Cha Wa - My People (2021)

GRAMMY-nominated New Orleans band Cha Wa will return on April 2 with My People, a new collection that honors and builds upon the rich culture and traditions of the city’s Mardi Gras Indian community. Arriving via the renowned southern independent label Single Lock Records, My People is an exuberant homage to the sounds of the Mardi Gras Indians - a group predominantly made up of New Orleans' African American community which pays respect to the area's Native American tribes with their wardrobe, music and dialect. Packed with a vivid assemblage of New Orleans sounds and stories, this new Cha Wa record infuses the traditional chants of the Mardi Gras Indians with grooves reminiscent of a ‘70s New Orleans funk band like The Meters (particularly on offerings like “Wildman” and “Bow Down”) and takes clear influence from the city's rich history of jazz, R&B, hip-hop, rock, soul and African-inspired arrangements (including a chilling cover of Bob Dylan’s “Masters Of War” in this style).