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Artist
Kokolo Afrobeat Orchestra
12+ albums
afrobeatfunkafricanworldWorld Music
about
Also known as Kokolo, is an American Afrobeat band from the Lower East Side of New York City, formed in 2001 by songwriter/producer Ray Lugo. Along with The Daktaris and Antibalas, they form part of the early New York Afrobeat scene that ignited the genre’s current global revival. ==Name Origin== The band's name, (pronounced kohːkohːloh), was taken from a 1970's term used in Spanish Harlem and parts of the Caribbean, often as a pejorative, to describe Latinos of African descent who were fans of Afro music. Kokolo aimed to invert the negative connotation of the term through their music. ==History: From Punk to Afrofunk== ===Fuss And Fight=== Prior to founding Kokolo, Lugo’s musical background was rooted in New York’s downtown hardcore punk and rock scenes, associating with groups such as Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Gorilla Biscuits, Jawbreaker, Youth Of Today, Leeway and Warzone. Warzone’s lead singer, Raymond “Raybeez” Barbieri was a close personal friend of Lugo and an early mentor on the ins-and-outs of independent music, inspiring the DIY ethic that would become a key characteristic of Kokolo. By the summer of 1995, Lugo ran Underhanded Studios, a recording facility on Ludlow Street, which he shared with Mark Anthony Thompson (Chocolate Genius), Sim Cain (Rollins Band) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto/Sean Lennon). While at Underhanded, Lugo befriended Gabe Roth and Phillip Lehman, who soon recorded the first albums for Desco Records at Underhanded and who woul
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