No Longer At Ease

Nneka | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: April 25, 2008
• Label: YoMamas Recording Company
• Copyright: (C) 2008 Yo Mamas Recording Company GmbH
• Total Length: 1:01:22
• Genres: R&B/Soul
• ASIN: B001880HXS
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars She will blow your mind!!, July 15, 2009

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: No Longer At Ease (Audio CD)

Nneka is a 26 year old Nigerian/German singer/songwriter with her musical influences ranging from Fela Kuti to Bob Marley to Lauryn Hill. Her music is an eclectic hybrid of Dub, Soul, Hip Hop and even Electronica and Rock, with mostly socially conscious lyrics touching on hardship and injustice in Nigeria and often interjecting Biblical quotes.

Opening cut "Death" is a lilting Dub with echoing effects. The lovely "Heartbeat" features tinkling ivories and skittery beats. "Mind Vs heart" is a breezy Soul song with sprinklings of guitar, while "Walking" is Reggae with a traditional Gospel feel with inspirational lyrics about the walk/struggle black people have to make.

"Suffri" (meaning softly) is sung in Pidgin English with lyrics touching on the ills in Nigeria; electoral malpractice, the rich oppressing the poor, etc. "Come with me" is an acoustic Folky song with her vocals gaining intensity towards the end against a wall of harmonies. "Gypsy" has a Dub feel with Hip hop beats. "Halfcaste" is somber Hip hop with Nneka rapping autobiographical lyrics.

Touching on the tough life on the streets is the Reggae-ish "Street lack love" with sprinklings of tenor sax delicately floating in the background, while the self explanatory horn-peppered Reggae of "Niger delta" talks of the destruction and neglect of that region of Nigeria in the process of getting oil. "From Africa" is rhythmic traditional Igbo music sung in Pidgin English.

My favourites are the slowed down Rock-tinged "Running away" (sung in a delicate upper register - think Debbie Harry on the chorus of Blondie's "Rapture"), the even Rockier "Focus" (with rapped/sung lyrics and Monk-style choir harmonies), and the absolutely stunning "Deadly connection" (again sung in that delicate upper register and adorned with hand claps and a jittery bassline and some fuzzy effects providing a backdrop for the Pidgin English-sung chorus).

Her experimentation is reminiscent of Erykah Badu. "No longer at ease" is her sophomore disc (her debut was 2005s "Victim of truth" which I shall seek out) and I highly recommend this to any lover of good music. Brilliant!!

5.0 out of 5 stars PHENOMENAL album from an upcoming star!!!, March 26, 2010

By 

Mike - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Longer At Ease (MP3 Download)

"No Longer At Ease" is my favorite of Nneka's albums. She sings and raps from the soul and has so much emotion and incredible rhythm in her music. Give it a try, you won't be able to stop listening to this amazzzing album.

5.0 out of 5 stars Like potato chips, June 22, 2009

By 

M. Serbe (Haida Gwaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: No Longer At Ease (MP3 Download)

I can't stop listening to this album. I just wish she was touring in North America. Check out Deadly Combination.