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On hearing this compilation, you start to wonder why we think real reggae and dancehall has to be Jamaican, here you see the music has travelled back to its roots in Africa and been taken apart, played with and mastered by real talent. These guys are injecting new spirit into the scene — using reggae as social commentary, dancehall to get feet moving — just as the forefathers wanted.

The album features some well known names like Ivory Coast’s Tiken Jah Foley with his meandering voice and pure reggae sound, staying true to Marley and hitting hard with his lyrics. ‘Tonton d’America’ sung in French points the finger at America and the West as a whole for running riot in the continent and creating a dependency culture for the average African, “They give us fish, without teaching us how to fish.”

And there’s Necessary Noize from Kenya, the country’s royal family of rap and reggae, collaborating with Uganda’s Bebe Cool as East African Reggae Bashment Crew on the track ‘Africa Unite’ and just the two of them for ‘Bless My Room’. Singing in English and patois the listener hears humour, creativity and just how damn cool those two are.

There’s a number of standout tracks and ‘Bad Boy’ from Mauritania’s 994 Crew is definitely one. 994 Crew is a collective of some of Mauritania’s big names and it’s a big and pumping sound they create with a subtle and compelling reggae back beat, grinding vocals and some dancehall fizz thrown in. It’s a great introduction to Mauritania’s contemporary urban scene and makes you want more.

And then, the cheeky sound of Tanzania’s Dully Sykes slips in with the track ‘Handsome’. Dully is a pioneer in Swahili dancehall using the characteristic synthesised beat of Bongo to act as a backdrop to Dully’s unusual voice and fast-paced lyrics. A great dance track “I get respect from the ladies because of my money. Everywhere I go they scream ‘handsome’.”

Not being a devoted reggae / dancehall fan and always looking for some mixing up of this and that, Teba from South Africa gives us a ‘sit up and listen’ track with ‘Gatyeni’. Although Teba is seen as one of the most outspoken MCs of the emerging Rasta movement, his backgrounds are kwaito and Cape Town and both make an appearance here. Expect a story-telling flow of lyrics over and under-laid by warm guitar lilts and brass blasts that bring the track from edgy urban (with Teba’s pacey sing-song vocals) to a warm funked up place.

Reggae and dancehall are massive on the continent but this album shows how new and exciting it sounds when it comes from another perspective. This is an album that offers something for everyone — from the reggae and dancehall die-hards to those who dabble.

African Rebel Music: Roots Reggae and Dancehall is released by Out here records www.outhere.de