JJC
February 2004 - Daara J, Lord Ékômy Ndong, Gidigidimajimaji, A.Y.
Hello and welcome! In my last column I talked about 2003 having been a good year for African hip-hop.
- African Hip-Hop
- L'Afrikain' by Lord Ékômy Ndong from Gabon
- Many Faces by Gidigidimajimaji from Kenya
- Yoruba Raps
- JJC's Recommended CDs
African Hip-Hop
I'm pleased to say that 2004 hasn't let me down so far. In fact, I am confident that 2004 will be the year that African hip-hop will make people sit up and take notice.
Firstly, allow me to give big, big congratulations to Daara J . Others may have come before them (most notably the mighty Positive Black Soul) but Daara J are the ones that have really put African hip-hop on the map. Yes, Daara J for their album 'Boomerang' have won the Radio 3 Award for World Music in the Africa category. Rokia Traoré from Mali, who guests on 'Boomerang' as well as having her own album out, ended up winning the Critics Award . It is totally fantastic that Daara J emerged as the winners - 'Boomerang' will from now become the benchmark for other African hip-hop acts. The group performed at the Poll Winners' awards concert on 9 March at Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and you can watch the webcast on the Radio 3 web site . Daara J also have a 9-date UK tour lined up. I'm hoping to meet N'dongo D, Alhadji Man and Faada Freddy on this trip - and you never know, some Wolof-Yoruba tunes may be created!
Another testament to the African hip-hop's increasing strength is the recent release of the 'Rough Guide to African Rap' compilation on World Music Network. It features our very own Ty, as well as many of my favourite African rap acts, such as Pee Froiss and Positive Black Soul, Prophets of Da City from South Africa, Tanzanian masaai hip-hop act X Plastaz, Ghanaian hip-life legend Reggie Rockstone and Mali's Tata Pound.
As if this release wasn't enough of a milestone, the Manteca label also released a hip-hop compilation with a difference. Theirs is called 'Global Hip Hop (Beats And Rhymes - The Nu World Culture)', and as the name implies, covers hip-hop from around the world. African acts included are Positive Black Soul, Daara J, Yéli Fuzzo (from the group Fanga Fing), Zombo, X Plastaz and some Nigerian guys that go by the name JJC & 419 Squad. Highly recommended! (While two of the acts overlap with the Rough Guide release none of the tracks are the same - so you NEED both of these.)
If 'Global Hip Hop' has left you wanting to hear more global sounds, check out last year's 'Global Soul' CD, a collection of contemporary soul and R'n'B from around the world released by Putumayo. Despite only four out of the 13 tracks being by African acts (including Saf Sap from Senegal and Kaïssa from Cameroon), this is still very much a worthwhile purchase as it is currently the only CD available in the UK where you can get hold of an absolute gem of a track called 'Zeze' by T.I.D, a guy from Tanzania. T.I.D. is currently in the UK and I'm hoping to link up with him - apparently T.I.D. stands for Top in Dar, i.e Top In Dar es Salaam! Journalist Irene Madonko met up with him already so check out her feature (coming soon).
There are two recent artist albums that I'm hoping will get the exposure they greatly deserve: 'L'Afrikain' by Lord Ékômy Ndong from Gabon, and 'Many Faces' by Gidigidi Majimaji from Kenya.
L'Afrikain' by Lord Ékômy Ndong from Gabon
Lord Ékômy Ndong is one half of a Gabonese hip-hop group called Movaiz Haleine. He has recently released his solo album 'L'Afrikain', and while being a little bit on the long side (26 tracks!), it is very promising with tight beats, countless great ideas and slick production. Apart from hip-hop, it includes some R'n'B elements, traditional influences, and also has N'dongo D (from Daara J), Mali's Rokia Traoré, Cameroon's Sally Nyolo as well as fellow Movaiz Haleine member Maat guesting on tracks. You can get more info on his (French-language) site www.lafrikain.tk which is where you can buy the album, too.
Many Faces by Gidigidimajimaji from Kenya
Gidigidimajimaji are an African hip-hop duo from Nairobi, Kenya, consisting of Joseph Ogidi (Gidigidi) and Jahd Adonijah (Majimaji). They have been around since 1999 and are big stars in Kenya. Their songs are in Swahili, Luo, their native Kenyan dialect, and English. As they say in their press release, 'the rich cultural heritage that we Kenyans boast of is ours and we should be proud of it and do everything within our means to preserve it and at the same time share it with the rest of the world.' While their latest album 'Many Faces' is dedicated to Kenya, the guys have a South African connection, too. Last year Gidigidimajimaji signed to South Africa's Gallo Music, one of South Africa's biggest labels, and as a result the duo also recorded the album in Jo'burg with Kwaito producer D-Rex. Kwaito influences can be heard loud and clear on this album. (By the way, here on the BBC site there's a great feature on the South Africa's urban music scene , and particularly the Kwaito scene.
The duo also worked with South African hip-hop stars Skwatta Kamp. Gallo Music are certainly pushing this project and Gidigidimajimaji performed, alongside Nigeria's Femi Kuti and South Africa's Brenda Fassie, at the closing party of Big Brother Africa (30 million viewers!). They performed their most popular hit 'Unbwogable' (meaning 'unstoppable' or 'unbeatable'), a Kenyan anthem, which was in fact also adapted as a theme song by Kenya's coalition of parties (NARC) that toppled the previous government in Kenya's historic elections held in December 2002. 'Many Faces' is a musically interesting album that goes beyond hip-hop, with positive messages, great production and strong melodies.
Yoruba Raps
One scene that's very dear to my heart is, of course, the Nigerian hip-hop scene in London: London-based A.Y. (A.Y. stands for 'African Yoruba') raps predominately in his native Yoruba, but also mixes in English. A.Y. has experienced the struggle to gain respect as an African hip-hop artist, sometimes also from his own people. A.Y. reckons 'there is one painful truth: any form of hip-hop and R'n'B that isn't in English and is from outside of America is regarded as second class.' A.Y's first single 'Gonna Make It' deals with the harsh realties of life in Nigeria, and has become quite a classic tune in the Nigerian community. Another great track from his "The AY Ta Ba Ready E.P." is 'Otifunfun (Shayo)' which is dedicated to the African alcoholic drink 'emu' (palm wine) - rather than the usual American odes to Courvoisiers or Cristal. A.Y. has a great delivery - definitely not second class!
A.Y. is also a member of Pounds & Naira Inc,. (in case you don't know: Naira is the currency of Nigeria). Their other members are British-born Nigerians Ife, Jordan, Magnum and Kinga, plus a female British-born Indian singer called Min, all hailing from Walthamstow and Thamesmead. Their single 'Bawo Lose Fe' (meaning 'How Do You Want It') fuses Hindu, Yoruba and English vocals. You may have also seen the video on Channel U.
You can also catch myself, JJC, on the World On Your Street internet radio show where you can listen to some great tracks such as 'Bawo Lose Fe'.
Until next time.
JJC
JJC's Recommended CDs
Various Artists - The Rough Guide to African Rap
Various Artists – Global Hip-Hop (Beats and Rhymes – The Nu World Culture)
Various Artists – Global Soul
Lord Ékômy Ndong (de Movaiz Haleine) – L'Afrikain
Gidigidi Majimaji – Many Faces
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.