Here is what I wrote about a month ago concerning BET Awards & the African Artists, Youssou Ndour from Senegal continue to prove it last night at the Lisner auditorium. He has not been to USA for the past 2yrs, but his concert on a Sunday night was Sold Out a month in advance. (1500 capacity) More than half of the crowd white. I do not believe that African artists need to seek recognition or fame within a demographic that doesnt understand, or is ignorant to their music and culture. These artists main focus should be on remaining true to their art and composing great music that can stand the test of time. There have been a plethora of accomplished African pioneers in the music industry that have been internationally successful without BET (or the equivalent of BET in their era). Some of these artists include: Fela Kuti, Youssou Ndour, Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masakella, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Oliver Nthukunzi, Cesaria Evora, Alpha, Blondy, Lucky Dube, Brenda Fassie, King Sunny Ade, Sonny Okosun, Madjeck Fashek, 2Face, Franco, Tabu Ley, Mbila Bel, Papa Wemba, Koffi Olomide, Omar Pene, Baba Maal, Oumou Sangare, Mohamed Mahmoud, Aster Aweke, Teddy Afro, Eboa Lottin, Sam Fan Thomas, Richard Bona, Henry Dikongue, Petit Pays, Meiway, Gadji Celi, Ofori Amponsah, Kojo Antwi, Nana Acheampong, Daddy Lumba, and many more. Fela Kuti is one of the most accomplished African artists of all time. He was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer, and pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre. Fela is the only African artist, and one of the few artists in the world, for which a Broadway musical was created to pay homage to his influence on pop culture. His Broadway show went on a worldwide tour and was sold out in every single city. Fela sang exclusively in pidgin or broken English. Although Fela traveled around the world, his permanent address was his shrine in Lagos, Nigeria. Fela did not seek approval or recognition from an organization to legitimize his work. Another example of an accomplished African artist is Youssou Ndour. Youssou Ndour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist, songwriter, businessman, and politician. He is one Africas most successful and arguably richest artists. He still lives in his homeland and sings in his mother tongue, Wolof, as well as English and French. Ndour helped develop a style of popular Senegalese music known as Mbalax. He is also the subject of award-winning films which were released around the world. Youssou Ndour is one of the few African artists that has sold out international shows year after year. Fela and Ndour never had to assimilate to the Western world or seek approval in order to be loved worldwide. These two artists are perfect examples of achieving success on a grand scale through hard work, remaining true to themselves, and remaining true to their art. Once again Fela and Ndour did not seek help from the likes of BET in order to become accomplished on and off the African continent - DJ CHICK
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:09:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015