Feature: Nneka @ SOB’s in NYC (02.02.10)

I’m glad I didn’t hear all the comparisons before hand.  “She’s the new Lauryn Hill!”  “She’s the next Erykah Badu!”  “She can sing and rap!”  “Did you see her hair? It’s wonderful!”  I probably would have walked in to SOB’s as a jaded fan, diametrically opposing the warm vibe in the venue for the third stop on her first U.S. tour.  Instead, I settled in up front, between the few videographers and photographers allowed to film the performance; one that will be sure to impress critics entice new fans and empower old ones.  Nneka is here.

Mixing the sounds of afrobeat, funk, soul and hip hop, the show was a moving one that grew in energy along with her confidence and stage presence during the course of the night.  She seemed a bit tense or nervous during the first three tracks, though the sincerity of songs like The Uncomfortable Truth and the crowd’s response made her noticeably more relaxed.  The place was filled with fans that knew most of the songs, word for word.  Somebody hand me a late pass.  I was taken to the green room before her set to get confirmation that I could film and passed by a woman dancing alone to Fela Kuti.  It was Nneka.  “She’s tiny!” I thought.  But from that small frame came a huge voice filled with strength and a sense of responsibility to her native Nigeria .

Nneka: “Vagabonds In Power!”

SOB’s: “Vagabonds in Power Ooooooooh!”

Nneka: “That’s good, but this time lets try it on beat.”

Playing V.I.P, the unreleased track showed the political side of Nneka’s message, condemning the corruption that pervades her home country and others in the world.  The show ended with the upbeat, danceable but equally political Heartbeat which had a normally subdued NYC crowd waving their hands in the air, dancing and singing in call and response.  After leaving the stage, J.Period roused the crowd up for an encore that brought Nneka back for Focus, her final song of the night.