Ghetto rum is flowing and the air is filled with the sweet aroma of pure-bred marijuana. The turntables are plugged in and the micros at the ready. The sound system is raring to go. Time to get those hot pants and boob tubes on ! You're about to take a heady trip to Colombiafrica, land of the black maroons and realm of Champeta's kings and queens on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
Your guide : Lucas Silva aka Juju-Man Premier aka Superchampeta-Man aka Ifá Man Original, the Paris-based Colombian bad-boy, accompanied by his smooth-talking acolyte MC IBA who together are behind the Palenque Records label.
This is their second production, their first compilation responsible for bringing Champeta to the attention of an unsuspecting European audience for the very first time. What a revelation! this amazing cocktail of urban sounds from Central and West Africa, Haitian compas or calypso from Trinidad. Call it what you may - Cumbia-Afrobeat, Champeta Highlife, Champeta Palenquera (from its original birthplace, San Basilio of Palenque near Carthagena) - there's no denying the irresistible swing of this Afro-Colombian groove. Featuring both old hats like the one and only Batata, Justo Valdez or Viviano Torres, and new pretenders to the throne such as Candido Perez or Charles King, this album presents the wealth and scope of the Champeta scene in all its glory. And if you're into kitsch, just wait till you open it ! The men from Palenque really let their hair down and their imaginations fly for the cover and the booklet - informative and a total laugh. A little OTT, but like they say : "Go crazy now, Champetuos of the world - a new time has come!" And why not, indeed !

Marushka