– THE CHARM OFFENSIVE –

When Texas rapper, Nelly once memorably (and somewhat repeatedly) informed us that it was, in fact, getting “hot in herre”, it seems unlikely that he was referring to the global warming crisis that currently hangs – quite literally – over us like an ominous cloud (or doesn’t if you choose to believe the bleatings of an orange-skinned, floppy-haired bell-end).

And so, when “Afropéan” duo DjeuhDjoah and Lieutenant Nicholson resurrect the sentiment (albeit without the summonses to remove items of clothing) on their exuberant hit El Niño it would be easy to believe that – in a likewise fashion – their lyrics relate more to the post-watershed activities of hormonal adolescents than geo-politics.

And yet, you’d be wrong. The track is actually an informed, impassioned treatise on the state of the planet’s climate, while the album from which it comes contains references to the Martinique poet, politician and “co-founder of the négritude movement in Francophone literature” Aimé Césaire, as well as the 1902 eruption of the same country’s Mount Pelée, which killed more than 30,000 people. So, as you can see, they’re smart blokes.

All of which is lovely of course, but when you sing it in French, lads, it’s far too easy for me to listen with my bootay rather than my brain (my wife is quite literally cringing as she reads this, no doubt. I’m joking, not even my wife reads this shit).

El Niño comes from the album, Aimez Ces Airs which was released last month through Hot Casa records.

More From This Week’s Mix:

BLACK FLOWER | “FUTURE FLORA”
JPEGMAFIA | “THE WHO”
THE COMET IS COMING | “SUPER ZODIAC”
KENDRICK SCOTT ORACLE | “>>>>>>>>>VOICES”

You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –