Afrobeat it

Chris Salmon on an ambitious project to mix Michael Jackson with Fela Kuti
Thursday, June 24, 2010

 

A year on from Michael Jackson's death, it's not too surprising that a new bootleg album based around his songs has appeared online. But NYC DJ/producer Richard Medina set the bar high for himself by attempting to mash the king of pop's vocals with the instrumentals of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. As he concedes on mjfela.com, where you can download the 10-track album for free, Kuti made "ever changing records, the complete antitheses of modern beat-machine music – not exactly prime candidates for blending". But although Jackson's mawkish Earth Song sounds even more awful against a Kuti backdrop, and some tracks have too much going on, the album has its highlights. Billie Jean is extremely well suited to the spiralling grooves of Shakara, while the squalling horns of Who're You add a terrific vibrancy to Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough. It makes for an intriguing listen.

Chris Salmon
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 June 2010 22.30 BST

 

The HOOK | CULTURE: Michael Jackson X Fela Kuti - The King Meets The President In Africa.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

As June 25, 2010 rapidly approaches, the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, we've been arduously scrambling to decide just how to commemorate the King of Pop. Given The Hook's incestuous passion for music, we sought out to find the best musical eulogy created in the past 365 days.
 
When Michael Jackson passed away over a year ago, there were countless remixes, mash-ups and tributes created, but the most original and likely the best could very well be the recently released, The King Meets The President In Africa. It's a remix album featuring the gloved one and the king of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti, created by DJ, remixer and producer, Rich Medina.

Mashing up classic MJ vocals like “Billie Jean”, “Remember the Time” and “I Want You Back” to the beats, rhythms and horns of Fela is an ingenious juxtaposition, but it flows seamlessly. It only makes me wonder what the energy would be like experiencing a show with these two greats performing live together. 

by The Hook on Jun 24, 2010

 

The Couch Sessions | ALBUM REVIEW: THE MARKSMEN – THE KING MEETS THE PRESIDENT IN AFRICA

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

 

 

Two of the most important musical figures EVER, Michael Jackson and Fela Kuti, get a chance to jam together and show us who’s really the funkiest mofo in heaven on The King Meets The President In Africa.

The songs are a showcase of Michael’s masterful voice over Fela’s flawless, Afrobeat productions. “Human Nature/I No Get Eye For Back” and “I Want You Back/Water Got No Enemy” are the standout tracks for me. On the former, Fela’s funktastic horns seem to be harmonizing with Michael’s voice, and on the latter, Fela’s music highlights the rawness of Michael’s voice as a youngster, and provides a jazzy blue-hued backdrop that matches the urgency of Michael’s vocals. That two artists of such polar opposites can be as symbiotic as they are on these tracks is a surprise that boggles the mind.

A few of the tracks come across as mash-ups done by over-zealous fans, but for the most part, the album’s core concept works wonderfully. What is really amazing about this project is that most of Fela’s prolific catalog was constructed in the 70’s, and Michael’s music spans three decades (!!!!!), but these new mixes sound modern and fresh, and would fit in comfortably at any dancefloor, cookout, or lounge scene.

The Marksmen are to be commended for having the ears, guts, balls, and patience to produce a project of this magnitude. In the wrong hands, this could have been a disaster, but this mighty production team put their all into making sure that Fela’s music was a compliment to Michael’s, and vice versa.

Michael and Fela were as different as night and day, but they both had the same goal: to speak out against injustice and in the process, make you dance, to which they both greatly succeeded. The circumstances behind both of their deaths are about as tragic as it gets (Michael from an accidental drug overdose, and Fela died from AIDS), but never has the brilliance and genius of both their legacies been diminished because of it. It is comforting to know that when we pass away from this life, our souls will forever be dancing to the stately grooves of the King and the President.

Uncle Funkle