Bibi Tanga & the Selenites: Artist You Should Know
Singer, bassist and bandleader Bibi Tanga has been dubbed the future of funk, read more from KCRW DJ Garth Trinidad. What Bibi Tanga is doing with partner Professeur Inlassable and…
By Rachel Reynolds • • 1 min readSinger, bassist and bandleaderBibi Tanga has been dubbed the future of funk, read more from KCRW DJ Garth Trinidad.
What Bibi Tanga is doing with partner Professeur Inlassable and The Selenites band helps me point to necessary, tangible evidence regarding the progression of so-called urban music around the world. While popular channels continue to propagate a terribly insulting urban idiom by limiting black music and imagery to half-baked, expendable product, along comes an artist like Bibi Tanga.
A French immigrant from Central Africa, Bibi Tanga has concocted a rich, pulsating, magic soul potion. The sound of his debut full length, “Dunya” is a slice of Afrobeat-futurism that invokes spiritual gate keepers of deep, ancient rhythmic and melodic treasures. I’ve been returning to the title track and “Be Africa”. Thanks to Nat Geo Music for making it easy to find. “Be Africa”:
Editor’s Note: “Dunya” was released in Europe in February 2010 and stateside in May.