Afropop Worldwide

Gaby Amarantos threw the world a bone today and graced us all with a brand new video. Anyone who's seen Amarantos live knows that her presence on stage is larger than life, a characteristic that this video takes full advantage of, literally. In this collaboration between Brooklyn artist Kenny Scharf and Amarantos, the powerhouse vocalist towers over one of Scharf's installations like a Kaiju storming through Tokyo's streets. From all available evidence, these two really seem to see eye to eye. The "Gemendo" video is an electric and alive thing, blending Gaby's neon-bright aesthetic with Scharf's, which is both cartoonish and full of life. "Gemendo" is a peppy, sultry little track, rocking back and forth on its heels as Amarantos' voice pulls you further and further in. That voice! She somehow manages to exudes power while singing almost lackadaisically. She's never pushing very hard or belting it out on this one, but nonetheless her voice comes across as authoritative, firm. That's an uncommon gift, one that she employs throughout Treme, the 2012 album that this cut is off of. Fingers crossed for more visually stimulating videos for other songs off of Treme- we're sure there's an audience for them.