Just when you’d thought every nugget of gold and every rock of diamond had been robbed from the gorgeous continent of Africa, a gem juts from the earth. It glows with the colorful hues of Afro-beat, and glistens with melodies that those native to the motherland will irresistibly feel in their souls. That jewel is Thandiwe Love’s “Good Life”; and through its lustrous prism of sounds, you’ll come to know that the wealth in Africa is far from low. For, there are still mountains of riches in their arts and culture. Thandiwe shows this with twenty-four tracks of enchanting dance music. Albeit, a handful of these records sport modern-trap sensibilities; most of them pump with the Worldly, four-to-the-floor rhythm that the motherland is known for. Raw, stomping kicks and energetic percussions keep this project pumping with the lifeblood of African music; a lifeblood that is further vivified by the melodious vocals Thandiwe splices into it. The lead single, “Loving You” is a quintessential example of such performance; manifested by a club-rocking trap beat and astounding, autotune harmonies. An inflection, with which Thandiwe uniquely excels. All in all, “Good Life” is a powerful embrace of international pop music— mixing World and Afro-beat brilliance with auto-tune and trap magnificence. Out of twenty-four tracks, you won’t skip a single one. In fact, you’ll be pining for the next song from Africa’s rising star.
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