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“Pax” Nicholas Addo-Nettey’s early life was spent on
Fela Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic. He would eventually appear on all of Fela’s records between 1971-78, singing and playing congas like he had been since age six. Eventually, a teenage Nicholas even recorded solo projects on the side (much to Fela’s chagrin). In 1978 while at the Berlin Jazz Festival, Nicholas (along with
Tony Allen and other members of Africa 70) decided to stay and avoid returning to Nigeria. To this day, Nicholas, now in his mid-50s, resides in Berlin with his two sons.
Na Teef Know De Road Of Teef, one of those solo projects Nicholas made in the ’70s, was reissued by Daptone and is out now. It was discovered by Frank Gossner, a collector and DJ who - for 3 years - scoured West Africa for records. Strangely enough, he found
Na Teef Know De Road Of Teef in Philadelphia before leaving on his trip. But the record “remained somehow special” to Frank, even among the thousands of records he’d eventually find. He took it to friends at Daptone and, fortunately, here we are talking about it now.
This double disc compilation is a truly international project featuring various artists working under the ‘37th State’ appellation. With the likes of Tony Allen, Dele Sosimi, Slum Village, Terri Walker and Keziah Jones on board, the listener travels sonically from Africa to the US stopping off frequently in the UK.
Judging from the colourful illustrations of an airport-based party depicted in the artwork, this intercontinental flavour was always the intention. It’s good to see acclaimed non-mainstream UK wordsmith’s such as Ty, Breis and Lyric L getting a look-in too.