McAnuff Family & The Ligerians - Africa My Destiny (SoulNurse Records)

The French band had already been working with Nadia McAnuff for some time, and when her father Winston popped in during one of his daughter's recording sessions, it immediately resulted in the single 'Colors'. Not long afterwards, Kush McAnuff also joined the ranks, and in spring 2025, a first short family tour followed.

One name is, of course, missing from the line-up, namely that of Matthew McAnuff, who lost his life in a stabbing in 2012. 'Africa My Destiny' therefore fittingly opens with a new version of his hit 'Be Careful', an instant goosebump moment that has become the regular closing song during their live shows.

For completeness, we should perhaps also mention Ishmel McAnuff, although he was not involved in this project.

In title track 'Africa My Destiny', The Ligerians appropriately gave the synths and guitars a distinctly African feel and also added tama or talking drum percussion. Winston drew inspiration for the song from 'If We Must Die', a poem written by Jamaican-American author, poet and activist Claude McKay in response to the attacks by white Americans on African-American communities during the Red Summer, a period in 1919 when more than thirty cities across the United States saw white-supremacist terrorism and violent race riots.

'See I Face', Nadia's first contribution on 'Africa My Destiny', follows in the footsteps of what she already did on 'Shelter From The Storm', her earlier collaboration with The Ligerians.

A definite highlight is the classic roots sound of 'Lock Up', once again featuring Winston on lead vocals.

Although he is not literally doing so, you can almost picture Kush beating his big thunder drum on the excellent 'The Best Thing Is To Know'.

Winston returns with the feelgood 'Bad Time Don't Last', while Nadia follows with 'Glory To Dada', an ode to the Almighty.

Winston also gets the final word on the album, with his own interpretation of Freddy McKay's 'Our Rendezvous', here retitled 'Rendez-Vous'.

'Africa My Destiny' is not only a unique family project, but also an excellent roots production. From The Ligerians, we have come to expect nothing less!