hypersongs

IMF

A protest anthem aimed at the International Monetary Fund, the lead single of A Long Way to the Beginning.
Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, from A Long Way to the Beginning (2014)

Our upload is titled "IMF | Black Times", but the song is not on Black Times (2018); MusicBrainz and the reviews place it as track one of A Long Way to the Beginning (2014), so the album in the upload title looks mislabeled. M-1 of Dead Prez appears on it. OkayAfrica calls it the lead single, a horn-flanked jab at the IMF's intervention in Nigerian economic and oil policy, and the Agit Reader reads the acronym in its profane form. Seun told The Quietus in April 2014 that he does not think IMF is an African issue, that there is austerity everywhere, and framed the IMF and World Bank as global concerns while criticizing Africa Rising rhetoric. PopMatters calls it the album's standout and notes a similar critique in a 1985 Bruce Cockburn song. We found no writer credit, recording date, chart or setlist data.

Sources

  1. The time for being nice is over, The Quietus (2014-04-22)
  2. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, A Long Way to the Beginning, OkayAfrica (2014-05-27)
  3. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, A Long Way to the Beginning, PopMatters (2014-06-26)
  4. A Long Way to the Beginning, The Agit Reader (2014-05-30)