''Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum'' is an album by vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, released in 1994. It includes the singles "I'm Going All the Way", " I Believe", "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" and "Black Butterfly".

Critical reception

In a review for AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier gave the album four out of five stars, commenting that producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were "on top of their game" at the time of the album's release, and that they "brought no shortage of their trademark dense percussive rhythms" to the album. He went on to say that "even if the production sounds a little calculated and perhaps even outdated for its time, it made for some amazing songs." ''Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum'' won Best Gospel Album at the

1995 Soul Train Music Awards The 1995 Soul Train Music Awards was held on March 13, 1995, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show honored the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was hosted by Anita Baker, Babyfa ...

Singles

In 1993, the year before the release of the album, "I'm Going All the Way" had been released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart. In 1994, " I Believe" was released as the next single from the album, reaching No. 99 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, No. 15 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, No. 1 on

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

and No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart. "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" reached No. 29 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, No. 10 on Dance Club Songs and No. 29 in the UK. "I'm Going All the Way" was re-released in the UK in early 1995, this time reaching No. 14, becoming the highest-charting Sounds of Blackness single in that country. The single also saw a release in the US, reaching No. 39 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 41 on Dance Club Songs. "Black Butterfly" reached No. 86 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.

Musicians

* Robert Anderson – vocals *Jamecia Bennett – background vocals *Robin Berry – harp *Dexter Conyers – vocals *Core Cotton – vocals *LaSalle Gabriel – guitar *Shirley Marie Graham – vocals *Trenon Graham – drums, percussion *Carrie Harrington – vocals, background vocals *Jayn Higgins - vocals *Gary Hines – arranger, drum programming, keyboards, piano *

Jimmy Jam Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

– arranger, drum programming, keyboards, synthesizer *Geoffrey Jones – vocals *Patricia Lacy – vocals * Terry Lewis – arranger * Eunique Mack – vocals *Renee McCall – vocals, background vocals * Ann Nesby – bass, vocal arrangement, vocals *Kevin Pierce – guitar *Alecia Russell – vocals *Nate Sabin – guitar *Larry Sims – trumpet *James Smith – vocals * Sounds of Blackness – instrumental, primary artist, vocals, background vocals *Billy Steele – keyboards, vocal arrangement, vocals *Jeff Taylor – drum programming *Libby Turner – vocals, background vocals *Franklin Wharton – alto sax *Kevin Whitlock – percussion * Stokley Williams – drums, percussion *Louis J. Wilson – tenor sax *Marcus Wise – tabla *David Wright III – baritone sax *Jimmy Wright – arranger, keyboards, organ, electric piano, synthesizer, vocals *Rev. Joseph Young, Jr. – rap

Production

* Brian Gardner – mastering *Gary Hines – producer *Steve Hodge – engineer, mixing *Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – executive producer, producer *David Rideau – mixing *Brent Rollins – artwork *Jeff Taylor – assistant engineer

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

''Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum''
at Discogs {{Authority control 1994 albums A&M Records albums Albums produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Sounds of Blackness albums