Antibalas

Named after the Spanish word for bulletproof, Antibalas is a Brooklyn-based afrobeat band founded in 1998 by Martín Perna. Its starting points were Fela Kuti's Africa 70 and Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive Orchestra, and its music keeps afrobeat's musical architecture at the centre. Around that core, jazz, funk, dub and improvised playing mingle with traditional drumming from Cuba and West Africa.

The group first performed on 26 May 1998 at St. Nick's Pub in Harlem, then held a Friday residency at the NoMoore club from August 1999 until fire officials shut the venue in April 2001. Their first album, Liberation Afrobeat Vol. 1, was out by 2000. Who Is This America? followed in 2004 on Ropeadope, and Security, produced by John McEntire and released on ANTI- in 2007, was a notable step. The band also worked on Bill T. Jones's Fela!, first off-Broadway in 2008 and then on Broadway in 2009. Later milestones include the 2010 Rat Race EP, the 2012 self-titled album on Daptone, a 2015 horn session with Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars on "Uptown Funk", and Fu Chronicles in 2020.