| Rebirth Cycle | |
| Type: | Studio |
| Artist: | James Mtume |
| Cover: | Front cover of James Mtume's Rebirth Cycle.jpg |
| Released: | 1977 |
| Recorded: | 1974 |
| Studio: | Minot Sound |
| Label: | Third Street Records |
| Producer: | James Mtume |
| Prev Year: | 1972 |
| Next Title: | Kiss This World Goodbye |
| Next Year: | 1978 |
Rebirth Cycle is the second studio album by American musician James Mtume. It was produced by Mtume himself, and released on the Third Street Records label.[1] It is one of a number of contemporary albums described as "some of the most compelling artifacts of the Black Power-Black music nexus", with "explicit endorsements of radical nationalist principles" and "of a very high artistic level and featuring some of the best musicians".[1]
After Mtume's death in 2022, The Guardian, in a retrospective, remarked on the album: "Just as his career as a R&B songwriter and producer was taking off, Mtume put out one final burst of spiritual, Afrocentric jazz, the album Rebirth Cycle. Never reissued legally and unavailable on streaming services, a bootleg or YouTube are your only real options, but it's worth checking out: the lengthy version of 'Sais' is great, and the collection of shorter, soul-influenced tracks on side two – including Umoja – are fabulous, complete with vocals from Jean Carne of 'Don't Let It Go to Your Head' fame."[2]
Note: "Body Sounds is an electronically altered conga solo by Mtume accompanied by the band using their bodies as percussion instruments (hands rubbing, chest thumping, etc.). Hence the title Body Sounds."