Fouma System is a very exciting project born out of the collaboration between Dakar based griot vocalist Mustaf Mbaye and Danish producer Exampler. The two met on several occasions both in Dakar and Copenhagen, and despite the language barrier they strongly connected, as both shared not only common ideas about music, but also a passion for food and café touba. The full story will unfold in the coming weeks as we prepare the release of their debut EP Mind Mi Dem June 17. For now, let the music do the talking:
Lyrics (this is phonetic wolof spelling, not in any way proper!):
Chorus
Xamal sa bopp
know yourself
Xamal saion
know your way
Xamsa bopp xam kinga don
understand yourself and acknowledge the human you are
Xamal sa bopp
know yourself
Xamal saion
know your way
Xamsa bopp xam kinga don
understand yourself and acknowledge the human you are
Kouchi nekh tinion
Each one of us
Xamsa bopp gën nou wala wachla kinga don
should know that understanding yourself is better than being told about yourself
Xamal sa bopp
know yourself
Xamal saion
know your way
Xamsa bopp xam kinga don
understand yourself and acknowledge the human you are
First Verse
Xamsa bopp
Understand yourself Xamsa mbokk
Understand your origin Linga top
The path that you strive to be on
Ak lila top and the destiny that might catch up with you Xamal saion
know your way
Xamel ou bonn
Know what is harmful to you
Xamal sonon
Know your enemy
Doxe freedom
Knowing this makes you live in freedom
(X2)
Xam lou dakh nou sakala
Acknowledge your purpose
Lofidjef de yaw mi genula
Your actions will come back to you
Gou xamatul fanga djëm
If you don’t know where you are going
Delu finga dju ge wal
Go back to where you came from
“L’Hivernage [the rainy season] is a return to the childhood village. Joey praises the merits of the bountiful rain, saying at the heart of the hot season, rainfall can always come. Before him, Creedence Clearwater Revival sang Who’ll Stop The Rain, a metaphor asking who would stop the Vietnam war, right as the Nixon presidency disintegrated. Today, Joey Le Soldat says in essence that all forms of hope are allowed, even within the harshest of conditions. There is no doubt the recent January 18 demonstrations, during which rain came miraculously, are nourishing this hope for change. Far from a grumbling, rearguard battle, Joey Le Soldat and a handful of other African rappers are writing the soundtrack of a future where everything now seems possible.”
Chorus:
Farmer I salute you
The first rain, marking the Hivernage, has come
Once more we are all going to the fields to plant seeds
A new rainy season is given to us, it’s time to plow
May the Gods bring rain so the season is plentiful
May the Gods bring rain so the harvests are plentiful
First Verse:
A big cloud darkens nature
I invoke: come, cloud, to water the land
Come down so the season is good
It’s the rainy season, the weather is gentle, the grasses have grown back
Goodbye great heat
In the Mossi language we say
“when the fig tree recovers its leaves the rainy season is coming”
So farmer, hang on and don’t let go
I know it’s hard at times but your craft is noble
By these words I come to praise your work
Second Verse:
In my land it’s the rainy season
Mother nature wore her prettiest dress
I admire her greeneries
It is raining in my village
Goodbye April heat, long period of heat
Rainy season in our villages
From the morning and the rooster’s crow
Man, woman and child
A cart and a donkey are back on the road to the fields
It is raining in my village
Me, from my window
I’m looking at the rain.[:de]
“L’Hivernage [the rainy season] is a return to the childhood village. Joey praises the merits of the bountiful rain, saying at the heart of the hot season, rainfall can always come. Before him, Creedence Clearwater Revival sang Who’ll Stop The Rain, a metaphor asking who would stop the Vietnam war, right as the Nixon presidency disintegrated. Today, Joey Le Soldat says in essence that all forms of hope are allowed, even within the harshest of conditions. There is no doubt the recent January 18 demonstrations, during which rain came miraculously, are nourishing this hope for change. Far from a grumbling, rearguard battle, Joey Le Soldat and a handful of other African rappers are writing the soundtrack of a future where everything now seems possible.”
Chorus:
Farmer I salute you
The first rain, marking the Hivernage, has come
Once more we are all going to the fields to plant seeds
A new rainy season is given to us, it’s time to plow
May the Gods bring rain so the season is plentiful
May the Gods bring rain so the harvests are plentiful
First Verse:
A big cloud darkens nature
I invoke: come, cloud, to water the land
Come down so the season is good
It’s the rainy season, the weather is gentle, the grasses have grown back
Goodbye great heat
In the Mossi language we say
“when the fig tree recovers its leaves the rainy season is coming”
So farmer, hang on and don’t let go
I know it’s hard at times but your craft is noble
By these words I come to praise your work
Second Verse:
In my land it’s the rainy season
Mother nature wore her prettiest dress
I admire her greeneries
It is raining in my village
Goodbye April heat, long period of heat
Rainy season in our villages
From the morning and the rooster’s crow
Man, woman and child
A cart and a donkey are back on the road to the fields
It is raining in my village
Me, from my window
I’m looking at the rain.[:fr]
“L’Hivernage [the rainy season] is a return to the childhood village. Joey praises the merits of the bountiful rain, saying at the heart of the hot season, rainfall can always come. Before him, Creedence Clearwater Revival sang Who’ll Stop The Rain, a metaphor asking who would stop the Vietnam war, right as the Nixon presidency disintegrated. Today, Joey Le Soldat says in essence that all forms of hope are allowed, even within the harshest of conditions. There is no doubt the recent January 18 demonstrations, during which rain came miraculously, are nourishing this hope for change. Far from a grumbling, rearguard battle, Joey Le Soldat and a handful of other African rappers are writing the soundtrack of a future where everything now seems possible.”
Chorus:
Farmer I salute you
The first rain, marking the Hivernage, has come
Once more we are all going to the fields to plant seeds
A new rainy season is given to us, it’s time to plow
May the Gods bring rain so the season is plentiful
May the Gods bring rain so the harvests are plentiful
First Verse:
A big cloud darkens nature
I invoke: come, cloud, to water the land
Come down so the season is good
It’s the rainy season, the weather is gentle, the grasses have grown back
Goodbye great heat
In the Mossi language we say
“when the fig tree recovers its leaves the rainy season is coming”
So farmer, hang on and don’t let go
I know it’s hard at times but your craft is noble
By these words I come to praise your work
Second Verse:
In my land it’s the rainy season
Mother nature wore her prettiest dress
I admire her greeneries
It is raining in my village
Goodbye April heat, long period of heat
Rainy season in our villages
From the morning and the rooster’s crow
Man, woman and child
A cart and a donkey are back on the road to the fields
It is raining in my village
Me, from my window
I’m looking at the rain.[:]
Joey le Soldat, the other half of Burkinabé hip hop powerhouse Waga 3000, unleashes the first burst from his sophomore album due out next month. D.M.D. is the voice of Ouagadougou’s kids, speaking up against injustice in their land of upright men. After the success of Art Melody‘s Wogdog Blues, this is another exciting collaboration with France-based Tentacule Records. Beats by DJ Form. Grab the track as a hi rez mp3 from soundcloud below:
[:de]
Joey le Soldat, the other half of Burkinabé hip hop powerhouse Waga 3000, unleashes the first burst from his sophomore album due out next month. D.M.D. is the voice of Ouagadougou’s kids, speaking up against injustice in their land of upright men. After the success of Art Melody‘s Wogdog Blues, this is another exciting collaboration with France-based Tentacule Records. Beats by DJ Form. Grab the track as a hi rez mp3 from soundcloud below:
[:fr]
Joey le Soldat, the other half of Burkinabé hip hop powerhouse Waga 3000, unleashes the first burst from his sophomore album due out next month. D.M.D. is the voice of Ouagadougou’s kids, speaking up against injustice in their land of upright men. After the success of Art Melody‘s Wogdog Blues, this is another exciting collaboration with France-based Tentacule Records. Beats by DJ Form. Grab the track as a hi rez mp3 from soundcloud below:
This is very, very exciting: Akwaaba’s very first vinyl release! And also the first vinyl release from any Burkinabé artist in years… and the only African hip hop vinyl in years – or even ever? We only pressed very, very few copies of Art Melody’s album Wogdog Blues, grab one of 150 records from Bandcamp – while supplies last!
[:de]
This is very, very exciting: Akwaaba’s very first vinyl release! And also the first vinyl release from any Burkinabé artist in years… and the only African hip hop vinyl in years – or even ever? We only pressed very, very few copies of Art Melody’s album Wogdog Blues, grab one of 150 records from Bandcamp – while supplies last!
[:fr]
This is very, very exciting: Akwaaba’s very first vinyl release! And also the first vinyl release from any Burkinabé artist in years… and the only African hip hop vinyl in years – or even ever? We only pressed very, very few copies of Art Melody’s album Wogdog Blues, grab one of 150 records from Bandcamp – while supplies last!
