Na Teef Know de Road of Teef

Pax Nicholas & the Netty Family, Nicholas Addo-Nettey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: DAPTONE
• ASIN: B002IDH5BO
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #242,570 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Nicholas Addo-Nettey was born in Accra, Ghana on August 7th, 1954. In the 60 s, the Ghanaian youth were crazy about American soul music, and Nicholas was no exception to the
rule. James Brown and Otis Redding were his idols and by the age of 18 he started to perform himself. Shortly after, fellow musician Joe King Kologbo invited him to the Mecca of African funk music: Lagos, Nigeria. Nicholas was not only talented but also lucky. Kologbo introduced him to Fela
Anikulapo Kuti, the undisputed Godfather of Afrobeat. He was able to convince the master of his skills as a drummer and singer and in 1971 became a full member of Fela´s legendary band Africa 70 as a conga player and background singer.

The first record he appeared on was Lady Shakara an international smash hit and one of Fela´s greatest. Nicholas
was at the right place at the right time. In the 70s, stars like James Brown, B.B. King, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder and Manu Dibango came to Lagos to visit Fela s Shrine Club to hear this new and incredibly heavy thing called Afrobeat. While playing and recording for Felas ´s Africa 70 (Nicholas appeared on all Fela s releases between 1971 and 1978), Mr. Addo-Nettey always had his own thing going on the side. He released two solo LPs for the Tabansi Label with the
Martin Brothers Band from Portharcort, Nigeria: ''Mind Your Own Business'' in 1971 and ''Na Teef Know The Road of
Teef'' in 1973. The second one is a heavy afro-funk, that was recorded with Africa 70 musicians and singers in Ginger
Baker´s highly equipped Lagos studio, where many of Fela´s albums were recorded as well. Obviously, Fela was not amused at all about these kinds of things, even less when he heard how strong the ''Na Teef...'' album was. He reportedly said: Don t you ever, EVER play it again! And so it was. Despite being a killer record, ''Na Teef...'' remained undercover for more than 30 years. Until now.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, December 31, 2009

By 

Catfan (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Na Teef Know de Road of Teef (Audio CD)

I was in Amoeba Records and they were playing this over the store sound system. Knowing that I love all kinds of music, my 16 year old son actually asked who this was and brought the CD to me, telling me that he thought I'd like to get the CD. A nice gesture, and man was he right!! This CD is filled with great grooves! Not too heavy, with great understated organ and percussion, but you will have your feet tapping and your body moving in no time!

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Title Track, April 10, 2011

By 

Hilton Royale "Dr. Funk Alligatooor" (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Na Teef Know de Road of Teef (Audio CD)

Pax Nicholas became a member of Fela's fantastic band in
1971 as a conga player and background singer, and he
appeared on all his albums from 71 to 78. He released two
solo LPs, and Na Teef, the second one, was made with Africa
70 musicians and singers.

Fela wasn't too cheerful abot it, and reportedly said;
"Don't you ever, EVER play it again", when he heard how
strong it was.
I don't think the Na Teef album is that strong, and can't
imagine it got Fela sweating, but the title track is 11
minutes and 48 seconds of blissful, slow burning afrobeat.
At first I thought it was too repeating, but the groove
they got going really is something else.

3 stars is maybe a bit harsh, they are definitely on to
something, but it sounds somewhat sloppy at times.

Pax Nicholas also handles vocals on the truly amazing "Mind
Your Business" from the "Nigeria Afrobeat Special" collection.
What a song! It struts along with a walking rhythm that could
make hippos swing their giant yash with ease, and brings a
groove that is related to reggae. Everything comes up smoking;
the rhythm section, the horns, the scratchy guitar.
As funky as you wanna be!!

If Fela had heard that track, he would have turned up the
air-condition and burned one down.