Okaidja Afroso is a Ghanaian singer, dancer, guitarist and composer based in Oregon since 1999, but still deeply tied to his Gãdangmé roots in a fishing community of coastal Ghana. He is an exemplar of a young generation of Ghanaian musicians, fluent in the traditions of his ancestors and yet determined to create music for his time. As he mentioned when we spoke in 2022 about his sixth album, Jàkú Mũmo, "The idea was to write songs that were new songs, but sound old." Somewhat cryptically, Afroso described his music then, as "Afro Soul. It's a mixture of African, polyrhythmic styles of music, mixed with highlife, jazz and Afro Zen music." What is clear is that he is engaged in an active generational and global dialogue, one that's alive and well in the music on his new album, Àbɔɔ Édíŋ, the second installment in a planned trilogy aimed at honoring, preserving and updating traditions.

We get strong echoes of palm wine and highlife on the opener "Fóó Tè," a song about moving forward in life mindfully. There's a lot of ternary (3/4. 6/8, 12/8) time in these songs, generally a plus in my book. Examples include "Kasoa," with its animated, ceremonial feel and its celebration of an older, simpler lifestyle, also in the jazzy swing of the title track, "Àbòr Édiń," a reflection on the seasons of life with the refrain, "Time waits for nobody." The sweet earworm "Jojo" is closer to a waltz lamenting the shortcomings in his relationship with his father: "How I wish you listened to my yearnings with your heart and not your ears."

Afroso is an easy and beguiling vocalist, capable of an assertive reediness (Àkpàlé) as well as warm vocal call-and-response layering à la Lokua Kanza ("Black Soil Woman"). His messages are sincere and provocative--nostalgia, concerns about the environment, the corruption of modern love, and always, finding the place of ancestral wisdom in a fast-changing world. The light, acoustic grooves in which Afroso embeds his melodies and messages are consistently buoyant and interesting, with help from excellent backing musicians. We await the conclusion of his philosophical trilogy, and much more beyond. This is an artist with legs!