Mother Nature

Angélique Kidjo has a pleasing way of making every release a unique project rather than just another album. After collaborating with a symphony orchestra, reimagining a Talking Heads classic and paying tribute to Celia Cruz, Kidjo twists her music again on Mother Nature as she joins forces with a new generation of African singers and rappers. Her duetting partners could not be in the studio with her due to lockdown and their contributions were variously recorded in Lagos, Benin, Lusaka, London and Los Angeles, although you’d never guess.

The Zimbabwean singer Shungudzo sets a rousing pace on the spirited opener ‘Choose Me’, Nigeria’s Yemi Alade lends her seductive voice to the lush Afro-pop of ‘Dignity’ and Burna Boy raps and sings appealingly on the infectious ‘Do Yourself’. Mr Eazi, a third Nigerian singer, duets with Kidjo on ‘Africa, One of a Kind’, the glorious uplift of which is vaguely reminiscent of K’Naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’. The potent rap of Zambia’s Sampa the Great on ‘Free & Equal’ is another highlight and ought to be adopted as a Black Lives Matter anthem. Kidjo allows her collaborators plenty of space, yet her own ebullient presence means there’s never any doubt whose name it is on the album’s cover.