Pongo

• Sakidila [Virgin, 2022] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Sakidila [Virgin, 2022]
An Angola-born 30-year-old who emigrated to Lisbon when she was eight and first heard Angolan kuduru as a 12-year-old traveling to and from physical therapy after she failed to kill herself by jumping out of a window, she sings like singing gave her something to live for. Half-rapped, half-crooned, her songs are verbally opaque to non-Portuguese speakers either way, but their beats and hooks mix styles till they compensate and then some. As usual, I like the beaty stuff best. But soulful plaints-or-are-they like "Kuzola" and "Vida" make me wish I had a trot. A-