🔥🇳🇬✊🎷🎸 Sonny Okosun ‘s Fire in Soweto was his best-known song in 1978. The Nigerian singer navigates between afrobeat and reggae to deliver his message of fighting for peace, freedom and equality. Fire in Soweto is a reminder of the heavy price paid by Africans across the continent in the often violent struggles for emancipation. The other tracks on the album drive the point home, with Revolution, Liberation and Steady & Slow. Okosun is joined by most of the members of his group Ozzidi, led by drummer Moses Egbe and already featured on Papa’s Land, reviewed here a while back. The rich brass section, between sax and trumpet, draws its references from Fela as well as Hugh Masekela, and makes Liberation soar. The infectious mid-tempo of Steady & Slow gives wings to George Achini’s protest guitar, backed by Monkman’s Moog. In short, an album that leaves little room for rest! Sonny Okosun would soon turn to Gospel music, for the rest of his life.
Fire in Soweto – Sonny Okosun, 1978
