Eda – JMTim & Foty, 1977

🇨🇲 🎤 🎶 🎛️ 🌃 In 1977, cousins Jean-Marie Tiam and Maurice Foty arrived from western Cameroon and released a little Afro-funk gem on Disques Espérance that would go down in African music history. Eda – named after the album’s first track – did not go unnoticed! Firstly, thanks to the vocal duo of its leaders, then thanks to their makossa pop fusion, which stood out from the prevailing tradition, their forays into disco (Not So Bad – the Bee Gees are not far away!), and finally (and most importantly), thanks to the two Afro-funk gems that conclude each side. Douala By Night on one side, which was heavily sampled by Missy Elliott and led to a lawsuit that was ultimately won, and Funky Bafoussam on the other, in honour of their hometown. JM Tim & Foty don’t do things by halves, surrounded by Claude Vamur, Jean-Claude Naimro and Jean-Yves Messan to spin these two furious grooves concocted by Alan Deloumeaux and Mam Houari. François Corea’s choruses are also there to help! The album is the first in a small series that will run until 1982, when the duo split up, but it remains the most famous of them all, and these two tracks are still regularly played at any self-respecting evening event with good taste.