Gargantuan: Hip Hop Heavyweights

Gargantuan: Hip Hop Heavyweights

]Gargantuan_poster_web

Akwaaba Music presents: Gargantuan – Hip Hop Heavyweights

Wednesday 28th August 2013 –  7.30pm, La Paillote Takpekpe at Alliance Française, Accra 

Gargantuan: of immense size, volume, or capacity. What better way to describe this stellar lineup of fearless MCs, who speak their minds with very little concern for what people consider appropriate.

Art Melody (Burkina Faso) is a veteran on Ouagadougou’s hip hop circuit. His irreverence has mostly kept him away from airwaves at home, but it has helped him build an audience in France and across Europe, ever since his critically acclaimed second album Zound Zandé in 2011. In 2012 he teamed up with Joey le Soldat to form Waga 3000, a hint at Ouaga 2000, an absurdly posh neighborhood in Burkina Faso’s capital. Melo and Joey have been touring Europe, but this is their very first show in Ghana.

Elom 20ce (Togo) is a highly engaged Togolese rapper. Like his Burkinabé counterparts, he has had more luck touring in Europe than at home in Lomé, where self censorship has kept his music mostly away from the airwaves. Nevertheless, Elom has built a following among emancipated Africans from Lomé to Paris. This is also his first show in Ghana.

Wanlov the Kubolor (Ghana) is another master of irreverence, on a mission to shake up mentalities anywhere he sets foot. Too often dismissed as eccentric by the mainstream Ghanaian media, Wanlov is a visionary who uses pidgin and humor to spread his message across the widest audience possible, at home in Ghana, as well as Europe where he was recently nominated artist of the year by Mondomix.

Yaa Pono (Ghana) is another veteran microphone slayer, one who started alongside the likes of Sarkodie in Tema over a decade ago. To this day, he is considered to be one of the finest twi lyricists in Ghana, one who also uses humor to sharpen his social critique.

In collaboration with Akwaaba Music, Accra dot Alt, Fullish Art and Tentacule Records.

Free songs:

Art Melody: Yamb Sabaab, Futur feat High Priest (Antipop Consortium)

Waga 3000: Dal Fo Yi Kin Dao

Videos:

Art Melody: Yamb Sabaab, Futur, Barka Barka

Waga 3000: Sak Sin Paode

Wanlov: Veverita feat. King Ayisoba, Human Being

Yaa Pono: Good Morning feat Efya, Tare Tare

Photos:

Art Melody & Joey le Soldat

Elom 20ce

Wanlov

Yaa Pono

Press:

Art Melody: Fader, This Is Africa, Africa Is A Country

Waga 3000: Fader

Elom 20ce: This Is Africa[:d

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Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

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Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

This is a street anthem!! Gaining waves in Nigeria, Ghana and Africa Beyond. This song is loved by the huslters(Fraud Boys , Scammers and Etc) . Victor Ad talks about his struggles to make it in life . He asks the question " Wetin We Gain ? "  to say ; after all his...

Gargantuan: Hip Hop Heavyweights

]Gargantuan_poster_web

Akwaaba Music presents: Gargantuan – Hip Hop Heavyweights

Wednesday 28th August 2013 –  7.30pm, La Paillote Takpekpe at Alliance Française, Accra 

Gargantuan: of immense size, volume, or capacity. What better way to describe this stellar lineup of fearless MCs, who speak their minds with very little concern for what people consider appropriate.

Art Melody (Burkina Faso) is a veteran on Ouagadougou’s hip hop circuit. His irreverence has mostly kept him away from airwaves at home, but it has helped him build an audience in France and across Europe, ever since his critically acclaimed second album Zound Zandé in 2011. In 2012 he teamed up with Joey le Soldat to form Waga 3000, a hint at Ouaga 2000, an absurdly posh neighborhood in Burkina Faso’s capital. Melo and Joey have been touring Europe, but this is their very first show in Ghana.

Elom 20ce (Togo) is a highly engaged Togolese rapper. Like his Burkinabé counterparts, he has had more luck touring in Europe than at home in Lomé, where self censorship has kept his music mostly away from the airwaves. Nevertheless, Elom has built a following among emancipated Africans from Lomé to Paris. This is also his first show in Ghana.

Wanlov the Kubolor (Ghana) is another master of irreverence, on a mission to shake up mentalities anywhere he sets foot. Too often dismissed as eccentric by the mainstream Ghanaian media, Wanlov is a visionary who uses pidgin and humor to spread his message across the widest audience possible, at home in Ghana, as well as Europe where he was recently nominated artist of the year by Mondomix.

Yaa Pono (Ghana) is another veteran microphone slayer, one who started alongside the likes of Sarkodie in Tema over a decade ago. To this day, he is considered to be one of the finest twi lyricists in Ghana, one who also uses humor to sharpen his social critique.

In collaboration with Akwaaba Music, Accra dot Alt, Fullish Art and Tentacule Records.

Free songs:

Art Melody: Yamb Sabaab, Futur feat High Priest (Antipop Consortium)

Waga 3000: Dal Fo Yi Kin Dao

Videos:

Art Melody: Yamb Sabaab, Futur, Barka Barka

Waga 3000: Sak Sin Paode

Wanlov: Veverita feat. King Ayisoba, Human Being

Yaa Pono: Good Morning feat Efya, Tare Tare

Photos:

Art Melody & Joey le Soldat

Elom 20ce

Wanlov

Yaa Pono

Press:

Art Melody: Fader, This Is Africa, Africa Is A Country

Waga 3000: Fader

Elom 20ce: This Is Africa[:d

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Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lets throwback to 2015. Telemo was one of the biggest afrobeats song from Ghana in 2015. The song was played on every radio and every party/event. This song is still relevant today because of its interesting message, it talks about how the struggles of young men in...

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

This is a street anthem!! Gaining waves in Nigeria, Ghana and Africa Beyond. This song is loved by the huslters(Fraud Boys , Scammers and Etc) . Victor Ad talks about his struggles to make it in life . He asks the question " Wetin We Gain ? "  to say ; after all his...

Art Melody – Barka Barka Video

[:en]

If you missed Melo on his European tour, here is a small glimpse of the action. Backed by the Waga Block Band along with Joey le Soldat on vocals, Numa Lakroch’ on drums and pads, and Mama J on percussion and backing vocals. I myself have not had the pleasure of witnessing them live, but I keep hearing rave reviews. Until Melo comes back for his next tour, enjoy this rehearsal vid for the song Barka Barka, off of his Wogdog Blues album. Sneak peak: vinyl coming soon!!! Full video credits over at youtube.

 [:de]

If you missed Melo on his European tour, here is a small glimpse of the action. Backed by the Waga Block Band along with Joey le Soldat on vocals, Numa Lakroch’ on drums and pads, and Mama J on percussion and backing vocals. I myself have not had the pleasure of witnessing them live, but I keep hearing rave reviews. Until Melo comes back for his next tour, enjoy this rehearsal vid for the song Barka Barka, off of his Wogdog Blues album. Sneak peak: vinyl coming soon!!! Full video credits over at youtube.

 [:fr]

If you missed Melo on his European tour, here is a small glimpse of the action. Backed by the Waga Block Band along with Joey le Soldat on vocals, Numa Lakroch’ on drums and pads, and Mama J on percussion and backing vocals. I myself have not had the pleasure of witnessing them live, but I keep hearing rave reviews. Until Melo comes back for his next tour, enjoy this rehearsal vid for the song Barka Barka, off of his Wogdog Blues album. Sneak peak: vinyl coming soon!!! Full video credits over at youtube.

 [:]

Didjak Munya Album Launch in Kinshasa

Didjak Munya Album Launch in Kinshasa

 

invit_didjak_launch

Didjak is one of the most tenacious artists I’ve met: he’s managed to self produce a full album, featuring some of the continent’s greatest voices, in a city famed for its music – and for how expensive and difficult it has become to record music. Kinshasa once had the greatest musical output in all of Africa, but these days the ratio between production costs and sales makes it almost impossible to release a full studio album. Case in point, even the biggest names in Congolese music seem to only be releasing live albums these days. But this situation hasn’t stopped Didjak, who’s been working on his sophomore album for a few years now. You can read more about Didjak’s story here, and if you happen to be in Kinshasa this weekend, make sure to check out the launch for the album Africa Numero 1 calls “simply genius”. Listen to the full album below, and grab the free magical single Nakozonga, featuring the famed first bars from Ernesto Djédjé‘s classic hit Ziboté:

 

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Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lets throwback to 2015. Telemo was one of the biggest afrobeats song from Ghana in 2015. The song was played on every radio and every party/event. This song is still relevant today because of its interesting message, it talks about how the struggles of young men in...

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

This is a street anthem!! Gaining waves in Nigeria, Ghana and Africa Beyond. This song is loved by the huslters(Fraud Boys , Scammers and Etc) . Victor Ad talks about his struggles to make it in life . He asks the question " Wetin We Gain ? "  to say ; after all his...

Didjak Munya Album Launch in Kinshasa

 

invit_didjak_launch

Didjak is one of the most tenacious artists I’ve met: he’s managed to self produce a full album, featuring some of the continent’s greatest voices, in a city famed for its music – and for how expensive and difficult it has become to record music. Kinshasa once had the greatest musical output in all of Africa, but these days the ratio between production costs and sales makes it almost impossible to release a full studio album. Case in point, even the biggest names in Congolese music seem to only be releasing live albums these days. But this situation hasn’t stopped Didjak, who’s been working on his sophomore album for a few years now. You can read more about Didjak’s story here, and if you happen to be in Kinshasa this weekend, make sure to check out the launch for the album Africa Numero 1 calls “simply genius”. Listen to the full album below, and grab the free magical single Nakozonga, featuring the famed first bars from Ernesto Djédjé‘s classic hit Ziboté:

 

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Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lala Shishi :Gasmilla – Telemo

Lets throwback to 2015. Telemo was one of the biggest afrobeats song from Ghana in 2015. The song was played on every radio and every party/event. This song is still relevant today because of its interesting message, it talks about how the struggles of young men in...

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

Lala Shishi :Victor AD – Wetin We Gain

This is a street anthem!! Gaining waves in Nigeria, Ghana and Africa Beyond. This song is loved by the huslters(Fraud Boys , Scammers and Etc) . Victor Ad talks about his struggles to make it in life . He asks the question " Wetin We Gain ? "  to say ; after all his...

Didjak Munya – Oxygène

DIDJAK-POCHETTE-1

Didjak Munya has been on Kinshasa’s hip hop circuit for well over a deacade now, but Oxygène is his first international release. The album, which has been brewing for several years now, displays Didjak’s versatility and talent for incorporating a wide range of musical references, without ever losing site of his Congolese roots.

Collaborating with some of the DR Congo’s biggest names, Papa Wemba in the past, and now Lokua Kanza on Oxygène, Didjak shows not only his talent, but the degree to which his music has been accepted at home in Kinshasa.

Despite the high caliber talent featured on the album, Didjak has followed a strict DIY method to complete this project. No big producer, no paid atalaku shoutouts. The fact that Didjak has remained fully in charge explains both the years spent piecing together what has been a financially heavy venture, and the cohesiveness and visionary artistry of this second album.

In a country where life is hard and music is joyful, Didjak is not afraid to deal with serious issues in his raps. Much like the musicality on the album, his lyrics show versatility, ranging from diasporan identity issues to how Congolese culture is shaken up by urban living in Kinshasa. Didjak is an important voice for the DR Congo today, a country with decades of history as the most influential music hot spot in the entire continent.

Support Didjak and grab his music from iTunes or Beatport, all other services coming soon!

Friday Madness: Maskarado “Tabacanawa”

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In Luanda, most of the top house music producers don’t really talk, or even know each other. I was a bit sad to realize that all of the big names mostly evolve on their own, partnerships are incredibly rare, DJ Djeff and DJ Silyvi being the most notorious.

But one guy brings it all together, because he doesn’t compete with anybody, but rather completes everybody’s music: the one and only Maskarado. A cat I had the pleasure of meeting on my trip to Luanda in 2009, when he was already spitting rhymes on top of house beats. This was before Elegom Bounsa, which not only put Maskarado on the map in a big way, it put domestic Angolan house music on the map in Luanda.

Today house music is huge in Angola, but still defined by very specific boundaries. Maskarado seems to continue his mission to bring down these barriers, he distills his kuduro style rapping on all kinds of uptempo beats, and Tabacanawa is a fine example of that sound. Bruno and Nelson Rudebeatz of house crew Homeboyz, are lucky to be around: Nelson almost passed a couple of months ago. Seems his close encounter with death only made his determination stronger: I am completely and entirely sold by this beat!

Waga 3000 – Voir Sombrer Ses Fils

More Burkinabé rap with Art Melody and Joey le Soldat, together as Waga 3000, rapping on top of DJ Form’s beat. “Voir Sombrer ses Fils” means “watching your sons sink”, it is a call for Africa’s youth to avoid violence, such as the military mutiny that shook Burkina in 2011. The video was shot by Inoussa Kaboré with the help from the Semfilms association in Burkina Faso. Check out Voir Sombrer Ses Fils in Spotify | iTunes | Amazon | Beatport