Story by BILLIE MCTERNAN | Photography by SELORM JAY
JAYSO, rapper, producer, CEO of Skillions Records, at IND!E FUSE.
DAY 2
On the second day, i.e. the SABOLAI RADIO Street Party, hordes of music lovers gathered at The Republic Bar & Grill in Osu to witness what some have called the “outdooring” of the new guard. Between the soulful folk bangers of Drunk Beggar Thief, the heavy drum and horn tunes from Fatau Keita and the HighLife-Flamenco fusion mashup of Kyekyeku – the Republic became a dance portal with bodies spiraling everywhere.
KYEKYEKU chills in Accra central |Catch him live at IND!E FUSE on Dec 13 photo by Mantse Aryeequaye
We are so AMPED about this new edition to IND!E FUSE. For the fourth time round, our team thought it necessary to include what we call The LABS – interactive and creative sessions with artists, industry personnel and audiences on how to grow your music game way up.
We’ll provide critical information for musicians on how to build your brand and develop an artistic sound. Learn how to maximize digital networking and expand your fan base internationally.
See the full schedule for The LABS here. The free event kicks off the start of the 3-day IND!E FUSE party on Thursday, December 12th from 8am – 4pm, Alliance Francaise Exhibition Hall.
Sankwas BOIS = Simpol Tinz x Mutombo da Poet. The duo will return as hosts for the final show, Sat. Dec 14 | photo by Mantse Aryeequaye
FOKN BOIS + crew close down IND!E FUSE 2012 | photo by OneFotos
ACCRA DOT ALT Presents IND!E FUSE 2013
The 4th Annual IND!E FUSE alternative music festival returns this December 12th to 14th with the coolest artists from Ghana and abroad in an exciting live music concert.
IND!E FUSE is the largest African indie music showcase in West Africa and highlights the best in hip hop, AfroBeat, traditional fusion, soul, electronic and rock music. 22 artists are confirmed for the festival including FOKN BOIS, GYEDU BLAY AMBOLLEY, EFYA, JAYSO, KING AYISOBA, MECHE KORRECT [U.S.], HOLLA BLAK [U.S.] KYEKYEKU, LYRICAL WANZAM, DRUNK BEGGAR THIEF and many more.
This year’s festival starts with The LABS – free creative sessions at Alliance Française on the 12th of December 9:00am to 4:00pm. These pop-up labs will engage artists, industry experts and audiences to openly share information on digital marketing, brand development, music management, international tour networks and much more. See the full LABS schedule here.
The SABOLAI RADIO Street Party follows on the 13th of December at The Republic Bar + Grill in Osu with live music acts and DJ sets from Accra’s DJ patrol – DJ Keyzzz, Fui Dogg, Bad Boy Steloo, DJ K3V, Kwaku Ananse and Kobby Graham. 5ghc at the door.
The final showdown is at Alliance Francaise on December 14th from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. 10ghc at the door.
IND!E FUSE 2013 is supported by Institut Francaise, Alliance Francaise, REDD Kat Pictures, Fullish Art, Hello Foods Ghana, Multi TV, One Nation Entertainment, Pidgen Music, Skillions Records, Eric Adjetey Anang + the Kane Kwei Carpentry Workshop and The Republic Bar + Grill.
Hot off the presses…the official poster for the 4th Annual IND!E FUSE 2013 – this December 12 – 14th. Meet the artists at this Friday’s Talk Party Series and find out all about the show before we take off next month.
EVERYDAY WE GET STOKED by the unique flair for style Accra exhibits. From straight, clean cuts to colorful mixed prints, dapper, dark silhouettes, and electronic, trill shapes – the capital city’s got it all.
Check out what Molly Lambe‘s lens picked up for ACCRA [dot] ALT this week for our street segment.
OH CHALE! We are backononono for a third time with IND!E FUSE, the illest live music show in Accra this December at Alliance Francaise. To get you in the spirit, we’re dropping the trailer from last December’s show. Relive the copious amounts of fun had by all with just a click of a button.
In case you missed out, here’s a recap:
Oodles + noodles of cool folk jam-pack the joint out – holiday visitors returning home from the U.S., U.K. + beyond bond tight with the hometown crowd – PY Annan + @MutomboDaPoet keep the crowd amped with their side-splitting, funnyman antics – Mawuli Fudoglo + Tacitus the Greek Ga God take over the stage to show everyone the proper way to azonto – Kobby Graham aka The Funky Professor keeps it smoove + ever-funky as our resident wax selecta – Ananse aka Old Dad bumrushes eager fans who get too close to the stage then suddenly transforms into a freeze! pop-n-lock mime dancer making you wonder what the flipmode squad hell is going on?!
B.I.L.S. Rayoe surprises the audience with a kick-ass painted acrobatic troupe that eats fire – Azizaa performs her psycho-tropic myth music in the stands – Jojo Abot brings down the house with her natty Afro funk punk sound – The SANKWAS BOIS stir the pot with their tripped-up pidgen headbangas – Holla Blak casts spells with ther pan-African sticky icky lullabies (roll your blunt with that) – Lady Jay’s super-heroine sultry anthems hit you like an Accra heatwave – Steloo + Yaw P make you jump jump to their hypnotic house beats – Kofi BeatMenace and the Smol Smol Distins Band wreak havoc with their folk monster jams – Jayso, Shaker, Rumor and Sandra of Skillions Records kill it with their edgy yet charismatic bass bumpers – Yaa Pono and FaintMedal debut their now classic “I Dey Feel You Die” and create an infectious, all-out luvfest – and Wanlov the Kubolor spouts spoken word gems then unwraps his Christmas present for all to see.
WANLOV THE KUBOLOR IN ACTION @ IND!E FUSE
WELL, DAYUM. If you are digging all that, you won’t believe what we have in store for you this December.
So, get krunk. We’re live from the Ghana Space Station, baby, and beaming straight into your speakers. MO VIM coming your way real soon.
The homie OB Abenser‘s FashionistaGH was on the scene for ARISE Magazine‘s first annual Fashion Week in Lagos this March. Take a look at super fresh Ghanaian designer, Nelly Hagan-Aboagye‘s line Duaba Serwa / @duabaserwa. The Legon alum who studied Nursing + Graphic Design started her collections only two years ago. Duaba Serwa is simple yet versatile – flipping from whimsical and romantic to structured with bold contrasts to glittery Grace Jones’ glam.
Check out the fashion show and jam down to EFYA aka @EFYA_Nokturnal‘s joint, “Blow My Mind” with rapper D-Black.
In other news,StyleLikeU‘s closet confessional interviews with hip hop artist, Theophilus London – Afro-funkster design twins, Dynasty + Soul – plus dancer/healer Lyfe Silva are ever so subtly addictive. Each intimately reveals how style blasts ideas about racial identity, gender, sexuality, self-worth and determination. Take a gander through this visual garden.
THEOPHILUS LONDON (Trinidad + Tobago/Brooklyn, NY):
“At three or four years old, my Auntie Cleo bought me a pink tuxedo. It was a weird number, but I’d wear it every Sunday. We went to a big Catholic Church… people would look at me like I was crazy.”
“Since I was like 11, I would get the ‘are you a boy or a girl? Before I would feel embarrassed about that, but now I accept it. I’m like ‘I’m letting your mind run, you can’t figure it out’ I’ve grown to love that aspect.” (Dynasty)
“I wear a lot of African-esque things. A lot of people, will go ‘There goes mama Africa.’ I think it’s a terrible cliché when people choose to categorize. I thought we were just okay with being who we are.”
LADY JAY PERFORMS AT LA PAILLOTE TAKPEKPE / APRIL 2012
growing up in ghana / london town is calling
My name is Lady Nancy Jay. I was born in Tema [just outside Accra]. My father’s a seaman. Since he was always at sea, I grew up with my mum who was an artist and teacher.
My parents have their own ideas about what a child should grow up to be. Those are normally that you be a doctor or an engineer. But I love singing. I sing every chance I get. My sisters are not rebellious like me. My second older sister can sing way better than me. She’s a nurse now. She wasn’t interested in doing the singing thing.
LADY JAY CLOWNS AROUND WITH EFYA
I’ve known Jane [@EFYA_Nokturnal] since I was 6. She was in Class Three and I was in Class One. Me and Jane, we used to sing at Assemblies of God.
I was back and forth between London from late ’99. My father was living there. I remember going to Aburi Girls and they cut all my hair off. My hair was long and I would do these different styles. It was traumatizing. Man, Aburi Girls…they didn’t understand that I had a British accent. It just pissed them off. That a Black girl just like them would have this accent. Here, they don’t even know what being Ghanaian is. The girls think it’s weaves.
In 2006, right before we graduated secondary school in London, my friends got murdered. We were about twelve in a group – Turkish, Kurdish, Jamaican, Ghanaian and Nigerian. It was cool cool. Then Jamie and Voko were pushed in front of a train. Yemmasi killed himself. Ikey got stabbed. Henry got beaten to death. My parents were scared so I came back to Ghana.
LADY JAY SINGS, @ACCRADOTALT LAWN JAM / JAN. 2012
boston public / states of sneaker freak
In 2007, my British secondary school GEC was not good enough for American colleges. So they asked me to do junior and senior year again [at a Boston high school]. It was different because I was pure London. When I walked down the street they could tell I wasn’t from there. I wasn’t one of them. The first day of high school I was in a tracksuit and matching hoodie. Yes, I was a tomboy. Hardcore. Think about any Nike trainers. Think of it! Me, I’m a sneaker freak.
LADY JAY AT IND!E FUSE / DEC. 2011
$98 rent in idaho / “i was swagging“
In 2009, the Latterday Saints Church [where I was a member] helped me to pay for college [full scholarship] in Idaho. Rugsburg is very small – you can walk from one end of the town to the other. I was the most modest, the coolest girl you’d ever meet. I’d cook for my friends every Sunday after church and I would do some fancy stuff. Me, I’m a good cook. I love to cook. I like to create things that people have not even imagined. That is what I used to do.
I love Idaho. It’s peaceful. There are no skyscrapers destroying the environment. It is so natural – the mountains, sand dunes, waterfalls. I started doing cool things I said I’d never do – lawnboarding, rockclimbing, wall grafting. I want to go back because I felt so connected to God and I felt I was living a life that was true. I want to live in Idaho one day.
love + death
I used to be very attracted to only light-skinned guys. All my life. If you’re not mixed race, I won’t even look your way! I just thought they were more beautiful. Honestly. That was before now.
Two years after I go to Boston, my boyfriend in Ghana starts bugging out. I hear he’s been misbehaving. I’m like, “Baby, why you doing this to me now?!” He scrambled his way [back] into my life. Now the pressurizing started. “You have to come to Ghana, come soon.” So I had to put a stop to everything I was doing – put everything on park. I move back to Ghana for him. I came to Ghana when I wasn’t supposed to for him. Now we had this little dispute cuz he likes to flirt a lot. And he has this group of girlfriends around him all the time. But he felt happy around them. And me, if you’re happy I’m not gonna stress you.
But I knew my boy oh. I had loved him and I had loved him for that long…five years. So, I knew my boy and my boy was changing. I knew my boy and my boy was changed. When I found out, I tried to act hardcore. No matter how hard you are, just one boy can mess you up! It hit me like a train…
By this time, I was so bitter and hurt and betrayed by everything. Even the leaves. I felt the leaves had betrayed me. I hit rock bottom. I wanted to die.
But I didn’t die. I lived. Can you imagine, all of that turmoil over some stupid idiot? My father bore and kicked me out because I wasn’t supposed to come to Ghana yet. I went to live with my aunt in Kumasi who said, “What do you want to do?” Me, I like to sing. She said, “Well, start using your voice for something.”
just like music Bra Kevin was the first person who recorded me in my life! Back then I used to rap. With rap, you’re always thinking here [points to head] but two times faster. Me, I’m lazy. I don’t like too much of a process.
I live and breathe music. I turned to music when I felt I had nobody. Me, I take things differently. I’m trying to see things from a lot of corners. With writing – [the inspiration] is a moment’s notice – it comes and goes. BOOM! It’s here and it blends with whatever memories are popping up in my head.
We are not underground artists. Me, I was on TV3 and they don’t know oh! That is how they describe we. Just because we are different. But Ghana, be afraid…
stretching the now
I didn’t have a place to stay. I was homeless. Physically but also emotionally. I had been hurt so badly and felt I was alone. I cried so much all the time. I’d find someone to unleash some anger on. Panji saved me. But I would still carry myself outside like I was having fun. But I was dying. I even died. The Lady I knew died. She was gone and something else came.
Sometimes, I wish I was the old me. I’m in a stage in my life where I am struggling very hard. But I’ve come a long way and I’m not going to give up. I’ve been to Nigeria more than ten times! I’ve been to South Africa, Mali – Timbuktu, how many of you have been to Timbuktu?! Right now, the way I see life is mind-blowing. How are we even living? How are we breathing, how are we talking? Why are we in existence? It’s amazing! There must be something.
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