Album Review: World Reggae

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Published on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 07:51

Written by Annique Bolliger

I’m not quite sure what made me walk into the African Music Store on Long Street the other day, but I figured I might as well. I couldn’t actually remember the last time I had purchased a CD: nowadays there are much cheaper ways to get hold of music. 

Nevertheless, I tried out a few of their reggae selections, because I’d been in search of a good reggae playlist for a while. What a success it was: World Reggae presented by Putumayo is a true beauty. 

First released in 2004, it features various reggae musicians from all over the world, many of them from Africa. The musical influences, however, also include traditional elements from the Caribbean, Brazil, Cape Verde, to India and New Caledonia. Not all of the songs are in English, which is an aspect I quite liked. French and Portuguese do the genre just as much justice!

The album might not be the latest, but let’s face it: good music is evergreen. Whether you choose to listen to it at home in your room as relaxing background music, in your car or while walking around on campus with your headphones on, it’s a fantastic album. I can only stress the promise Putumayo makes: this playlist is “guaranteed to make you feel good.” 

Let your ears feast on the Rastafarian way of life!