Hip Hop Very Much Alive in Eastern Congo – Salaam Kivu All Stars

Hip Hop Very Much Alive in Eastern Congo – Salaam Kivu All Stars

Interesting timing: although there hasn’t been any mention of it on here, Benjamin Lebrave just got back from a wild journey in eastern Congo, starting off in Goma, where this VERY exciting video was shot. Goma has gone through hell for most of the last decade, but it is calmer now and the arts are flourishing again.

Music in Congo is something else. Often times music seems to be the only common ground for the Congolese: if you like rumba, if you dance rumba, well then you’re Congolese. This phrase is not as benign or naive as you’d think. For instance, in Goma alone there are 4 shops MAKING guitars. Not to mention places where you can purchase imported guitars. And this is Goma, one of many mid-sized Congolese cities. As a point of reference, Accra, capital of Ghana, has – to our knowledge – not a single shop making guitars. Point being, music and live music play a fundamental role.

We’ll share more about this exciting journey to the east, but for now this video can do the talking. Please do check out the full story over at africanhiphop.com and have a look at Yolé! Africa‘s site, they are the ones behind this project – which got the Economist‘s attention.

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After a long break from his solo projects, M3NSA (FOKN Bois, RedRed) is back again! Setting it off with ‘SDI’ featuring Amaarae... This one is for cruising! Driving through countryside Central Europe with co - producer Andras Weil in his classic 1950’s convertible,...

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

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This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

Hip Hop Very Much Alive in Eastern Congo – Salaam Kivu All Stars

Interesting timing: although there hasn’t been any mention of it on here, Benjamin Lebrave just got back from a wild journey in eastern Congo, starting off in Goma, where this VERY exciting video was shot. Goma has gone through hell for most of the last decade, but it is calmer now and the arts are flourishing again.

Music in Congo is something else. Often times music seems to be the only common ground for the Congolese: if you like rumba, if you dance rumba, well then you’re Congolese. This phrase is not as benign or naive as you’d think. For instance, in Goma alone there are 4 shops MAKING guitars. Not to mention places where you can purchase imported guitars. And this is Goma, one of many mid-sized Congolese cities. As a point of reference, Accra, capital of Ghana, has – to our knowledge – not a single shop making guitars. Point being, music and live music play a fundamental role.

We’ll share more about this exciting journey to the east, but for now this video can do the talking. Please do check out the full story over at africanhiphop.com and have a look at Yolé! Africa‘s site, they are the ones behind this project – which got the Economist‘s attention.

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Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

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This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

Lungu Lungu: New Akwaaba Column for Fader Magazine

Lungu Lungu: New Akwaaba Column for Fader Magazine

In case you missed the first installment of our new Lungu Lungu column over at Fader Mag, here’s the second piece, this time about one of our current favorites down here in Ghana, Shadow, the one man operation that is literally lifting the entire Buduburam Liberia Refugee Camp, and bringing Liberia’s sounds to Ghanaians, and now to you, worldwide! Grab his sick gbema track “Killing Me”: gbema is a traditional rhythm, which Shadow has successfully carried into the Fruity Loop age. Think Shangaan electro, but this time a weeee bit more musical. Shadow you are the MAN!!!!

And in case you miss it, the first freebie we shared with Fader, a lil’ sumfin from the FOKN Bois, which gave its name to the column:

Music is our business…

Throughout the months of October and November this year, the international workshop program “Buzz Meets Biz” is taking place in Germany, Spain, and Ghana, bringing together young music professionals from the mentioned nations plus the UK. Not only active artists but also promoters, bloggers, label owners, and other professionals in the musical field are involved, covering all kinds of modern genres. Through networking, sharing knowledge and experiences, and participating in educative workshops, these young creatives will be inspired and taught to take confident and smart steps in the tough world of show biz.

PART 3 – ACCRA, GHANA

November 18 – 30, 2017

The third and last part of the mobility program will take place here in Accra. Complementing the two past workshop series on the economic issues of music, this session will focus on music itself. Creativity process, production, performance and an insight into the Ghanaian music scene will all contribute to the grand finale of this international project.

 

The mobility program is organized in cooperation of Akwaaba Music, Music Pool Berlin, iRights, Fundación SGAE, Cooperación Española, Goethe-Institut and the Alliance Française Accra. The programme is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and Goethe-Institut Ghana.

**follow #buzzmeetsbiz on Instagram and Twitter or check the official website**

 

Watch out for our events and foreign artist gigs!

AKWAABA!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbBy7d7FG0q/

IMPRESSIONS COMING SOON.  🙂

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Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

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Oct 12, 2018

This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

Lungu Lungu: New Akwaaba Column for Fader Magazine

In case you missed the first installment of our new Lungu Lungu column over at Fader Mag, here’s the second piece, this time about one of our current favorites down here in Ghana, Shadow, the one man operation that is literally lifting the entire Buduburam Liberia Refugee Camp, and bringing Liberia’s sounds to Ghanaians, and now to you, worldwide! Grab his sick gbema track “Killing Me”: gbema is a traditional rhythm, which Shadow has successfully carried into the Fruity Loop age. Think Shangaan electro, but this time a weeee bit more musical. Shadow you are the MAN!!!!

And in case you miss it, the first freebie we shared with Fader, a lil’ sumfin from the FOKN Bois, which gave its name to the column:

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This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

Spreading Mamã Africana: take this instrumental!!

Spreading Mamã Africana: take this instrumental!!

Batida and Akwaaba invite you to take this beat further, sticking to the original concept: the song Lá Vai María is about Mamã Africana, both Africa and the African mother. So we just ask that you stick to the theme: write a song about your own María, about mothers, about Africa, write with a strong social or political touch, and keep it personal.

Then Batida and Akwaaba will together pick some tracks, perhaps releasing them as an EP, an album, or individual free downloads… it all depends on what we see coming through. You can download the instrumental for the next month. After that, much like the original Mamã Africana EP, it will go away…

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Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

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Spreading Mamã Africana: take this instrumental!!

Batida and Akwaaba invite you to take this beat further, sticking to the original concept: the song Lá Vai María is about Mamã Africana, both Africa and the African mother. So we just ask that you stick to the theme: write a song about your own María, about mothers, about Africa, write with a strong social or political touch, and keep it personal.

Then Batida and Akwaaba will together pick some tracks, perhaps releasing them as an EP, an album, or individual free downloads… it all depends on what we see coming through. You can download the instrumental for the next month. After that, much like the original Mamã Africana EP, it will go away…

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Lungu Lungu: Wanlov Tells the FOKN DunaQuest Story

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A few minutes with Wanlov the Kubolor, half of the FOKN Bois. He and M3nsa connected with the Irie Maffia in Budapest, giving birth to some infectious, futuristic Afropop. Akwaaba, chaleh, welcome 2 d future.

Via our new Lungu Lungu column over at The Fader:

Apparently the end of the world has been either canceled or delayed. The reason is pretty clear to me: FOKN Bois just released their latest album, The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest, and it needs a bit of space before we can all proceed with the end of times. Surely it will happen—on Ghana time.

The FOKN Bois, aka Wanlov the Kubolor and M3nsa, are not your average Ghanaian rappers. They reside far from the shady world of payola and corporate sponsorships that seriously limits the recognition of creative artists in Ghana. The Bois are closer to the streets, as exemplified in their amazingly fresh Coz Ov Moni pidgin English musical. They’re no payola policy means they’re not the most played artists on Ghana’s radio stations. However, after spending about 5 seconds on the streets of Accra with Wanlov, it’s pretty clear he is incredibly popular, a genuine artist recognized by people from all walks of life.

But forget Ghana for a second. Their latest collaboration with Hungary’s Irie Maffia can hardly be pigeon-holed as “Ghana music”—whatever that may mean, anyway. Instead of paraphrasing the story of how the album came to be, I’ll let Wanlov tell it. Check the video, below, to find out how these dudes ended up in Budapest, and better understand the double meaning of lungu lungu, a phrase that alludes to zigzagging through back streets, and also, corruption.

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Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

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A few minutes with Wanlov the Kubolor, half of the FOKN Bois. He and M3nsa connected with the Irie Maffia in Budapest, giving birth to some infectious, futuristic Afropop. Akwaaba, chaleh, welcome 2 d future.

Via our new Lungu Lungu column over at The Fader:

Apparently the end of the world has been either canceled or delayed. The reason is pretty clear to me: FOKN Bois just released their latest album, The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest, and it needs a bit of space before we can all proceed with the end of times. Surely it will happen—on Ghana time.

The FOKN Bois, aka Wanlov the Kubolor and M3nsa, are not your average Ghanaian rappers. They reside far from the shady world of payola and corporate sponsorships that seriously limits the recognition of creative artists in Ghana. The Bois are closer to the streets, as exemplified in their amazingly fresh Coz Ov Moni pidgin English musical. They’re no payola policy means they’re not the most played artists on Ghana’s radio stations. However, after spending about 5 seconds on the streets of Accra with Wanlov, it’s pretty clear he is incredibly popular, a genuine artist recognized by people from all walks of life.

But forget Ghana for a second. Their latest collaboration with Hungary’s Irie Maffia can hardly be pigeon-holed as “Ghana music”—whatever that may mean, anyway. Instead of paraphrasing the story of how the album came to be, I’ll let Wanlov tell it. Check the video, below, to find out how these dudes ended up in Budapest, and better understand the double meaning of lungu lungu, a phrase that alludes to zigzagging through back streets, and also, corruption.

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This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

FOKN Bois meet Irie Maffia: The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest

FOKN Bois meet Irie Maffia: The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest

 

After running around Accra because of money, the FOKN Bois left for Budapest, hungry on a quest to find the finest duna (arse). They were kidnapped by the infamous Irie Maffia, a notorious band of musicians, singers, songwriters, deejays, producers, rappers…and fed only palinka and bread in a hot studio in the nippy Buda hills close to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s home.

In 5 days they were forced to do 4 gigs and record 8 tracks… It was sleepless hell… They managed to escape when the producer, Elo Marton, who was trying to water board more lyrics out of the exhausted FOKN Bois at a Turkish bath, absentmindedly gazed at singer/songwriter Sena’s duna as she sauntered by distractingly.

Now the tracks are out and sound so good that the FOKN Bois have forgiven Irie Maffia for the conditions by which this beautiful record came together.  In their words: “We see demma Maffia side, but now everything be Irie.”

The FOKN Dunaquest in Budapest is a sonic Hiphop/Dance/Afropop adventure from Budapest to Bucharest, Brenham to Boston and Bolgatanga to Bubuashie! Eastern Europe meets West Africa…apio meets palinka. Ha!!!

Grab FOKN Future for free – we just ask for your email, and we won’t share it, promise!

Grab the entire release directly from Bandcamp, or in iTunes. Available in every other major internet store next week!

 

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After a long break from his solo projects, M3NSA (FOKN Bois, RedRed) is back again! Setting it off with ‘SDI’ featuring Amaarae... This one is for cruising! Driving through countryside Central Europe with co - producer Andras Weil in his classic 1950’s convertible,...

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Oct 12, 2018

This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...

FOKN Bois meet Irie Maffia: The FOKN DunaQuest in Budapest

 

After running around Accra because of money, the FOKN Bois left for Budapest, hungry on a quest to find the finest duna (arse). They were kidnapped by the infamous Irie Maffia, a notorious band of musicians, singers, songwriters, deejays, producers, rappers…and fed only palinka and bread in a hot studio in the nippy Buda hills close to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s home.

In 5 days they were forced to do 4 gigs and record 8 tracks… It was sleepless hell… They managed to escape when the producer, Elo Marton, who was trying to water board more lyrics out of the exhausted FOKN Bois at a Turkish bath, absentmindedly gazed at singer/songwriter Sena’s duna as she sauntered by distractingly.

Now the tracks are out and sound so good that the FOKN Bois have forgiven Irie Maffia for the conditions by which this beautiful record came together.  In their words: “We see demma Maffia side, but now everything be Irie.”

The FOKN Dunaquest in Budapest is a sonic Hiphop/Dance/Afropop adventure from Budapest to Bucharest, Brenham to Boston and Bolgatanga to Bubuashie! Eastern Europe meets West Africa…apio meets palinka. Ha!!!

Grab FOKN Future for free – we just ask for your email, and we won’t share it, promise!

Grab the entire release directly from Bandcamp, or in iTunes. Available in every other major internet store next week!

 

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Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Lala Shishi :Sarkodie – Advice

Oct 12, 2018

This is the hottest hiphop song in Ghana at the moment.  Advice is a song by the highest " Sarkodie" , he freestyles off instrumentals to Joey B & La Meme gang's  song " Stables", to deliver a diss aimed at Shatta Wale. The song is deep and contains some...