The Very Best | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | London |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Members |
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| Website | theverybestmusic |
The Very Best is a collaboration between London-based DJ and production duo Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya, a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. Their music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hip hop, pop, and the traditional music of Malawi.
Esau Mwamwaya was born in Mzuzu, Malawi, but grew up in the capital, Lilongwe, where he played drums in various bands. [1] He played with numerous artists, including Masaka Band and Evison Matafale. In 1999 he moved to London and while running a second-hand furniture shop in Clapton, East London, Esau sold a bicycle to the producer from the band Radioclit, Etienne Tron. Radioclit's studio was on the same street as Esau's shop, and eventually, Esau became friends with both Tron and Johan Karlberg aka Radioclit. [1]
In 2008, the three men worked together to create a project known as "The Very Best," releasing a critically lauded free mixtape through the label GREEN OWL. [1] The mixtape features samples and collaborations with other indie artists, including M.I.A., Vampire Weekend, Architecture in Helsinki, BLK JKS, Santigold and The Ruby Suns. The songs are sung in Chichewa, the national language of Malawi. [2]
The Very Best produced their first full-length album, Warm Heart of Africa , released digitally in August 2009 and released physically in October 2009 by GREEN OWL and Moshi Moshi. The album features collaborations with Ezra Koenig and M.I.A. The title track from the album, "Warm Heart of Africa," won the World Beat Song award at the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards; the track includes a sample of the famous 1966 song by Victor Uwaifo, Guitar Boy.
The Very Best is also featured on a track on Crookers' debut album, Tons of Friends . [3]
Music of Malawi has historically been influenced through its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians have long been travelers and migrant workers, and as a result, their music has spread across the African continent and blended with other music forms. One of the prime historical causes of the Malawian musical melting pot was World War II, when soldiers both brought music to distant lands and also brought them back. By the end of the war, guitar and banjo duos were the most popular type of dance bands. Both instruments were imported. Malawians working in the mines in South Africa and Mozambique also led to fusion and blending in music styles, giving rise to music styles like Kwela.
Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were Hair and Two Gentlemen of Verona (1971). MacDermot also composed music for film soundtracks, jazz and funk albums, and classical music, and his music has been sampled in hit hip-hop songs and albums. He is best known for his work on Hair, which produced three number-one singles in 1969: "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In", "Good Morning Starshine", and the title song "Hair".
Asian Kung-Fu Generation is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi. Starting out as a college band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation released a series of independent EPs featuring lyrics mostly sung in English. In 2002, they released their major-label EP debut Hōkai Amplifier, from that point singing their lyrics in Japanese. The band's musical style is influenced by seminal Western alternative rock acts as well as their own local Japanese indie-rock and punk scene. Their songs incorporate various aspects of the genres, most typically expressing fast tempos and prominent power chord guitar riffs in addition to rhythmic groove and emotional lyrics. Despite the indie nature of their music, the band has enjoyed worldwide commercial success in addition to critical acclaim. Asian Kung-Fu Generation has been cited as one of the best, most balanced modern rock bands to emerge from Japan in the 2000s.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is a song written by Paul McCartney, released in 1967 on the album of the same name by the Beatles. The song appears twice on the album: as the opening track, and as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", the penultimate track. As the title song, the lyrics introduce the fictional band that performs on the album.
Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 2000. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for live performances and studio recordings. The group primarily produces music in the synth-pop and alternative dance genres, drawing influences from house and disco.
Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He first gained recognition in 2006, when his song "Dig Dug " became popular in his hometown, leading Wale to became locally recognized as he continued recording music for the regional audience. Wale met English DJ-producer Mark Ronson in 2006 and joined his label, Allido Records in 2007. While signed to that label, Wale released several mixtapes and appeared in national media including MTV and various Black American-focused magazines. A song called "Ridin' in That Black Joint" was featured in the popular video game Saints Row 2's soundtrack in 2008.
"Us Placers" is the debut song by American supergroup Child Rebel Soldier, a musical collaboration consisting of American hip-hop artists Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, and Pharrell Williams. It was released as the third song on the track-listing of West's 2007 mixtape Can't Tell Me Nothing. The song was produced by Fiasco and samples the 2006 song "The Eraser" by Thom Yorke. On "Us Placers," the trio speak on the entrapments of fame. Having been released on a free mixtape, the song did not enter charts but became an online hit and received strong reviews from music critics.
Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, disco, techno and nu-disco.
Schoolyard Ghosts is the sixth studio album by British art rock band No-Man.
Innerpartysystem is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Kris Barman. The band is well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew Nissley and videos directed by Stephen Penta.
Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub is the first mixtape by American musician and singer Santigold and Philadelphia-based DJ Diplo, released on July 15, 2008.
Marina Evelyn Vello Ribatski, also known as Marina Gasolina, Marina Ribatski and MC Marina Vello, is a Brazilian singer and the former MC/Singer/Songwriter for Brazilian Funk Carioca band Bonde do Rolê. She decided to leave the band in December 2007 due to problems within the band. Her musical influences include Hole. She was formerly a literature student at the Federal University of Paraná.
"Swagga Like Us" is a song by American rappers Jay-Z and T.I. featuring fellow American rappers Lil Wayne and Kanye West, the latter of whom also produced the song, constructing primarily around a vocal sample of "Paper Planes" by British musician M.I.A. It was released on September 6, 2008, in the United States as the fifth single from T.I.'s sixth album Paper Trail (2008). The track was also initially slated for inclusion on Jay-Z's eleventh album The Blueprint 3 (2009), however it ultimately failed to make the final track listing.
Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are The Very Best is the debut mixtape for the Very Best. The album was released as a free download containing 15 tracks. Pitchfork included the album in its "Best New Music" section on December 4, 2008 and also included the lead track "Kamphopo" on its list of the top 100 tracks of 2008, coming in at number 63. The album ranked number 40 on Pitchfork's list of best albums of 2008.
Jude Lemfani Abaga, better known as M.I Abaga, is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter and record producer. He rose to prominence in 2006 when his song "Crowd Mentality" became popular in Jos, Nigeria. His debut studio album Talk About It was released in 2008. The LP was succeeded by MI 2: The Movie (2010). Four years later, he released The Chairman as his third studio album. Abaga released the playlist Rendezvous in February 2018. In August of that year, he released his fourth studio album A Study On Self Worth: Yxng Dxnzl.
The Real Elements is a Malawian hip-hop band that gained notoriety in the 1990s and 2000s in Malawi. The group consisted of Marvel, Plan B, Stix, and Q. The group holds a special place in the Malawian music industry because it propagated Malawian hip-hop and paved the way for the Malawian hip-hop genre at a time when they were a few hip-hop artists in Malawi. Their music was considered the cutting edge in the Malawi music scene. Critics argue that is the best urban group that has come out of Malawi. They performed in Malawi and their music was also featured on Channel O beaming Malawian hip-hop for the first time to a Pan African audience. In their UK tours they opened for UK hip-hop artists like Blak Twang and Terri Walker. It was just as their international career was taking off that the group separated. Stix decided to leave the music industry and follow religious pursuits. The group currently is pursuing personal interests.
Anita Blay is a British-Ghanaian singer and songwriter, formerly known by the stage name CocknBullKid. She released her debut single in 2008 and her debut album, Adulthood, in 2011. Blay currently writes for other artists - and is part of the dance music duo Antony & Cleopatra and the London-based music collective Kommunion.
Friday Night Lights is the third official mixtape from Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper J. Cole. It was released on November 12, 2010. The mixtape was to originally be called Villematic and contain J. Cole's previous leaks and freestyles, however, Cole later stated it would have original material. The mixtape became the second most searched and trending topics on Google and Twitter respectively following its release. Most songs on the mixtape were slated to be on his debut album at one point or another. The mixtape has been viewed over 4,470,000 times, streamed over 1,280,000 times, and downloaded over 1,700,000 times on mixtape site DatPiff. On June 26, 2013, Cole announced that he would be re-releasing The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights for retail sale, in order to "give them the push they deserved".
MTMTMK is an album by London-based DJ and production duo the Very Best, released 16 July 2012 under the Moshi Moshi label. Recorded in Lilongwe, Malawi, MTMTMK retains the distinctive combination of African flair and synthpop dance beats found in earlier albums, but adds an even more international flavor thanks to collaborations from such diverse artists like Swedish DJ producer Johan Hugo and African music legends Baaba Maal and Amadou & Miriam, to modern-pop stars Bruno Mars and Taio Cruz.
Owl Pharaoh is the debut solo mixtape by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on May 21, 2013, on the iTunes Store and available for free download by Grand Hustle Records and Epic Records. The mixtape features guest appearances from T.I., Wale, Toro y Moi, A$AP Ferg, Theophilus London, Paul Wall, James Fauntleroy and Meek Mill.
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