Tuesday, December 6th, 2005
Mike Okri - Rhythmystical
Every once in a while at my local record store, I get a nice surprise… This time around it was while browsing through the African Music stacks. I came across a CD cover with a familiar face, but one that I couldn’t initially place. After closer inspection, I was stunned to read, “Mike Okri” on the cover! It made me think back and remember that I hadn’t really heard of Mike Okri for years and oft wondered what became of him while listening to tracks like, “Omoge” and “Time na Money.”
After a little research, it turns out that Mike Okri left Nigeria for the United States some years ago – now based in California. The album, “Rhythmystical,” is his first album produced in the in the US and the influence shows. The music has distinctive infusions from US rhythm and blues (in the music, lingo and vocal stylings), but also shows its afro roots on a number of tracks.
While I’m not the biggest rhythm and blues buff, R&B fans will definitely enjoy the album. My favorite tracks were those with an afro-slant with the standout track being, Ibaba (sung in what sounds like Uhrobo.)
Rhythmystical is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
To warm things up, check out these videos from his New Years Eve – 2004 live performance.
