Sonny Okosuns - African Soldiers (CD)

All Music Guide

A superstar on the African Continent, Sonny Okosuns commands the type of reverence in African music that Bob Marley enjoyed in reggae and Stevie Wonder commands in RB. Okosuns has recorded some five-star reggae over the years, although African pop is his main focus. And the fact that Okosuns sings in English much of the time certainly hasn't hurt his popularity among reggae audiences. A welcome addition to his catalog, African Soldiers is among the many superb albums he's delivered. Okosuns favors African dialects on some of the material and embraces English on such exuberant, uplifting Afro-pop as "Woman" and the title song. "Babylon," "Happy Days" and "King of Kings" illustrate his excellence in the reggae department, but it must be stressed that Okosuns brings a distinctly African flavor to a style associated primarily with Jamaica. African Soldiers never fails to impress.

- Alex Henderson, All Music Guide