A virtually unknown Afro-funk rarity,
Na Teef Know de Road of Teef is the work of
Fela Kuti sideman
Nicholas Addo Nettey, featuring several of his
Africa 70 bandmates and recorded at the same Lagos studio (run by
Cream's
Ginger Baker) where
Kuti cut many of his prime '70s sides. It's no great surprise, then, that
Kuti's output of this era is the obvious touchstone here, and
Fela fans will find this material immediately familiar, right down to the format of the album: four lengthy, intricately rhythmic, jam-heavy grooves, alternating between gritty call-and-response vocals and extended instrumental passages. That said, these recordings feel particularly raw and stripped-down, sacrificing some of
Fela's horn-heavy punch (even though there are certainly horns here, along with plenty of percussion) for a slinkier, burbling vibe, dominated throughout by a reedy organ that recalls the chicken-shack jazz-funk of
Jimmy Smith and
the Meters. Soulfully grooving, if sometimes more hypnotic than danceable, and handsomely presented with the eye-popping original sleeve art intact,
Na Teef Know de Road of Teef makes a welcome addition both to the Daptone catalog and to the shelf of any discerning Afro-beat collector.