BACK TO AFRICA
Gambian promoter urges better reggae-afrobeats ties
A Gambian show promoter is encouraging his Jamaican counterparts to have more artistes from Africa on their events to strengthen ties between their country and the continent.
Bakary Ceesay, a self-described entertainment journalist and music business consultant, told the Jamaica Observer that Burna Boy’s groundbreaking concert at the National Stadium in Kingston last month shows Afrobeats is just as popular in Jamaica as dancehall/reggae is in Africa.
“Actually, I am not surprised that Burna Boy [did well in Jamaica] because Afrobeats is big in Jamaica and Africa sees Jamaica as brothers and sisters of the same people.
“More African artistes want to perform in Jamaica because many artistes in Africa get their inspiration through Jamaican artistes, so they want to connect to the Jamaica music industry,” said Ceesay.
Burna Boy from Nigeria is one of the poster acts for Afrobeats, a percussive sound from West Africa that has taken the music world by storm. His show at the National Stadium drew an estimated 20,000 fans.
This weekend, Stonebwoy from Ghana performs at Rebel Salute in St Ann. He is the latest African artiste to appear on the annual roots festival, following Bobi Wine from Uganda and Nigerian Patoranking.
Morgan Heritage, Beenie Man, Jah Cure, Alkaline, Jahmiel, I Octane, Chronixx, and Version are some of the acts Ceesay has booked for shows in The Gambia, which has been a strong reggae market for over 30 years.
“Our bookings are focused on West Africa and The Gambia. It depends on the market and demand of the public of a particular artiste,” said Ceesay, who has been promoting shows for five years.
Africa has been a vibrant market for Jamaican artistes since the late 1990s. South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana are the most active in terms of attracting premier acts.
In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, there were sporadic tours of the continent by Bob Marley and The Wailers, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown, Yellowman and Gregory Isaacs. Some of those events were package tours with major African artistes like Fela Kuti, the legendary Nigerian who started the Afrobeat craze in the early 1970s.
Stonebwoy is the biggest reggae act out of Africa. Currently signed to Def Jam Recordings, he has collaborated on songs with Tarrus Riley, Sean Paul, Jesse Royal and Mutabaruka.