JJC
August 2005 - Ghana's Tic Tac, Nigeria's Ayetoro and Egypt's Amr Diab
Hi people! Welcome to the summer edition of my column.
Tic Tac and Ayetoro
On Sunday, 21 August, 1pm - 7pm , make sure you head to Haggerston Park in London for Shoreditch: Africa '05 , a FREE event celebrating all aspects of African culture. Hosted by On the main stage you can catch myself, JJC & 419 Squad , performing with Europe's first professional talking drummer, Ayan Ayandosu The 1st (4pm) and Congolese rumba stars Koko Kanyinda & Soukous Koumbele who will be delivering their brand of rumba, soukous, and African funk. And don't miss Tic Tac and Ayetoro . DJ Edu (from BBC 1Xtra's African show D.N.A) and with DJ Dr A4 on the decks, you can enjoy music, poetry, dance, workshops, food, market stalls and much more.
On the main stage you can catch myself, JJC & 419 Squad , performing with Europe's first professional talking drummer, Ayan Ayandosu The 1st (4pm) and Congolese rumba stars Koko Kanyinda & Soukous Koumbele who will be delivering their brand of rumba, soukous, and African funk. And don't miss Tic Tac and Ayetoro .
Not to be confused with certain mints of the same name, 25-year-old Tic Tac - an international hiplife superstar - delivers a fusion of African hip hop and high-life, in his local dialect of Twi and English. Ghanaian Nana Kwaku Okyere Duah - aka Tic Tac, started his music career in 1997 as one third of a group called Natty Strangers. It soon became clear that he was the star of the group, so he went solo, collaborating with a number of big Ghanaian acts such as Slim Buster and eventually released his debut solo album in 1999.
Tic Tac is now on his fourth album, ' Wope ' (translated 'Do you like it?'), released on his own label TN Records, which is dedicated to Africans within the Diaspora. Tic Tac was the first hiplife act to record with artists outside Ghana. On 'Wope' there are collaborations with Freddie Meiway of the Ivory Coast and Nigerian star Tony Tetuila (of 'My Car' fame). In fact it is his song with Tetuila, the infectious and explosive 'Fefe Na Efe' (translated 'the beauty of a woman'), which has become his biggest hit to date.
Award-winning Tic Tac has performed alongside artists such as 50 Cent, Kanda Bongoman, Buju Banton and Misteeq. At the forthcoming Annual Ghana Music Awards UK in London on 24 September, Tic Tac has received an amazing six nominations.
With JJC & 419 Squad I recently had the chance to record a track with Tic Tac, the so far unreleased 'We Need More ' . It was brilliant working with him, a real talent (he raps, sings, writes, produces and can also play the drums). He has a very distinct vocal delivery - some people describe it as similar to Busta Rhymes.
Another highlight of Shoreditch '05 is Ayetoro . Nigerian musician Funsho Ogundipe's background doesn't read like your average music CV: he studied law, eventually heading up the corporate finance department at Prudent Bank. But he gave all that up for the love of music. His father, late founder and chairman of Prudent Bank, at first objected to this career move, but when none other than Lágbájá sent him a complimentary ticket to watch his son play at the famous Motherland venue in Lagos , he changed his mind.
Ayetoro (a Yoruba word meaning 'world of peace') is the group Funsho formed in 1996 and who are now both London and Lagos-based . Their music is a blend of jazz and Afrobeat, with hints of funk, Blues and reggae. Funsho's main musical heroes are Miles Davies, Fela Kuti, and Duke Ellington (he refers to them as 'The Trinity'). He started playing the piano at 17 and as a student he became a regular at Fela Kuti's legendary Shrine club; even managing to play piano with Fela in 1988.
Now, after nine years in the music scene, Funsho has recorded four albums with Ayetoro, 'Naija Blues' (1996), 'Something Dey' (1998), 'Afro-Beat Chronicles, Vol. 1' (2003/ distributed in the UK by Sterns) and 'Six Thousand And A Minute' (2004), and the band have performed at many venues and festivals such as the Africa Oye Festival in Liverpool and a weekly residency at the famous Jazzville Club, Yaba, Nigeria.
Amr Diab
To call Egyptian singer Amr Diab a superstar is almost an understatement. Diab has ruled the Arab music world, especially Egypt and the Middle East , since the mid '80s, continually breaking sales records. Born Amr Abdel-Baset Diab in Egypt, Amr was encouraged by his father to make his singing debut aged six on national radio. He performed the country's national anthem 'Biladi, Biladi'.which led to an impressed Governor of Port Said presenting him with a guitar.
Amr later went on to study Arab music at the Cairo Academy of Art. After graduating in 1986, he released his debut album. Now in his early 40s, almost 20 years and 20 albums later, Amr has been the subject of three biographies, become the first Arab artist to make a music video, acted in several movies (including a role opposite the legendary Omar Sharif) and received countless awards. Pepsi even produced a version of their Gladiator-style TV ad for the Middle East region which featured Amr alongside Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé and David Beckham!
Amr's image is quite 'rock 'n' roll' and his style has been called 'Mediterranean music' referring to its blend of Western and Arabic rhythms. 'Nour El Ain' (translated 'The Mind's Eye') is one of the tracks included on the compilation 'North African Groove' . It's taken from the album of the same title released in 1996, the best selling album ever by an Arabic artist. The original version was massive in the Middle East , but the song also travelled throughout the entire world: its English version 'Habibe' became a massive crossover hit in India , Argentina , Chile , France and South Africa , and its remixes set European dancefloors alive.
Dates for your diary
No doubt there will be lots of shows and parties over the upcoming Carnival and bank holiday weekend, but one event you should try and check out is Paul IK Dairo 's concert on 27 August.
Paul I.K. 'Play' Dairo from Nigeria is one of the sons of the late legendary juju artist I.K. Dairo, and his music mixes modern R'n'B, hip hop and house, with traditional African sounds. 'Number One' is his latest album now available in the UK on Playground/ Afrigroove Entertainment. Also on the bill are Mr Solek, Slam, DJs King and Ladi.
On 3 September, the free E wa jo event brings a taste of Africa to the Whiteleys Shopping Centre in London . 'E wa jo' (Yoruba for 'Come and dance', incidentally also the title of a JJC & 419 Squad song) is a celebration of African music and culture, showcasing the music and arts of Africa with paintings, artifacts, fashion and stunning hand made African jewellery on display.
In my last column I mentioned the film 'Hip-Hop Colony: The African Hip-Hop Explosion' . Afeature length documentary, by Michael Wanguhu, it's about Kenya's hip hop scene, featuring artists such Kalamashaka, Necessary Noize, Hardstone, CMB and Bamboo, as well as producers Tedd Josiah ("Kenya is not just about lions, giraffes and fast running men - it's also about hip hop and studios"), Ogopa and The Homeboyz. Well, you can finally catch it in the UK on 12 September as part of the Black International Film Festival at London's ICA .
Finally, the next prominent African hip hop album to get a proper global release will be 'Ceasefire ', a collaboration project between Sudanese rapper and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal and fellow Sudanese artists Abdel Gadir Salim , a Muslim singer, composer and Oud player. It's out on Riverboat Records/World Music Network on 26 September - watch the 'Africa On Your Street' website for more information.
Until next time!
JJC
JJC's recommended CD's
Tic Tac - 'Wope'
Ayetoro - 'The Afrobeat Chronicles Vol.1'
Various Artists - 'North African Groove'
Check out my recommended CDs this month in the CD Reviews section or go to Music Search to look at our archive of recommended CDs.