Emotion (Papa Wemba album)

The album was produced by Stephen Hague.[7][8] "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa (Sad Song)", a duet with Juliet Roberts, is a cover of the Otis Redding song; Redding was Wemba's favorite singer.[9][10][11] Jean-Philippe Rykiel played keyboards on Emotion.[12] Wemba addresses racism on "Epelo", heartbreak on "Ah Ouais", and the dangers in the world on "Sala Keba".[13]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[14]
Calgary Herald	A[15]
Robert Christgau	A–[16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[11]
Houston Press	[17]
MusicHound World: The Essential Album Guide	[8]

The Guardian wrote that "Wemba's singing is high, relaxed and fine as ever, whether he's tackling a synth-backed funky dance piece, or switching to a guitar-backed ballad."[13] Robert Christgau stated: "Piercing and penetrating without a hint of muezzin, he also commands a 'natural,' 'conversational' timbre richer and rangier than that of his more soft-sung Zairean colleagues.[16]

The Toronto Star noted that "soukous purists likely won't have it ... But terrific listening for everyone else."[18] The Calgary Herald determined that "the propulsive, rolling polyrythmic rhythms here owe as much to western pop as to Wemba's Zairean traditions."[15] The Houston Press concluded that "Hague insured that Wemba's vocals took center stage on each tune, turning down the driving African percussion just a notch."[17]

AllMusic wrote that "in mixing his unique brand of African soukous with various Western influences, Papa Wemba took a bold step into the international pop market already populated by Senegalese singing sensations Youssou N'Dour and Baaba Maal."[14]