THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “If you’re a fan of 17-minute tracks that expound upon the incredible talents of managing directors and electrical contractors, then Alhaji Waziri Oshomah’s Vol. 2 is for you.
This is the second in a series of albums he made at the peak of his career. Every song here (one of which you might recognize from The Muslim Highlife) strikes his signature balance of traditional music, highlife, and funk, as he entreats you to stay on the straight and narrow, though there’s nothing straight about his beat.
For those of you meeting Waziri for the first time, here’s what to know about him: He hails from a special part of Edo State in southern Nigeria called Afemailand, known for being a harmonious region where Muslims and Christians live — and dance — together. And there, as a devout Muslim and an exemplar of religious piety in his community, Waziri’s music fuses Etsako/Afemai folk styles with pan-Nigerian highlife and pop to create a sublime vehicle for his Islamic philosophy that gets everyone — Muslims, Christians, whoever — on the dancefloor.”
