Black Diamond

Buraka Som Sistema

Buraka Som Sistema consists of producers Lil' John, Riot and Conductor, and MC Kalaf, but count amongst their ranks an extended family of dancers and MCs from around the globe. Every face is a valued part of their limb-enslaving hybrid assault of native Angolan Kuduro and the roughest globe-scoured ghetto-funk riddims.

In just two years, the group have released a slew of breakthrough singles, torched the blogosphere with their MIA featuring viral video `Sound Of Kuduro', and wowed audiences in over 13 countries with the mesmerizing dance-driven spectacle at the heart of kuduro. No wonder Fader mag dubbed their live feast, "One of the most jaw-droppingly effusive club moments we've experienced.

"Now with their debut long-player, `Black Diamond,' finally set to drop, escalating infamy is set to erupt into worldwide domination. With powerful comrades in the likes of Diplo and Switch, and collaborators in Kano, MIA and Hot Chip - to name but a few - they've become the driving heartbeat of the headline-grabbing global ghetto-funk revolution.

Buraka Som Sistema have launched Kuduro into a foreign spotlight for the fi rst time and allied BSS with an emerging web-savvy clique of disparately located global acts taking exotic urban soundtracks to the masses. Alongside artists like Brazil's Bonde Do Role, Britain's MIA, and America's Diplo, crosspollinating ghetto-sounds were uniting hips in motion, and making world music the coolest it has ever been.

An explosive multi-decked live show was assembled, involving physics-defying dance troupes and rotating rapid-fire MCs, exporting the unhinged mayhem across the world. More music, including the rampaging cavalcade `Sound Of Kuduro', featuring number one fan-girl MIA, would help earn them MTV Europe Award nominations, invitations into Damon Albarn's revered Africa Express project, and ensure that whether it be in high-brow broadsheet features or ram-jammed club scenes, Buraka look set to be one of 2009's most talked-about acts.