Nnamdi Moweta invited Akwaaba founder Benjamin Lebrave to his show, Afrodicia, Saturday December 13 from 2 to 4pm. Nnamdi plays a lot of party music from all over the gulf of Guinea, soukous, highlife, afrobeat, hiplife, coupé décalé… Akwaaba fits right in, check it out!
Atchegbe is a Yoruba word which means doing something without consequences, as in “I’m going to rip off this guy, it’s atchegbe” – it’ll have no consequence. It’s used anytime someone makes a dubious profit. The song, which is not sang in Yoruba but in Fon, takes a shot at corruption, a rampant problem in Benin and a major political concern.
The Charlee is a boutique hotel coming to Medellín’s Parque Lleras. They invited BBRAVE to DJ their launch event on the hotel’s site. Although the name of the city alone still evokes cartels and violence to many, Medellín and Colombia in general have been on the rise. It’s much safer and prosperous, the FARC are losing ground and cartel power has gravitated towards Mexico. Colombia is also filled with great music, in particular Colombian cumbia in Cali, and champeta in Cartagena.
At the event, the crowd losened up as a few gathered by the DJ booth to dance salsa! Great opportunity to test out Michel Pinheiro’s great Beninese salsa, as well as music from salsa mbalax giant Pape Fall from Senegal. Great feedback, check this out:
[:en]Michel was born in southern Bénin, where he started singing at a very early age. After playing the guitar for local bands, he got his first break when he met Mamadou Doumbia during a trip to Côte d’Ivoire. There he learned to play the trombone and started playing for many local musicians. Today he plays for Tiken Jah Fakoly, one of Africa’s biggest stars today, but also released his own salsa albums, including “Agoh” which will be released worldwide on Akwaaba.
[:fr]Michel est né au sud du Bénin et débute très jeune le chant. Après avoir joué de la guitare pour des groupes locaux, il vit sa première rupture lorsqu’il rencontre Mamadou Doumbia lors d’un voyage en Côte d’Ivoire. Là, il apprend à jouer du trombone et commence à jouer pour de nombreux artistes locaux. Il joue aujourd’hui pour Tiken Jah Fakoly, une des plus grande star africaine contemporaine, mais a également sorti son propre album de salsa, intitulé “Agoh”, qui va être diffusé mondialement par Akwaaba.
[:de]Michel was born in southern Bénin, where he started singing at a very early age. After playing the guitar for local bands, he got his first break when he met Mamadou Doumbia during a trip to Côte d’Ivoire. There he learned to play the trombone and started playing for many local musicians. Today he plays for Tiken Jah Fakoly, one of Africa’s biggest stars today, but also released his own salsa albums, including “Agoh” which will be released worldwide on Akwaaba.
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