''A Ma Zone'' is an album by the group

Zap Mama Zap Mama is a Belgian singer-songwriter, performer, composer, lyricist, activist, video artist and ethno-vocal therapist born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, raised in Belgium. Zap Mama sings polyphonic and afro-pop music, a harmonic music ...

, released in 1999. The group supported the album with a North American tour. The first single was "Rafiki".

Production

Produced by frontwoman

Marie Daulne Marie Daulne (born 20 October 1964) is a Belgian singer. Daulne was born in Isiro, Haut-Uele District, Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Belgian who was killed that same year by Congo Crisis#Rural insurgencies in Eastern Provinces, Simba r ...

, the album was recorded in part in the United States; Daulne was influenced by

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

. The group, which included Daulne's sister, Anita, sang in Swahili and French, among other languages.

Manu Dibango Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango (12 December 1933 – 24 March 2020) was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father w ...

played saxophone on "'Allo 'Allo".

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, singer, actor and the lead Emcee (hip hop), MC of the hip hop group The Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove in Philadelphia. Regar ...

rapped on "Rafiki".

Speech Speech is the use of the human voice as a medium for language. Spoken language combines vowel and consonant sounds to form units of meaning like words, which belong to a language's lexicon. There are many different intentional speech acts, suc ...

also appeared on the album.

Critical reception

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' noted that "actual drums and bass ... now underpin the group's sound, but this album shifts the emphasis back toward interwoven female voices." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' praised the "strong central voice—main Mama Marie Daulne—anchoring a rare album that’s both global and personal." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' thought that ''A Ma Zone'' "taps into electronica, funk and folk with an inspired, gimmick-free dexterity." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' determined that, "at points, the gorgeously arranged vocal interplay suggests pan-rap paradise." The ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' concluded that "Zap Mama has lost a little of its originality, a little of its uniqueness—or perhaps its funky sound is simply more familiar in the global musical melting pot." ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' stated that the "sound is an ethereal tumble of synthesizers and other instruments, anchored by muscular, percussive beats."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that "breakbeats, jazzy upright bass, and turntable manipulation are now a part of the mix—a mix that was already rich with European and West African influences."

Track listing

References

{{reflist Zap Mama albums 1999 albums Luaka Bop albums