Who Is This America?

Formed in 1998, the Brooklyn-based music collective, Antibalas, has shared its dynamic afrobeat and funk sound with thirty-five countries and over 1000 performances. From humble beginnings at Brooklyn block parties and community benefits, Antibalas has since been featured at prestigious festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, Montreux, Newport Jazz, and at venues from Rikers Island to Carnegie Hall. Drawing on musical lineages steeped in jazz, funk, Afro-Caribbean, and West African music, Antibalas is widely recognized for its mastery of and innovation in the afrobeat musical form created in the
early 1970s by Nigerian composer/activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. In July 2010, Antibalas will tour the US west coast, including a performance at Reggae on the River, coinciding with the re-release of their Who Is This America on Ropeadope.
Ropeadope is proud to release this special edition of the Antibalas classic 'who is this america'. The questions and powerful social statements on the record are as relevant today as they were in 2004. 'Big Man' is a powerful musical essay on consumerism and the system of continued oppression that it supports, while the title track is even more poignant as our nation continues the struggle for our collective identity in the face of a changing world.
The CD features a bonus track, 'Money Talks' - produced by the legendary Scott Harding.