Doing It in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria cover

Doing It in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria

Recorded
1980-1989
Released

For the adventurous music listeners who only think of Fela and his relentless Afrobeat sound when they think of Nigeria, the Doing It in Lagos: Boogie Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria compilation delivered a party-starting set of songs that showed the country was just as adept at absorbing and beaming back singular versions of disco, boogie, electro, and early rap. The twenty tracks collected here aren’t interested in mimicking Fela so much as American acts like Teena Marie, Kashif, New Edition, or Sugarhill Gang. Lyrics suggest that the party is the same whether you’re dancing in Lagos or the Lower East Side: get funky, catch disco fever, dance all night, and shake your body down. And a tune like Steve Monite’s “Only You” has the rare distinction of crossing back over the pond in the next century to get covered by Frank Ocean.

Andy Beta

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