West African Supergroup Les Amazones D'Afrique Returns With 'Amazones Power'

In 2017, the all-woman collective Les Amazones d'Afrique introduced themselves to the world with their debut album, Republique Amazone. The songs showcased the group's two signatures: intoxicating, danceable rhythms and a message calling out violence and other forms of mistreatment of women all over the globe.

Their second album, called Amazones Power was released Friday, and it builds on many of those same themes. The group has grown since last time, with the core of women with roots in West Africa now supplemented by an international mix of men and women.

NPR's Michel Martin spoke to Niariu and Fafa Ruffino, two of the stars of the collective, about why they wanted to be part of the project and their personal connections to the social issues they sing about on the album. Listen to the full conversation in the player above.

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