The Good Vibe Connection: Velasquez & Kuboye’s Spiritual Collaboration

By Teresa Coben

Latin Grammy Award winner Roger Velasquez and Grammy-nominated global music artist Baba Kuboye, the nephew of Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, have joined forces on a new single that’s creating a buzz. Their new song, “Colomentality,” featured on Kuboye’s latest album Afroverse, is a unique blend of Afrobeat and Latin soul that is receiving critical acclaim. We spoke with Roger Velasquez to learn more about this unexpected collaboration.

The connection between the two artists was a chance meeting at a mixer in Oklahoma City hosted by multi-Grammy Award winner Kitt Wakely. Velasquez vividly recalls the moment.

“I came across a very tall, colorfully dressed man with a very big, warm smile, and that’s when I met Baba.” It was a meeting that felt destined.

“We were strangers, but it felt like we’d known each other for a long time,” Velasquez said.

The creative synergy was immediate. “Baba embodies positivity,” Velasquez shared. “He’s on a mission to spread good vibes.” This aligned perfectly with Velasquez’s own work, as his last record was titled “Buena Vibra,” or “good vibes.” This shared philosophy laid the groundwork for “Colomentality.”

Velasquez explained, “It was a harmonious meeting of the minds that led to the theme of gratefulness and joy for all our blessings. That two people from different cultures could connect on a spiritual level was a blessing beyond imagination. We are blessed beyond imagination so we were on the same spiritual plane.”

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