The Rough Guide to African Disco is aworld musiccompilation album originally released in 2013 featuring mainly 1970s and '80sAfricandisco. Part of theWorld Music NetworkRough Guides series, the album contains two discs: an overview of the genre on Disc One, and a "bonus" Disc Two highlightingCameroonian artistMaloko. Disc One features fiveSouth African tracks, fourNigerian, twoGhanaian, and one each from Cameroon and France. The release was compiled by Dominic Raymond-Barker and Phil Stanton, co-founder of the World Music Network.[1][2]
Gregory Heaney ofAllMusic called the album "solid" and praised the World Music Network for increasing the world's funkiness.[6]Robert Christgau rewarded the release with an "A−", saying it succeeded in finding the balance between "cheap commercialism and heartfelt ambition." While "The Dean" waxed poetic on Disc Two,[3] David Maine ofPopMatters pronounced it a stab at "accessibility for western ears" fallen flat. He did however call the "Afro-funk" and "Afro-pop" of Disc One worth exploring.[4] Writing forTimeOut, Lydia Jenkin labelled the album "stunning".[5]
