Anybody who describes his music as “George Clinton sharing a joint with Fela” must be plenty bold, but Keziah Jones has six studio albums and a worldwide fanbase to back up his claim. Jones’s new video, for the lead single “Afronewave,” was directed by master lensman Andrew Dosunmu (Restless City). It stars Jones as his alter-ego, Captain Rugged—a postmodern African comic-book superhero from Makoko, a water-repurposing slum settlement sitting on stilts high above a lagoon in the heart of hustle-bustle Lagos, Nigeria.

Captain Rugged is also the title of Jones’s new album, released January 20 on Because Records. In a style that Jones calls “blufunk” (a hybrid of African-American blues influences and contemporary funk), Captain Rugged was produced by longtime collaborator Kevin Armstrong and sound engineered by the guy who’s currently twiddling knobs on soul icon D’Angelo’s near mythical third album, Russell “The Dragon” Elevado. So you know Captain Rugged sounds ruggedly funky. Don’t delay, click play.—Sun Singleton

Follow Keziah Jones on Twitter @KeziahJNZ and his site, KeziahJones.biz.

Sun Singleton is a Virginia-born singer/journalist based in New York City. Follow her on Twitter @sunsing.

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