Cumbia Moderna de Soledad - Shacalao

One of the best Cumbia tracks ever if you ask me. One of the most compelling songs on Black Man's Cry is the cover of Fela's 1972 "Shakara," recorded by Colombia's Cumbia Moderna de Soledad and re-titled "Shacalao." With its sparse but powerful percussive push and chanting chorus, "Shacalao" strips Fela's more groove-laden "Shakara" down to rhythmic studs, pushing it forward with the two-step beat that lies at the heart of cumbia (Colombia's most popular Latin music export). Yet, while Cumbia Moderna remakes Fela, it also gestures to the deep tradition that bonds eastern Colombia with western Africa.