Afrofuturism Meets Reggae
Trensettahs Sound System: La Fiebre & La Revolucion
(Independent / 2 February 2023)

• Stream Fiebre
• Stream Revolucion

Hip hop, reggae, reggaeton, and Colombian traditions combine in the music of Trensettahs Sound System. They've released a couple of singles recently that are worth a listen and relisten. They'll have you dancing to their message of emancipation.

They're calling the sound a bespoke version of Latin Afrobeat.

Fiebre, with Zalama Crew featuring Sizzla Kalonj, spotlighting the rhythms and grooves of Colombia. The essential beat is syncopated, with the words spoken in a counter rhythm. A melodic flute line adds an ethereal edge. 

The video (below) features scenes from Black ghettos in the diaspora, inclduing Kingston, Jamaica and Cali, Colombia.

I'm a revolution...

Revolucion puts its message on its sleeve, so to speak, to a classic reggae rhythm with an echo of electronica. Just when you think you have it figured out, though, there's a rap section in Spanish. 

Fight for your freedom,
Fight for your life....

Horns add melodic lines to poetry in multiple languages. 

Trensettahs Sound System was founded, as they put it, as "a collective of Afro-futurists working to create and promote reggae music to fans all around the world". 

The collective includes visual artists and techies, along with entrepreneurs and others. Their current overarching project is an ongoing release called Black Sounds of Freedom. Featured musicians include reggae legends Sizzla Kalonji, Mykal Rose, Steve Lightning, Jahnice, Sydney Salmon, and Fyahman. The album features more than 20 individual singers. 

The group is a collective of musicians and DJs under the leadership of DJ Fyahman. Among their far-reaching plans:

• A concert in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in June.
• A 5 part docuseries that follows them to Colombia Jamaica and Ethiopia.

The riddims are 100% original, with zero samples, and the music is set against the resistance movements that sprang up in Africa and across the African diaspora. 

They make an annual pilgrimage to the African continent they say is vital. 

It is hard for people living in the diaspora to make their first journey to Africa, and we want to make it easier and provide a lasting experience. This is not a call to move to Africa. This is a call to make Pan-African identity bloom across the globe. The pilgrimage is both spiritual and logical. It’s music and entertainment combined with cultural exchange, historical examination, and commerce seeing the biggest expansion. The West is no longer growing the way the continent is. Let’s collectivize! 

The members hail from Cali, Colombia. Their album Cali Music Cartel, created with Zalama, will be released late in 2023.

They're aiming to start a movement. The music is a good place to start.

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