We were presented just a couple of years ago the album Living Testament. That set came courtesy of the very active (and interesting) Trinity Farm Music (with Go A Chant Productions) and was dubbed the final recorded album from the great Vaughn Benjamin and Akae Beka. It was fantastic and would even go on to take our top honours in 2024 as the Album of The Year. Despite the fact that it was called the final complete work of Benjamin there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that today’s situation was on the horizon but, as I said, I made the most of that release and I still am.

So the prospects of getting my paws on a new one, regardless of when it was recorded, were damn appetizing and they always will be. Vaughn Benjamin — PHYSICALLY (and only physically) — left us in late 2019 but because of the type of work that he left behind, it hasn’t seemed so. Not only have there been more releases but the older material remains just as enjoyable to listen to and to work through in order to find the true meaning and inspiration of one of the very few undeniable geniuses I have ever come across.

The early part of the second third of 2026 now delivers to us an Akae Beka album of full music that I’ve never heard [!], World Tap In! BOOM! The feeling going into these records, for me, is always an interesting one. You may not think that Akae Beka makes a brand of Roots music that is necessarily exciting but that’s where I’m at! I am downright THRILLED to be diving into a new album and, again, when it comes aligned with such a proven source, it magnifies it even more. Even the album cover (biggup Marcus Wilson) gives me that wonderful nostalgic feeling! LET’S GET INTO IT!

Along with, obviously, that of of Vaughn Benjamin (who also serves as producer along with HBP), World Tap In also features the work of a lineup of venerable players of instrument such as Ras L, Kenyatta Itola and the great Tuff Lion, all of whom have a long line of working with Akae Beka/Midnite throughout the years.
World Tap In gets up and going courtesy of what, kinda/sorta, would be its initial single (it’s the only song present here that I heard a tiny bit of before it launched), the wholly destructive Kingdom. The way this song comes in… it makes me tingle! The song sits as a table-setter. It sets the stage for what is to follow in direction and I don’t have to go too far to tell you what direction that is and does so with a very OPEN and inviting style. If you like Kingdom, I think there’s a pretty good chance that World Tap In is for you. I hear so much natural emotion in this tune with this man singing about his King that it proved to be a downright HUMBLING start to this release.

The responsibility for keeping the quality up following the opener goes to a song which, RIDICULOUSLY, threatens to outpace Kingdom, the multi-multi-faceted World Volatile. On one hand, you’ve heard Benjamin do something like this before. He will get into topics centered around financial matters and such themes (the one that immediately came to my mind was All I’s On You from Beauty For Ashes) and though they typically aren’t (they never are) CLOSED off and straight-forward), I don’t know if he’s ever done one as all-encompassing as this stunner.

World Volatile is one of my favourite songs on this album (with respect to the Kingdom and a certain plant that I’m going to tell you about in a second) as it is this TOTAL battering ram of ideology that challenges you as a listener in ways that only Akae Beka’s music can (go from analyzing stocks to talking about the power of appreciation….). I should also mention the riddim which is on the VERY simple side but is GORGEOUS!

Next in is the delightful bounce of Asking Some More. I’m predicting that this one will get lost. It will be heard and enjoyed on a superficial level but if you grind it down, even a little your gift is brilliance. It just is. Where I am currently with Asking Some More is that it is a track on the importance of education and awareness. Of course, I’m not strictly speaking about the type of knowledge attained in a classroom; this is a more experience based – instantly applicable – type of insight. Benjamin approaches this one from all angles including, wonderfully, a historical one.

“Nameless Ethiopians, remotest men of all- Came to the west inna handcuff, inna chain and ball. Inna modern contemporary, standing tall, BECAUSE OF AMNESIA, WE DON’T RECALL”

And then there’s the “plant” I alluded to before, the MAMMOTH Sycamore Tree. There is a certain FORCE behind Benjamin’s vocals here that I’m struggling to recall hearing previously on this level. There’re points during Sycamore Tree where his voice gets a little raspy and it almost seems like he’s a little pissed off (maybe ‘Sha-tee’) [“Deputy & legacy”] but when you check it out, Sycamore Tree is a biblical tune, almost entirely.

I have found Hemp Scroll. I have located New Race. Sycamore Tree THRILLS as the single finest moment on the album. By comparison, the vocals of the tune behind it, As We Will, are much lighter than Sycamore Tree but they also work in its case. It almost reminds me a little of the title track from Free Indeed [“Work of light and word of truth that King Selassie I reveal”] as far as its sound. As We Will, in its direction is a fairly broad life observation. It’s about the balance of all things — good & evil, heavy & light –and how they play a role in the things we do and the decisions we make. It comes from a spiritual source, obviously, but you could well apply facets of the song into tangible, everyday life.

I thought I had a pretty solid idea of what Across The Eons could be about and I was fairly close (for a change) as it sits as both a praising piece and one which attempts to link the present with the past [“Reaching across the eons to hold hands, to break bread and give thanks”]. It does have a more directly biblical heart, particularly later on but, again, you could just as easily take it to mean that the foundation and teachings set by our ancestors can be helpful to us all these years later. So, if you do take the effort, you could also give it a more grounded significance. Oh and Across The Eons is also kinda beautiful but I’ll talk about that more in a minute.

I’ll also mention Cover InI right here because I’ve been stuck on it for the better part of an hour now. Cover InI is a pure praise and nothing else and it is simply glorious. I want to emphasize the “simply” part of that statement because it doesn’t even attempt much else (which is rare for Vaughn Benjamin) and he says a couple of things during the song which definitely caught my attention and did so in a very, again, plain and uncomplicated way. “I keep The King in front I face continually”, he says and the goes on to talk about both the rewards of doing so and the struggle to maintain that type of FOCUS. Speaking of “focus”, that is the secondary thought I have regarding Cover InI. He also says, “Higher man over material sensibility”; essentially saying that there are many things (and people) that can distract you from The Source but the greatest joy is not straying and not falling for them. BOOM!

As always, you go into an album and you’re very curious about the title track and World Tap In is no exception. This one took me a minute… and then another minute and then another one and that is largely due to its sound. Maybe its just me but I hear a lot of things going on in the background on World Tap In. There’s a certain GRUMBLE behind it that can be a bit distracting and, for as aggressive as the song comes off, for his part Benjamin doesn’t match it. He just goes about his business. His business in this instance is awareness. It is the idea that if we TRULY cut through a lot of the bullshit that we are served that our successes can soar. He goes SO FAR as to even get biological [“Pure water, clean air and all that thing”] in his image of upliftment so, if you dare to get through the sonics here (and maybe (probably) that was only an issue for me), a diamond awaits.

Like You, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from In Your Hands and it did give me that but it also delivered something more unanticipated. There’s something very VINTAGE about it. It’s that beautiful, old school, disheveled and kind of messy Midnite sound and I mean that in a good way. It’s what I used to run away from when I was younger and what became addictive for me when I was finally able to appreciate this work. I LOVED finding a song like this one World Tap In.

Going back, I was also pretty happy to find the downright hypnotic Your Needs as well. If you’ve ever seen an Akae Beka performance, perhaps you’ve seen Benjamin in some type of rapture, lost in his sound and, presumably, some type of JOY. I get that when I listen to Your Needs. Just the sound of it and how his delivery hardly changes (WHAT he says changes, obviously, but not much in HOW he says it) signals to me that he was REALLY feeling the vibe here. What he does with it is to speak about how everyone has a role to play in building prosperity [“The people that hold things to together. Make systems work, run efficiency; and training and order. What are your needs?”]. Your Needs is RIPE with ideology and I think it’ll end up being one of the songs I listen to most from World Tap In. Finally, the album goes out on a very high note, with one of its legitimate champions, the mystical and curious Freedom Route.

VAAF HIER I won’t go into it too much (because I’m about to right now) but the closer has such a LOVELY sound to it. It is so nice to hear! Its ‘route’, in my opinion, is about how we all need to be willing to help one another and to also be able to receive and ASK for help when we need it, ourselves. There is a journey that we must all make and MAYBE you can make by yourself but your chances improve greatly when you have someone standing next to you and in front of you and behind you…

Okay! I do want to very briefly elabourate on what I just mentioned and refrained from mentioning several times throughout this review. Musically, World Tap In is exquisite. It is REALLY good but, because of its subtleties and simplicities, I don’t think that this album will ultimately be appreciated for just how pleasing of a listen (on the most casual of levels) that it actually is. I go back to the Bless Go Roun set and it’s seriously approaching those levels and, it’s a better album than BGR was in my opinion. Credit goes to Higher Bound Productions there because they made them both.

Overall, because we don’t know when or even if we’ll get another opportunity like this (although I think we will and I’m REALLY hoping that someone out there is working on putting together a ‘greatest hits’ type of release for Akae Beka) (but I doubt it), I’m definitely making the most of World Tap In and, outside of this review, I’m looking forward to enjoying and digging into all of these songs for years to come. That is a gift that is most unique to the music of Akae Beka. Sure, it can be pleasing and fulfilling and gratifying at once but the way Vaughn Benjamin made music… it almost came with a time-delayed function. Much of his work will carry even more value years on from now. World Tap In is not only another winner from Akae Beka and Higher Bound Productions, it’s also another VERY healthy collection of music to add to a catalogue that is truly immortal and I got EXACTLY what I was hoping for and DAMN I’M HAPPY!