Trendsettahs Sound System – “La Fiebre” (ft. Sizzla Kalonji, Zalama Crew) [Song Review]

Trendsettahs Sound System recently released a new single/music video, “La Fiebre,” featuring vocalist Sizzla Kalonji and Zalama Crew, a Latin Afrobeat outfit from Cali, Columbia.

An appetizer for Trendsettahs Sound System’s upcoming album, Black Sounds of Freedom, “La Fiebre,” which translates to ‘the fever,’ blends “reggae that is the soundtrack to the Rastafarian movement” with flavours of dancehall, afrobeat, and reggaeton.

A collective of musicians, DJs, visual artists, thinkers, businesspeople, and tech pioneers orchestrated by DJ Fyahman, Trendsettahs Sound System was formed in 2015. The collective’s current project, Black Sounds of Freedom, is an expression of arts, culture, history, academia, and futurism. Black Sounds of Freedom contains three core elements: the album, the docuseries, and a festival, aka the Pilgrimage, in Ethiopia.

According to Trendsettahs Sound System, “This movement combines music with social resistance. We travel the black Diaspora and lead people to explore Africa.”

Opening on soft, percolating tones, “La Fiebre” rolls into a contagious syncopated rhythm topped by gang-like harmonies, followed by the rich, evocative voice of Sizzla, whose delivery offers spellbinding flavours of singjay, along with hints of operatic savours.

Trendsettahs Sound System

At once sensual and popping with buoyant energy, the video depicts images from the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, and the barrios of Cali, Colombia.

Dispersing layers of bright leitmotifs riding swaggering percussion, “La Fiebre” conjures up a wild, party-like atmosphere.

Run Time: 3:06
Release Date: February 2, 2023
Record Label: Independent