Africa to America: The Journey of the Drum is an album by vocal and instrumental ensemble Sounds of Blackness, released in 1994. It includes the singles "I'm Going All the Way", "I Believe", "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" and "Black Butterfly".
In a review for AllMusic, Jason Birchmeier gave the album four out of five stars, commenting that producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were "on top of their game" at the time of the album's release, and that they "brought no shortage of their trademark dense percussive rhythms" to the album. He went on to say that "even if the production sounds a little calculated and perhaps even outdated for its time, it made for some amazing songs."[1]
In 1993, the year before the release of the album, "I'm Going All the Way" had been released as a single in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 27 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] In 1994, "I Believe" was released as the next single from the album, reaching No. 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States,[5] No. 15 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,[5] No. 1 on Dance Club Songs[5] and No. 17 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] "Everything Is Gonna Be Alright" reached No. 29 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,[5] No. 10 on Dance Club Songs[5] and No. 29 in the UK.[4] "I'm Going All the Way" was re-released in the UK in early 1995, this time reaching No. 14, becoming the highest-charting Sounds of Blackness single in that country.[4] The single also saw a release in the US, reaching No. 39 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[5] and No. 41 on Dance Club Songs.[5] "Black Butterfly" reached No. 86 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[5]
