For DJs, Letta Mbulu is a name that has kept resurfacing across generations. From the reissue of What’s Wrong With Groovin’ and Afro Texas to the disco-leaning Kilimanjaro and synth-pop gems like Nomalizo, her music has remained remarkably relevant on dancefloors. And even as late as 1998, she was still making records like this.
South African music often seems to branch off in two very different directions: one rooted in jazz and expansive, almost cinematic visions of the African landscape, and another that moves deeper into local underground forms such as Kwaito. Letta Mbulu has always felt closer to the former.
Yet tucked away on this album is “Kushukuti,” a track that is unmistakably Afro House — and easily my pick from the record. Driven by a crisp, tightly locked beat, it keeps pushing forward while retaining the grand, sweeping quality that defines so much of her music.
The album was also released on CD, but I went for the South African-only LP pressing. A beautiful meeting point between Letta Mbulu’s expansive musical world and the pulse of late-’90s South African dance music. Also worth checking is “Home Brew,” with poetry and rap over breakbeats.
