MTMTMK

 The Very Best is comprised of Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and London-based producer Johan Hugo (Radioclit, We Don't Belong in Pacha). The group garnered extensive critical praise for both Warm Heart of Africa and their string of online mixtapes with the Los Angeles Times calling them the best advertisement for blogs since, well, ever and Pitchfork hailing their last release as a hopeful template for things to come and naming Warm Heart of Africa Best New Music. MTMTMK was recorded over five weeks in a makeshift studio in Esau's hometown of Lilongwe, Malawi. We had a big step with the second album we had to evolve, Johan notes. This time we wrote, produced and recorded together simultaneously the way it should be done. It was a much more collaborative effort. The album features guest spots by Amadou & Mariam, Baaba Maal and K'naan, among others. Pitchfork is premiering the video for the track Yoshua Alikuti. Filmed in the Kiamaiko slum in Nairobi and directed by Kenya-based Village Beat, the video spoofs Lil Wayne s A Milli video.