With their songs and live shows, the OSB Crew / Otenttikk Street Brothers, from the small island of Mauritius, prove that there are still places on this planet where there are brilliant musicians making innovative music, that is so far completely unknown to the rest of the world. Their style combines in masterly way elements of reggae, ragga and dancehall with the traditional musical heritage of the Mauritian Creole inhabitants called sega.
The result is an electrifying mixture of 4-bar reggae grooves with the African 3-bar roots of sega music. But the music of OSB Crew also has everything else great music needs: four MCs that sing and toast like there is no tomorrow, charismatic live presence, and catchy hook-lines and arrangements that don't need to hide behind the work that comes out of the major studios in the western world.
Extra spice is added by the French-Creole language, which is used to denounce the arrogance of Babylon and ambivalent materialism of today's zeitgeist. Even though the OSB Crew has no problems with partying and having fun, their message lies clearly on the consciousness-side of the spectrum. But they never slip into pure agitation and always remain aware of their social responsibilities. And so you find them equally condemning political mismanagement and police brutality as well as regular social ills like excessive alcohol consumption.
OSB Crew is perfoming at Sauti Za Busara Music Festival 2006.
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