My friend from Dakar, Marta, who now lives in Cameroon, recently sent me a big pack of CDs straight from the Marché de Congo in Douala. I’ll be featuring music from these discs over the next few days. Big thanks, Marta, and look for your CDs in the mail soon!

Thanks to Marta, it’s official: it’s Cameroon week at Benn loxo du taccu.

Today we’ll start with some Keng Godefroy. He’s not very well known outside of Cameroon, at least I’ve never heard of him and he isn’t that Google-able. I do know that he’s a young, rising star in Cameroon with a slowed-down makassi musical style that I like. You can buy his 1997 album, Letse, not the one featured here today, on Amazon.

I don’t know the name of the today’s songs nor the album they’re from as the copied CD is unlabeled, direct from the market. So once again we have a bit of a mystery post. I’ll leave it up to Benn loxo listeners to fill in the details and I’ll e-mail Marta to see if she can enlighten us. In the meantime, enjoy the makassi.

Modern makassi music was made famous by Cameroonian musician Sam Fan Thomas, who I’ll maybe feature later this week. The rhythms come from traditional Makassi music in Western Cameroon, and you’ll recognize that typical Central African feel. Makes you want to shake like soukous.

ps- a Benn loxo listener is looking for a copy of the Nigerian 419 anthem, I Go Chop Your Dollars by Osofia, that’s mentioned in this article. If any of you know where to get it or have a copy kicking around then post a comment.

pps- quick tip for Benn loxo listeners: you can listen to all the music here as a podcast at http://bennloxo.com/feed/rss2

ppps- request for music by Dolly Rathebe. Anyone?

Keng Godefroy 1
Keng Godefroy 2

The beaches of the French Atlantic coast left me tanned and wanting more. I was definitely not ready for a multiple crisis-filled workday. Only one thing can get me out of this funk and through this mound of paperwork: West African psychedelia.

It occurred to me this morning that I’ve never posted any Manu Dibango. While today’s selection may not be the conventional pick, it comes by way of yet another gift from a Benn loxo listener.

Cameroonian by origin, mainly French at this point, Manu Dibango is one of Africa’s most well-known musicians. He’s still playing big gigs and releasing albums fairly regularly – you can catch him almost monthly in Paris and he plays in a few of the European festival circuits. He’s most famous for his saxophone-based jams that helped popularize the African soul-funk sound on a global level.

Today’s track is from the 3rd and latest release from the World Psychedelic Classics series: Love’s a Real Thing, The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa. And no, it’s not Soul Makossa.

Manu Dibango – Ceddo End Title

A renowned musician, poet, radio host, performer and novelist in Africa, Europe and North America, Francis Bebey pretty much did it all. He’s also the guy I wanted to listen to while making my Saturday eggs and bacon this morning. Perfectly acoustic to soothe the mild hangover headache.

Bebey was born and raised in Cameroon in a pro-colonial protestant family. It’s a small miracle that he managed to become a musician given his conservative French upbringing, especially one so passionate about promoting traditional African music and instruments. Lucky for all of us Bebey met a traditional doctor named Eya Mouéssé while he was still living in Cameroon. Mouéssé’s teachings introduced Bebey to the traditional instruments and musical heritage of his country and sparked an interest in African music that would change the course of his life.

Bebey lived in Cameroon, France and the US and worked on a wide variety of projects such as traditional music research for UNESCO and musical collaborations with the Kronos Quartet. He was a true international griot, promoting West African music and culture the world-over through a mix of writing, composing and education.

In May, 2001, Bebey died of a sudden heart attack. His death marked a real loss for African music and jazz lovers the world over. His legacy is intact, however, and he won’t be forgotten.

Francis Bebey – Idiba (Morning)