JUSI I LOVE – Top 10 Albums 2013

10 ALBUMS The year 2013 was yet another rich year – with many great releases from the African continent. It’s hard to select 10 outstanding albums but I would like to share with you the following list of 10 long players. The artists that contributed in the creation of these various long players come from Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, UK, Zimbabwe.

2013 has been the year in which the newcomer band John Wizards from Cape Town surprised us all with their internationally acclaimed debut album ‘John Wizards‘. There were yet other new rising stars that dropped excellent albums, like Monoswezi (‘The Village‘), Burna Boy (‘L.I.F.E.‘), Tawiah (‘FREEdom Drop‘) and Munit & Jorg (‘፪ – Munit + Jorg‘). The political instability in their home country could not hinder Malian artists Rokia Traoré (‘Beautiful Africa‘), Tamikrest (‘Chatma‘) and Vieux Farka Touré (‘Mon Pays’) to manifest their artistic excellence in new releases. The latter even dedicated the album to the difficult situation at home, sending a strong musical message to those opposed to the rich musical culture in Mali. Nigerian afrobeat artist Femi Kuti released his masterpiece ‘No Place For My Dream‘, maybe his best album so far.

What is striking in the list is that it includes three albums that were produced through African-European collaborations: Monoswezi, Munit & Jörg and Owiny Sigoma Band proved very successfully that musical imagination and creativity cannot be limited by any territorial borders. Music in Africa continues to be a peaceful force for unity and social integration!

Here is the list: The best 10 Albums picked by JUSI I LOVE: