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Esau Mwamwaya plus Radioclit. For the last year or so, we’ve all been sitting, waiting in rapt anticipation of this powerful combination recording as, appropriately, The Very Best. Add to this the fact that they’ve been recording with all of my favorite quirky, left of mainstream women of the past few years—Santigold, the thankfully found, former Bonde do Role frontwoman Marina Vello, and M.I.A.—and I was practically tap dancing with nervous anticipation as I finally pressed play this week on The Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa.

Speaking of M.I.A., the track to be listened to here is Rain Dance. It’s nothing incendiary or groundbreaking, just a VERY solid dance track that’s ripe for the clubs. The track’s highlights are Esau’s voluminous vocals, stellar African drums and unique instrumentation and Maya (the mommy) dropping hypewoman verses in a manner very consistent with Kala’s Bird Flu. Undeniable talent creates undeniable truth—it’s that good.

You’ll also definitely want to check out the The Very Best’s cover of Vampire Weekend’s Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa. I’ve seen everyone from Lykke Li to DC hip hop jam band The Five One cover this track, and the plaintive vocals and arrangement just lends itself to the interpreter pouring heaps of painfully cute energy into it. Esau and company do so, but with some Afrobeat polyrhythms that turn it from a toe tapper to a booty shaker.

Rounding it out, the nugget of greatness that spawned the eponymous title track of The Very Best’s Warm Heart of Africa, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, blends mellifluously with Esau. Magical! Enjoy.

The Very Best - Rain Dance (ft. M.I.A.) (192 kbps)

The Very Best - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa (Vampire Weekend Cover) (320 kbps)

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa (ft. Ezra Koenig) (192 kbps)

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