A few years ago some friends and I had the bright idea to organize a roadtrip from Dakar to The Gambia at 3am. Anyone who’s worked the 7-places circuit around West Africa can tell you that negotiating the price of a bush taxi in the dark corners of a large gare routière is never a good idea in the middle of the night.

We ended up getting partially mugged by a large and rather talentless gang of pickpockets after our first taxi drove us deeper into the dark corners of the station instead of out onto the road. These kinds of situations are rarely dangerous in West Africa but they can certainly delay your departure.

Once we got out of that situation we found another ride outside the station. Unfortunately about 500m into our new trip we had to punch the driver and pull up his parking brake in the middle of the highway so we could escape. You see, he was driving us in a circle, back into the same group of thieves who this time seemed a little more prepared, while trying to physically restrain us from opening the door. We managed to get out and hop over the guard rail where, miraculously, another taxi was coming the other way. Unfortunately this chauffeur was very drunk and demanded a bribe to take us away from the angry, approaching gare routière crew.

A couple quick and loud negotiations later and we eventually made it to a hotel who sheltered us for about an hour while we tried to get the cops to chase away the taxi dudes (patiently waiting for us outside at this stage). However, as so often happens in these situations, the cops were less than helpful. The whole affair lasted until near morning. At the end of it we were out a couple bucks but still had (most) belongings and no injuries. Everyone was in high spirits so, of course, we flagged another taxi, piled in, and drove down to The Gambia as the sun rose.

One exploding tire at 120km/h and one large box of red wine consumed by our third and non-evil chauffeur later and we were at the border crossing, safe and sound.

The bottom line: ça dépend du chauffeur. (It depends on the driver.) So much of life in West Africa comes down to small truths like this.

Papson – Ça depend
Lenny Kravitz – Mr. Cab Driver

Today we have a third highlife installment from Benn loxo listener, ubulujaja:

“Lord Bob Cole (who may also have been known as Bob Johnson) was a Ghanaian comedian, songwriter, and actor who was a veteran of the Ghanaian Concert Party scene of the 1950′s where highlife music was mixed with comic dramatizations of local events. I first heard his music on the 1970′s C.K. Mann and Bob Cole release Osode: African Hot Highlife Rhythms and started making an effort to track down anything I could by him. The song Kekerebtire is a Nzima song off a Decca 45 release probably done in the mid to late 60′s. The structure of the song is classic highlife with the opening horns blast and interwoven guitar and percussion solos, but the punchy nature of the vocals make the song stand out and are delivered with a sort of vaudevillian boisterousness that must have characterized the concert party scene. For more information on the Ghana Concert Party Theatre you should check out Catherine M. Cole’s book Ghana Concert Party Theatre.

I don’t know much about Muchacha Imuzor as there are no liner notes or list of performers on any of the LP’s I have managed to find, but he did a number of good Ukwauni styled highlife records in the 70′s for the EMI Label. The song Anazo Eze is a 16 minute track off an LP of the same name. His vocals have a distinctive urgency that bring together the rhythms of the guitar, percussion instruments and chorus to make a solid Ukwauni praise song.”

Thanks as always for the post, ubulujaja.

Bob Cole and his Music Makers – Kekerebtire
Muchacha Imuzor – Anazo Eze

Been doing a lot of home living and home cooking lately. Today’s track is especially great for when you’re chopping onions.. knife in my left, glass of red in my right, highlife-ing around the kitchen.

You can hear this tune on the Art Hurts release, The Old Highlife. It’s the baby of Art Hurts Records’ Nashville native, Beston Barnett. He went to Ghana on his Honeymoon and ended up studying guitar with Nana Opoku Agyemang. Three weeks into the lessons he managed to convince his new teacher to record an album with long-time friend, Amankwah “Roadmaster” Ntori.

You might recognize Agyemang’s guitar from, among others, F Kenya’s Band that we heard here before on one of Ulubujaja’s guest posts. And in case you’re wondering, Roadmaster gets his name from his mom since he used to walk for miles on foot.

Roadmaster & Agyemang – Akwasi Broni

I’m not exactly sure how or when Charlotte Dada became the Benn loxo inside joke. It could have been when a particularly scratch-happy cat was named after her, or how I often use her cover of Don’t Let Me Down as a way to get people interested in that “other” side of 60s and 70s West African music… or how it has come to represent an important part of my life- that last year in Senegal and a transition to Paris.

The original Charlotte Dada post, way back in 2004, got some attention on other web sites, too. The result of those new hits was a bunch of new friends, some help from Quannum records, a gig at MTV and big media coverage. Much to my surprise, Charlotte and Benn loxo have brought me many good things over the years.

That said, it’s with great pleasure that I thank Miles from Soundway Records for bringing a little more Charlotte into our lives. The people at Soundway are responsible for bringing us many of Benn loxo’s favourites such as the Ghana Soundz compilations, TP Orchestre Poly-Rythmo re-releases and Benn loxo listener Natural Self’s Ghana Soundz remixes, one of which we heard a few weeks back.

The Cool Blaze Band feat. Charlotte Dada – Everything Cool

In 1971 a bunch of big name American soul and rock musicians traveled to Accra, Ghana, for a live performance called Soul to Soul. Anywhere between 100,000 to 200,000 people showed up to Accra’s Black Star Square to watch the likes of Wilson Pickett, Tina Turner, The Staple Sisters, Santana and Roberta Flack perform for over 13 hours. A few Ghanaian acts such as Kwa Mensah and The Aliens got to perform too, but apparently the locals split a $1000 paycheck while the Americans earned a cool $50,000.

Regardless, the concert was a big success. An album of the live recordings was released and a documentary about the trip was produced, both of which were recently remastered and re-released. As a thoughtful Christmas present, Benn loxo listener and good friend, Rob, grabbed me a copy.

While most people will complain that Roberta Flack’s recordings and performances aren’t included on the DVD, I think I speak for all of us at Benn loxo when I say that the album is amazing except for the notable exception of easily the most important performer: Charlotte Dada. Once again, the unofficial voice of Benn loxo and the inspiration for a cat remains elusive. (By the way, if any of you could get me that film about her that screened at the Toronto film festival a few years ago you’d get Benn loxo love for life.)

The DVD is fascinating to watch, especially for the bewildered looks on the visiting musicians’ faces and the fine dancing of Tina and the Ikettes. The real gem of the film is Wilson Pickett’s performances. Apparently he was known as “Soul Brother #2″ down in Ghana in those days (obviously one step behind James Brown), and enjoyed enormous popularity. While the Ghanaian crowd looked stunned during Santana’s guitar solos and the avant-garde sounds of Les McCann, they brought down the house when Pickett took the stage.

You can buy a copy here and get more info over here.

Wilson Pickett – Land of 1000 Dances (live in Ghana, 1971)
Ike & Tina Turner – I Smell Trouble (live in Ghana, 1971)

Happy new year.

I’m back from Canada, in a new apartment just down the street from the Paris SDFs, ready for another good 12 months as I hope you all are. Big love for sticking with Benn loxo for yet another year.

A few weeks ago a Benn loxo reader tipped me off about a good remix of The Uhuru Dance Band’s song, Olufeme, by Natural Self. I particularly like this mix because he keeps it simple. The original was already ready for the dancefloor, but boost the bass and add some loops and suddenly the hiphop kids forget they’re dancing to 70s Ghana groove.

In his own words, “Natural Self is an on going project by producer Keno-1 that involves various collaborators along the way.” More info on the MySpace page or here.

You might have already heard the original on that great compilation, Ghana Soundz 2.

Natural Self – Olufeme
Oscar Sulley & The Uhuru Dance Band – Olufeme

Today veteran Benn loxo guest poster, ubulujaja, returns with some more hard to find 1970s highlife:

“F. Kenya was born in the Ghanaian town of Asima in the Eastern Nzema District. Trained as a goldsmith, he started singing in the mid 60′s with the Ahamanos band and later joined Kaikaiku’s No. 1 band before going out his own in the late 70′s. He was one of the first popular singers to sing in his native Nzema language and the energy in his vocals and performances made him very popular in Ghana and neighboring Ivory Coast. F. Kenya moved to the Ivory Coast in the early 80′s and did a number of LP’s including the great LP’s Powerhouse Vol 1 and Vol 2. A few F. Kenya tracks have appeared in the Gun and Guitar compilations Vol 1 and 2 put out by John Booker, but nothing else has been available in the West. The song Ngaluka Ngaluka is from a 1977 Essiebon release of the same name. His nephew is the famous Cote de Voire musician Meiway.

Master Bob Akwaboah started out in the early 60′s with Kwaa Mensah’s band, then joined Dr. K. Gyasi’s band as a vocalist before forming the Akwaboah’s guitar band in 1963. A prolific musician he put out more than 50 45′s during the 60′s and a number of LP’s. I first heard his music on one his early 80′s release Hwe Mibi Nako. This LP is worth tracking down because the great Ghanaian trumpeter ET Mensah lends a hand along with Sweet Talks bassist Ralph Karikari. While not as well known in the West as bands like the African Brothers and Sweet Talks he was a integral part of the Ghanaian music scene for three decades and his music is a prime example of the down tempo guitar band sound of Ghanaian music in the 70′s and 80′s and deserves wider recognition. The track Mihune A Anka Manba is from the B-side of an Executive release titled Wayge Wodee Anaa. The record does not list a release date, but I would guess sometime in the late 70′s.”

Thanks again for the music, ubulujaja.

F. Kenya – Ngakula ngakula
Master Bob Akwaboah and his Supreme Internationals – Wayge Wodee Anna (Maye Dada)

Benn loxo listener, Tom, sent me some interesting music from Ghana the other day. He writes,

“I’m an avid reader/listener to Benn loxo. I’ve uploaded a couple of tracks of Batman Samini from Ghana. He’s absolutely massive there, and just received a MOBO award nomination for Best African Act – awards on 20th September. His “thing” is a hybrid of Highlife, Reggae/ Ragga, some calling it Raglife (!).

Lambori is from his 1st Album Dankwansere. Obaa Besia, meaning “My Ideal Woman”, is from his current album called Samini. You can buy it from iTunes.

There’s a story on him at ghanamusic.com.” ..and another one over at Benn loxo friends, fly.co.uk.

“He’s originally from the Northern Ghanaian town of Wa, where his name Samini means “Rain God”. That was taken with a pinch of salt until a few months ago he launched his new album in Accra and it literally started raining as the first song was played and didn’t stop for 2 whole days. So I’ve warned the MET office in the UK that he’s coming to London in a couple of weeks.”

Thanks for the music, Tom. So is Batman his real name? I particularly like Lambori. It’s a great example of the successful fusion of local instruments and sounds with a contemporary Western urban sound. It’s amazing how much the production has improved with this recent round of releases when compared to hiphop and reggae albums from Ghana and surrounding countries just a few years ago.

Batman Samini – Lambori
Batman Samini – Obaa Besia

Today we have a guest post by Benn loxo listener, Wen, on Ghanaian “Hip Life” music:

Ghanaian Hip Life is a hybrid of Afro-American hip-hop and West African highlife. It is characterised by rapping over a 4/4 beat, however it differs from most traditional hip-hop with its melodic lead vocals. The rap is mostly in the local languages Twi, Fanti, Ga and Ewe, but also in the lingua franca of the Muslim minority, Hausa. The official language in Ghana is English, though due to migrant relations with the neighbouring countries French is also used. In these songs we hear a more pidginised form of English which contains old expressions from colonial times that are still used today.

The music is mostly made-up of samples of old Highlife tunes. Hiplife is created with computers and synthesizers in the studios. Live performances are accompanied by playback and are performed as lip-synchs. Live performance plays an important role and most of the hiplife performers are very good dancers.

Hip Life is a medium for the youth to express their issues, but themes affecting general society such as HIV/AIDS and malaria are also discussed.

The four members of the group V.I.P. (Vision in Progess) come from Nima, a primarily Muslim migrant community in Accra. In their songs they criticise issues within their native community, such as in “Ni Ne Naki”, the strict marriage form of auren daure, where the Muslim wife must stay within the household. This is usually not common practice in Ghana where Islam is not as as strict as in, for example, northern Nigeria.

V.I.P. rap in Hausa but also in Twi, the Akan-dialect of southern Ghana, Ewe, English and French. The press regards them as Ghana’s own Wu-Tang Clan.

Their most popular track, “Rana Sallah” (day of prayer), off their first album, “Biibiiba O” (Something will come), describes the Id el-Fitr, the festival after the Ramadan. The beat was sampled of Busta Rhymes’ “Dangerous”. Their second album “Ye de Aba” contains samples of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song”. On their third album, “Ahomka Wom”, V.I.P. collaborates with other Hip Life artists such as Frank Mensah Pozo, Tic Tac, 2-Tee and Lil’ Kryz.

Wen

Thanks, Wen, for the music and background. -Matt

VIP – Ahomka Wo Mu
VIP – Ni Ne Naki
VIP – Adoley

While German and Polish fans run around throwing bottles at the police in Dortmund, the Ghanaians are dancing around fountains in Stuttgart. The Black Star fans that I’ve seen here and in Munich have great spirit.

So why not give them something to dance to? Some highbeat from one of Ghana’s great musicians, CK Mann, and some highlife from TO Jazz.

We heard CK Mann before singing one of my favourite tunes to come out of 1970s Africa, Funky Hi-Life, and TO Jazz you might have heard on this post featuring that solid compilation, Vintage Palm Wine.

Go Ghana!

CK Mann – Nyimpa Rebre
TO Jazz – Agyeman Baidoo