by Craig Harris
The sounds of West Africa come alive through the music of Babatunde Olatunji. In the 40 years since the release of his debut album, Drums of Passion, Olatunji has brought the spirited rhythms of his homeland to locations around the globe. With his 10th album, Love Drum Talk, the Nigeria-born and New York-based drummer uses his music to echo much deeper concerns.
"We have a lot to take care of on this planet," Olatunji said during a recent telephone interview. "We're spending billions of dollars to go beyond Mars. But, we have problems here that we need to face. I began to question myself. Why did I come out of the bush to become educated only to find that the so-called educated people are behaving like four-footed animals? I can't understand it."
This is an excerpt from Dirty Linen #77
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© 1998 Dirty Linen, Ltd., Baltimore MD
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