When Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness takes the aural wheel, it’s a winding road, requiring the listener to have their seatbelt firmly buckled. Their music veers wildly and seamlessly from hip hop to traditional to soul to reggae. The relentless momentum references Wu-Tang for 30 seconds until a Studio One beat drops in. Call and response follows before being broken into by traditional African beats. Next they spit rhymes seemingly based in British grime as much as The Fugees’ slinky sound. And then, sure, why not throw in a deep dive into psychedelia?

Punctuated by lyrics that offer sharp strikes at social injustice coupled with deeply soulful vocals, this band is singular, even incomparable. BCUC don’t just play music, they provide an experience, one that strikes the listener deeply in the soul and the heart. They produce goosebumps and a challenge that asks “How do you process this?” How is it that you instinctively connect with something that seems both beamed in from space and arising from the earth beneath you? It doesn’t matter, the invitation to lose yourself is too enticing to resist. Their three-chapter masterpiece “Millions of Us” from the 2023 album of the same name requires, earns and begs for devoted listening. Oh, and they sing in all 11 official South African languages. Prepare to be transported.

— Derek McEwen