More than 100 artists from 13 nations joined forces to record Drop the Debt. The album supports the jubilee USA organization’s efforts to convince the world’s wealthiest nations to forgive the debt of impoverished countries.

“The problem,” says organization Francois Mauger of Lusafrica Records, “is there can’t be any kind of genuine development in the world’s poorer countries when 40 percent of the national budget goes into paying off country’s debt. That’s 40 percent diverted from going into education, health and other essential infrastructures.”

The artists – including Cesaria Evora (Cape Verde), Chico Cesar (Brazil), Oliver Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe), Sally Nyolo (Cameroon), Toto la Momposina (Columbia) and Soledad Bravo (Venezuela) – are donating their royalties from the 16 original tracks recorded for the project to Jubilee.

“No more school for our children,” sings Senegal’s El Hadj N’Diaye, “No more care for our sick / We even say we’ll never be able to pay it back / That it’s planned that way.” (Visit www.jubileeusa.org.)