The Ibeyi sisters reap the best from their parents’ immigrant history. Twins Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz are from France, and, as the group Ibeyi, sing in French, English, Spanish and the West African language of Yoruba (Ibeyi means “twins” in Yoruba).
You can hear the French pop influence on their music, but also the jazz and the Afro-Caribbean pulse of their Cuban father, who once played with the Buena Vista Social Club, and the influence of their French-Venezuelan mother. They’re hip enough to get L.A. saxophonist Kamasi Washington to lay down tracks on their new album, and to have appeared in Beyonce’s Lemonade video.
The themes are bolder, more political, on their second album, Ash, with the song “Deathless,” telling the story of how one of the sisters was harassed at the age of 16 by a policeman who suspected her of being associated with drug dealing because she’s black. But “we are deathless,” they sing. In other words: never give in to despair.
Ibeyi play the Fillmore on Friday, April 13. Details here.
