The Souljazz Orchestra – Manifesto is of the most politically and socially conscious soul jazz albums with a heavy of sense of political awareness and social awareness especially with songs such as Kapital, Parasite, People People and Interested Benevolence. Manifesto is their most political album. The horn section is very lively and vibrant. The album is very Afrobeat.

Kapital is one of the many songs on the album with a heavy of sense of political awareness and social awareness. The band shows their politically conscious side and socially conscious side during the song. The band exposes how rich people exploit poor people for manual labor. The song has a very anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and anti-establishment stance.

Rich people offer poor people jobs and act like holy saviors when what rich people are really doing is exploiting poor people for manual labor. Rich people exploit poor people by making them work in a factory, sweatshop, on a plantation, and even coerced into prostitution. But some of us are more equal than others. That’s what they say.

These lyrics on Verse 1 and Verse 2 explain how rich people exploit the poor people.

[Verse 1]
Rich man says come work for me oh
Take care of you your family oh
Rich man act like holy savior
Exploit the poor man for manual labor
He make the poor man work in factory
(Work on work, work on work.)
He make poor women work in sweatshop
(Work on work, work on work.)
He’ll make the poor man work on plantation
(Work on work, work on work.)
He’ll make poor women work prostitution
(Work on work, work on work.)

[Verse 2]
He’ll poor man tense, him stick oh in hand
(Kapital make the world round oh)
Keep rich man ahead, poor man behind
(Kapital make the world round oh)
Him promise palace, give poor man box
(Kapital make the world round oh)
Promise milk and honey, give poor man shit food
(Kapital make the world round oh)

Interested Benevolence is another one of their politically and socially conscious songs on the album. Anti-imperialism is the theme of this song. The band takes an anti-imperialist stance against countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. And even friendly good old Canada.

The United States of America acts like liberators of freedom while acting as imperialists when they hijack other countries for resources and terrorism. The United Kingdom acts like liberators of freedom while acting as imperialists when they hijack other countries for resources, currency, and imperialism. They are/were imperialists.

If a country has gold, then they will come. They will take whatever they can. If a country has trouble, they will come to the rescue. At least sometime but not always. But if country has nothing, they will not come. Most of the times if a country has trouble, they will turn a blind eye. No one notices Uganda, Cambodia, Rwanda, or Sudan.

These lyrics explain how imperialist countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom will hijack other countries for resources.

[Verse 2]
If country has gold
(Them gone come. Them gone come.)
If country has trouble
(Them gone come. Them gone come.)
Well them come to the rescue
(Them gone come. Them gone come.)
Them take what them can
(Them gone come. Them gone come.)

But if country has nothing
(Them no come. Them no come.)
And if country has trouble
(Them no come. Them no come.)
Then turn a blind eye
(Them no come. Them no come.)
Don’t pay no mind
(Them no come. Them no come.)

No one notice Uganda
(Why oh, why oh.)
No one notice Cambodia
(Why oh, why oh.)
No one notice Rwanda
(Why oh, why oh.)
No one notices Sudan
(Why oh, why oh.)

I rate this album 5/5*!!