Ma Zone

Zap Mama | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 19, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 19, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Luaka Bop
• ASIN: B00001ZSTL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #313,899 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Rafiki

2. W'happy Mama

3. Call Waiting

4. Gissié

5. Songe

6. Kemake

7. Comment Ça Va

8. Ya Solo

9. My Own Zero

10. M'Toto

11. Gbo Mata [Station]

12. 'Allo 'Allo

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On their fourth album, Zap Mama slide even further away from their early manifestation as a cappella group singing the traditional pygmy chants of West Africa--but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Enlisting notable Philly hip-hop artists the Roots as well African pop star Manu Dibango, Zap Mama blend the traditional singing for which they gained notoriety with the modern beats of drum & bass and hip-hop. The mix steams up a breathy, sensual brand of Euro-African-American pop. "Comment Ça Va?" swivels in and out of slow hip-hop beats; dark, twanging oudlike bass; and lead singer Marie Daulne's delicate vocals. "'Allo 'Allo" goes light on the sax and heavy on the hook, bringing a funky, playful edge to the collection. "Kemake" grooves understatedly with organ and a soulful, spinning vocal, demonstrating this group's diversified sound. The upbeat French Afro-hip-hop of Les Nubians Zap Mama are not: these women entice with a subtle, underground sound that's all their own. --Karen K. Hugg

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical piece of "world" music. Beautiful., September 12, 2004

By 

Thomas B Goodloe "Berkeley Goodloe" (Richmond, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Ma Zone (Audio CD)

I bought this CD a couple years ago, but didn't really start listening to it until recently. This CD gets lumped in with "world" music because of its african feel, but this is a slight misnomer. Most people who think of "world" music think of something that should be a soundtrack on National Geographic Explorer. This is so much more than that. All of the instrumentation contained in this album give you an idea of the talent involved, and the songs each have their own mood. I enjoy the lyrical stylings of "Rafiki" and the high-flying vocals and moodiness "My Own Zero". Worth every penny!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Nice Had To Buy it Twice!!!, May 12, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Ma Zone (Audio CD)

I'm a huge fan of Zap Mama. After seeing them perform live at the New Orleans Jazz fest I had to buy 7 and I didn't think they could improve upon that album. Well I was wrong, A Ma Zone is just as good if not better. I let a friend borrow it and never got it back. If it were any other CD I probably would have said forget it. But that CD was so nice I had to buy it twice. All of the tracks are awsome but my favorites are, Call Waiting, Ya Solo, Comment CaVa, and Gbo Mata. Definitely a must buy!!!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This fine album demonstrates the progress of Daulne and Co., October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ma Zone (Audio CD)

"A Ma Zone," Zap Mama's fourth album, is a thematic change from their third, the sublime "7". Unlike that album, with its political undertones and strong cultural messages, "A Ma Zone" is an optimistic view of what false intellectuals now call Afropea.

This new optimism proves a thematic reversion and a musical continuation. Zap Mama continues the transformation it began on "7" from an a cappella chorus to a Belgo-Zairoise hip-hop group. But it reverts back to "Sabsylama" and their self-titled release in its presentation of the world as fun and beautiful.

This mix is interesting, but a little boring. Where "7" fused strong beats and stronger opinions, many of the messages on "A Ma Zone" are banal, making the song so as well. One example: the pointless ballad "My Own Zero," with romantic musings like "You are important to me." The silly lyrics degrade the music.

But this is only one weakness on an otherwise strong album. Though weak in comparison to its own past, "A Ma Zone" is still superior to the girl-group albums that appear from all over now.