Pidgin Slang & Politics: Paapa’s Fresh Urban Sound

By Robin Riskin

Kukua, I just got this scholarship
So I’ll be moving to the dollar ship.
I just want my dreams to set sail
Cause if I stay with you they might fail.

From “Write for me,” by Paapa (bit.ly/V3QSeo)

Paapa’s new song “Write for me” premiered tonight on YFM with Kobby Graham.

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Amidst a barrage of azonto beats, mindless lyrics, and money-flashing videos in the Ghanaian music scene, Paapa stands out as a thoughtful and serious artist. A self-described “Ghanaian, Musician, Skillionaire, Dreamer, Forgiven sinner” (his Facebook descrip), his fresh, contemporary, faith-inspired sounds refuse to quite fit into any box.

Mixing slang pidgin phrases with complex sociopolitical issues and soulful melodies, Paapa blends musical styles in a compelling cosmopolitan fusion. Think Lecrae or Mali Music’s conscious Christian rap, John Legend’s coffee piano soul, and Osibisa’s street groovy funk. Paapa writes and produces all his own music, often laboring for months over a single song.

Paapa Kwaku hMensa, who goes by the artist name Paapa, was signed four years ago at the age of 17 to Skillions Records, a Ghanaian label known for producing positive indie music, headed up by rap favorite Jayso. Today, Paapa balances his career as a musician with his schoolwork at Reed College in Oregon, US. Having made the most out of his debut album ‘Solar,’ released in July of 2011, he is gearing up for his second album release, ‘Songs for Kukua,’ coming out this March 6, to coincide with the 56th anniversary of Ghana’s independence.

Paapa synthed smooth tunes as a headlining artist at Accra[dot]Alt’s Ind!e Fuse last month.

This Sunday night, Paapa treated his fans to a pre-release of the single, “Write for me,” which premiered on YFM Radio with DJ Kobby Graham. The stunner of a song connects his personal experience of leaving Ghana for school in the U.S. to a larger narrative of the brain drain for Ghana and Africa. With soft piano strokes and slow guitar strums, Paapa sings an ode of regret and longing to his homeland Ghana, captured through the metaphorical character of Kukua.

Kukua, the name for Wednesday-borns in Ghanaian Akan traditions, matches Kwaku, Paapa’s own Wednesday day-name. The song plays out as a dialogue between the two, Kwaku telling Kukua he “just got a scholarship” and will be “moving to the dollar ship”; that the “cedi and pesewa” (Ghanaian currency) “cannot afford my dreams.” Kukua sings, “Please don’t l-e-eave me-e,” ending in a low tremor, “If you leave / Please write songs for me / And come back to me…”

Jayso (left) joined Paapa at his Family Reunion Concert Jan. 5 at Sytris Cafe. Paapa was signed by Jayso to the Skillions Records team at the age of 17.

Fatou Kandé Senghor, Guerilla Art Thriller

By Robin Riskin

Fatou Kandé Senghor is a guerrilla art thriller, film award winner, and lady photographer killer.

Fatou Kandé Senghor prefers to exhibit in public spaces not typically perceived as “art” settings – markets, weddings, naming ceremonies, hip hop shows.

Whether she is invading a hip hop show in Pikine, Dakar with photography and film projections, collaborating with Wim Wenders on the short movie, ‘The Invisible,’ or exhibiting photographs at Okwui Enwezor’s “Snap Judgments” at the International Center of Photography, Kandé Senghor is a bold and passionate artist whose work speaks to the human condition. Her projects span film, photography, writing, and public installation, and touch upon issues of politics, economies, and communities. She is coming out with on a book on hip hop and a public project on dance as a form of expression. While galleries and curators seek out her work, she often prefers to exhibit in public spaces not typically perceived as “art” settings – markets, weddings, naming ceremonies, to name a few. She likes to be where the people are.

“I make art that will challenge our expectations, make us accept our mutations, and then open up platforms for dialogue,” she said in an interview at her colorfully painted Waru Studio in Dakar. “I make my point in a way that can’t be avoided, so they’ll have to acknowledge my existence, strength, and power.”

Kandé Senghor: “I make my point in a way that can’t be avoided, so they’ll have to acknowledge my existence, strength, and power.”

Many of Kandé Senghor’s works address issues of gender and women’s position in society. While ultimately she is interested “in people, in the world,” she said, “I am doing women first because gender is linked to everything.”

Underground Hip Hop Pulses at Wakh’Art Invite, Dakar

By Robin Riskin

While most of Dakar’s artsy intellectuals thronged to the Institut Français (ex-CCF) on Saturday, Nov. 3 for the Danakil and Natty Jean reggae show, the best place to be was practically around the corner for the 8th edition of the Wakh’Art Invite at Le Big Five, featuring S’killaz, Goormak, Belzo-o and more.

(film by Wakh’Art, footage by Framework5)

The killer set of underground hip hop artists transformed the cozy resto-lounge into a pulsing concert venue wild with music and energy. Guests packed around dining tables and piled out the door. Wakh’Art had pulled off another fabulous event, in its efforts to provide platforms for young urban Dakaroises working in arts and culture.

Kicking off the night was Goormak accompanied by Niaxtu, with politically charged songs sending positive messages. They had the crowd singing along to “Complexé,” which urged against inferiority complexes for black skin or African origins. Spitting fast lyrics in Wolof and decked in bright tees emblazoned with their name, they served up smart and heavy rap to a horde of hardcore fans.

Goormak (right) accompanied by Niaxtu spit smart and heavy rap in Wolof.

The lights dimmed and the trio S’killaz mounted the stage. An electronic beat thrummed. Band-member Charly Alves a.k.a. Chazy spun forward, aviators cocked. The group began to sing in combinations of French, Wolof, and English, with coordinated dance moves, humorous scenarios, and unstoppable energy.

The crowd joined in to chant, “Uh, it’s popping, who got it? S’killaz!” in the song “There he go,” and bumped along to “Ngeum Ngeum” (“Faith”), singing, “They don’t understand, no pain no game / If you’re feelin’ the same / Then let me see your hands up / Let me see your hands up (ooh oooh oh oh).”

S’killaz seized the stage with humorous songs and unstoppable energy, riffing off Jay-Z and Kanye while referencing Dakar pop culture.

At one point, the brother of band-member Francis Manel Bassène a.k.a. Manel hopped on stage with his soul-throated wife for an impromptu guest feature by their group I Science. Two young ladies became a part of the action in the song “Put it on my phone,” wherein S’killaz begged for a phone number from audience members of their choice (“Baaaby, you’re so fine / I might go craaazy / If you don’t give me your number (your number)”). Everyone got to join in for the call-and-response, “Gimme that–” “77!” “Put that number–” “On my phone!” referencing the “77” digits that begin most mobile numbers in Senegal.

Rapping on life in Dakar, referencing pop culture, and riffing off well-known American songs, S’killaz offered a globally appealing sound with a distinct local flavor. The group remixed Jay-Z and Kanye’s “Ni**as in Paris” to “Ni**az in DK (Dakar).” They turned the DJ Khaled/Drake-Rick Ross-Lil Wayne song “I’m On One” into their own freestyle commitment to take music seriously.

Belzo-o (right) accompanied by Micaddict served up hip hop infused with a reggae style. It was his debut show back in Dakar after finishing his studies at UKansas.

With most of their choruses in English (Manel sounds straight-up American thanks to much time spent listening to rap, jazz, and soul) and a fair amount of lyrics in French as opposed to Wolof (Ludovic Evora a.k.a. Lou spits fast rhymes en français), S’killaz was especially accessible to a non-Senegalese international audience (ahem, yours truly).

Next up, Rhapsod softened the mood with light guitar strumming and soulful tunes on life, love, and loneliness. Then Papa Belal Ndiaye a.k.a. Belzo-o “you better know” heated up the room with his sidekick Micaddict, singing hip hop songs infused with a reggae style.

Belzo-o sported hipster glasses and a gold chain, and rapped mainly in English. He’s picked up an American edge after four years studying at the University of Kansas, where he gained a considerable following through his song “Hawk Nation,” which became a Jayhawks team anthem. The Wakh’Art Invite was Belzo-o’s first show back in Senegal, and even his mother came out for the debut.

Hip Hop Explodes at la Biscuiterie de Médina

By Robin Riskin

The freshest underground and burgeoning young hip hop artists in Dakar took over la Biscuiterie de Médina on Saturday night, Oct. 6, with sharp verses, dance-popping beats, and sheer unstoppable energy. Colored beams lit the stage, clouds of mist whipped the air, and metal cans streaming fire notched up the heat, to the delight of the packed audience. The event was the final night of Canabasse‘s “Hit the Club Tour”  with BuzzLab.

La Biscuiterie de Médina exploded with hip hop music at the Hit the Club Tour on Saturday, Oct. 6. Above, Young Fresh of the Buzz Lab team.

What with the New York caps and Brooklyn t-shirts, shouts of “DK” could easily be mistaken for “BK” – except that the show was smack in the trendy capital city of Dakar, and artists were rapping in combinations of English, Wolof, and French laid over Senegalese “mbalax” beats. With lyrical references from Lady Gaga and Obama to urgent calls upon the youth of Senegal to take political agency, the night was packed with entertainment and social relevance.

Matador, Senegalese rap star and founder of Africulturbain, stole the show with a brief but glass-shattering performance.

Set in a former biscuit factory-turned-performance-hall, the show was headlined by recent star Canabasse and the BuzzLab team. But the real treasures of the night were some of the earlier acts, including Xuman, Da Brains, and Sen Kumpe, who impressed with lyrical and rhythmic talent. The rap duos captured the hip hop aesthetics of Jay-Z, rhythmic groove of Youssou N’Dour, and politico-soul of Nneka. Senegalese rap legend Matador, founder of hip hop center Africulturban, slipped on stage early with a glass-shattering performance that had the crowd screaming for more.

Hip hop duo Xuman referenced Lady Gaga and Obama while rapping in Wolof.

After a series of Canabasse shows across the country, BuzzLab teamed up with Wakh Art, and Wakh Art Music, Recidive, Skillzography More Human, and Blue for the final night. Admission was 2000 CFA, or about $4.