Afropop Worldwide

Gazelle - R.U.N (Featuring Jogyo & Devi Mambouka) by dm_517554946c655 This track from South African genre-smasher Gazelle is nothing less than a full-blow diasporic whirlwind, a mash-up of SA guitar jangle and deep bass throb with Jamaican born-toasting and deep voiced chant, all filtered through the densely synthetic echo & beat filled chamber of Brooklyn-style indy (and a large scoop of the trans-global stylings of artists like Santigold or MIA). We haven't heard that much from Gazelle prior to this track (although his work with Spoek Matumbo and Skip and Die suggests that we probably should have), but we are definitely paying attention now. The video itself gives us a trippy take on the central message of the song, the half-nightmarish dash through the psychedelicized woods reflecting the lyrics that "we should run/but not run away," as the perspective fractures into ever stranger perspectives. Definitely a track- and an artist- worth checking out!