I love mixtape DJ J. Period!!! Over the years he has produced AMAZING mixtures of sounds with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Q-Tip and Lauryn Hill. When I came across J.Period & Nneka ‘The Madness (Onye-Ala) Mixtape’, I had a feeling I was getting into something African. I started researching Nneka before I even finishing downloading the mixtape. Turns out Nneka is actually a Nigerian-German singer and songwriter who sings in English and her Nigerian dialect Igbo. I was expecting The Madness to be Naija hiplife with fast beats and pigeon english. Instead the sounds of The Madness are a nice soothing blend of hip-hop, reggae, and soul. I LIKE!!! You can tell Nneka is heavily influenced by her Nigerian upbringing and her life in the Western World. I think of it as a audio autobiography in some ways – this is how she is feeling, this is how Nneka is thinking, this is her life. The Madness is also a metaphor describing the world we live in today. A world full of corruption, technology, history, war, and love.
“What struck me most about Nneka’s music is that her story is so present in every song. The spirit and struggle of her roots in Africa, a sense of responsibility inherited from Fela, conflict and perspective gained living abroad in Germany. Her music is a contagious combination of genres and styles that just pulled me in right away. Artists who refuse to be confined to one genre are often considered crazy. Artists who follow their conscience are considered crazy. This is that brand of crazy: The Madness (Onye-Ala).”
– J. Period
Click here to download The Madness (Onye-Ala) Mixtape