The great music revolutions of our times have come from Africa, and the…
Fonko - Episode 2: Francophone West Africa
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- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Francophone West Africa is bound together by the French language and a common currency, but also by traditions and languages from the vast empires that dominated the region long before colonialism.
Dakar is the unrivalled centre for the West African hip hop-scene. Originating among ivorians in Paris, coupé-décalé is now a major influence all over West Africa. In Burkina Faso the iconic former leader Thomas Sankara is used by musicians to protest against injustices and corruption, and in Benin, the veterans of Orchestre Polyrytmo give a historic background to today's music scene.
Featured artists: Daara J Family, Youssou N'dour, Didier Awadi, Sister Fa, Waga 3000, Smarty, Orchestre Polyrytmo, Kossi Apeson, Hakim, a.m.o
Citation
Main credits
Jadama, Lamin Daniel (filmmaker)
Lovén, Lars (filmmaker)
Olsson, Göran Hugo (filmmaker)
Janson, Tobias (filmmaker)
Cherry, Neneh (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Ania Winiarska [and 3 others]; editor, Limpasen Game & Mikael Jönsson.
Distributor subjects
No distributor subjects provided.Keywords
00:02:27.600 --> 00:02:32.920
Senegalese hip hop is really
a linguistic force.
00:02:32.920 --> 00:02:36.640
You can say it is a change
in African mentality,
00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:44.101
because at that time it was French,
and you had to speak really good French
00:02:44.103 --> 00:02:46.840
if people were to listen to you.
00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:49.560
You did like President Senghor.
00:02:49.562 --> 00:02:52.999
But now everyone wants to do
like Daara J Family,
00:02:53.002 --> 00:02:54.761
you start to speak Wolof.
00:02:54.761 --> 00:02:56.001
Give thanks to the true people.
00:02:56.003 --> 00:03:01.503
If you speak Serer, Djola,
Mandinka or English, my friend,
00:03:01.505 --> 00:03:02.551
that's the truth.
00:03:23.999 --> 00:03:30.999
The image of Africa was always
folkloristic or exotic.
00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:36.001
War, AIDS, oh poor little Africans.
00:03:36.003 --> 00:03:37.901
Only the bad images of Africa.
00:03:37.901 --> 00:03:40.000
We wanted to show a positive image.
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.001
That's why I named the group
Positive Black Soul.
00:03:42.002 --> 00:03:45.999
It was an instant hit, immediately
became a local phenomenon
00:03:46.001 --> 00:03:51.999
because we sang in Wolof about
the realities that people live.
00:03:52.009 --> 00:03:57.100
Suddenly there were lots of groups
in every neighborhood.
00:03:57.101 --> 00:03:59.999
People say there are about 3000
rap groups in Senegal.
00:04:32.520 --> 00:04:36.480
Dakar is a musical crossroads.
00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:43.001
There have been a lot of artists
from Europe and the United States
00:04:43.003 --> 00:04:47.360
and from all of Africa
who have come to Dakar.
00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:50.260
There are a lot of shows.
00:04:50.999 --> 00:04:55.320
Every day in the week there are
places with bands playing.
00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:11.840
It started in Burkina.
00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.680
It's from there I got
a lot of my influences,
00:05:16.320 --> 00:05:23.320
With singers from Burkina, from Mali
from Congo and from the Ivory Coast,
00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.320
and two times a singer from Ghana
who played highlife,
00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:32.201
I played drums and we all
played in different styles.
00:05:32.203 --> 00:05:37.999
That's where I started,
it was my musical school.
00:05:38.002 --> 00:05:43.040
I didn't go to school to learn eighth notes
and whole notes, to read notes and such.
00:05:43.240 --> 00:05:45.000
So I'm autodidact.
00:06:02.280 --> 00:06:08.560
Senegal is a country which has taken
plenty from the colonialization
00:06:08.840 --> 00:06:12.840
but kept even more of its own
culture and way of living.
00:06:13.280 --> 00:06:18.080
Therefore, we now have our own music
with a strong personality,
00:06:18.320 --> 00:06:25.400
a cultural identity that mirrors the
country and almost becomes a language
00:06:27.280 --> 00:06:30.920
that you'll have to learn to understand.
00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:33.400
The Cuban music has always been
very popular here.
00:06:33.640 --> 00:06:35.920
It is still very well known.
00:06:36.400 --> 00:06:40.600
This music was really what
the orchestras here prefered.
00:06:41.440 --> 00:06:46.920
We had to, or rather we wanted to,
have a touch of Cuban music.
00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:50.840
We started singing in
our own language, Wolof.
00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.999
Then we introduced the sabar,
00:06:55.002 --> 00:07:01.440
which is a traditional drum in what
was otherwise Cuban music.
00:07:01.440 --> 00:07:10.240
Then we thought that our percussions
would give it another sound.
00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:15.320
Since then we've developed and left the
Latin American and Cuban music behind
00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:19.120
to create a music style
which is completly Senegalese.
00:07:19.400 --> 00:07:21.040
Even though we use modern instruments,
00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:24.240
the way of playing is strictly
Senegalese in its own right.
00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:26.760
That's what's called "mbalax."
00:07:27.080 --> 00:07:29.520
If you look at the musical landscape
in Senegal today,
00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.960
all the steps we dared to take
in the beginning
00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:36.560
has made very interesting tracks
for today's artists
00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:40.560
in their engagement, their music and
what they choose to make.
00:08:09.320 --> 00:08:13.440
From the start, rap constitutes
a counter power movement
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:17.760
which is here just like the parliament.
00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:23.680
We have our voice and we can influence
the way the people think.
00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:31.160
In a way you can say that our music
mirrors the views of a new generation,
00:08:31.440 --> 00:08:36.240
but it also takes the
pulse of the society.
00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:06.280
They often say they prefer
"Barça ou Barsaq."
00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:14.040
Barça is Barcelona and Barsaq is
over there, it's to die.
00:09:14.880 --> 00:09:19.920
To die poor and see... in front of
your parents and your family,
00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:24.360
that you have nothing to give,
they have nothing to eat.
00:09:26.840 --> 00:09:31.000
They prefer to take the boat,
the boat of luck.
00:09:32.400 --> 00:09:36.800
There are a lot of dangers but they
prefer it to staying here, dying poor.
00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:56.480
But today the youth is more aware that
they can work in Africa without leaving.
00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:03.240
It's true that Europe has always given
us a picture, through media,
00:10:03.480 --> 00:10:06.240
an image of El Dorado.
00:10:06.640 --> 00:10:09.160
A lot of people have died for that.
00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:17.400
Today, Daara J Family's message
is to try and dissuade some
00:10:17.800 --> 00:10:22.560
from leaving, to see that they
can make it here in Africa.
00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:23.240
My name is Fatou Mandinue Diatta,
a.k.a. Sista Fa.
00:11:23.400 --> 00:11:28.200
I'm a rapper, singer and
human rights activist.
00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:35.280
I'm Senegalese, from Casamance, and I
have lived in Berlin for, I think, seven years.
00:11:56.080 --> 00:12:01.040
The thing is, there is something very magic
about music, you can do anything with it.
00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:06.040
You take a very powerful message and
you put it into the music
00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:08.800
to try to educate the children
and tell their parents:
00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:12.240
"It is not a weapon, it is a flower."
00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:15.280
"That has been picked for you, so that
you can educate your children."
00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:18.920
You say that music starts
where the language ends.
00:12:19.160 --> 00:12:22.360
Since I call myself an activist and
spokesperson for human rights,
00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:26.240
I'm no longer ashamed to say I was a
victim of genital mutilation.
00:12:26.360 --> 00:12:29.720
I've always felt like an
incomplete person,
00:12:29.880 --> 00:12:32.560
as if I were missing an ear
or walking around without a nose,
00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:34.000
or missing a finger.
00:12:34.160 --> 00:12:36.160
I thought that I wouldn't make a big
drama out of it,
00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.000
but I'm going to use my position
00:12:38.160 --> 00:12:40.480
as someone who knows what they're
talking about
00:12:40.640 --> 00:12:42.520
to explain to young people
00:12:42.680 --> 00:12:45.120
and tell them about all the dangers
involved in this practice,
00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:47.360
and let them know that they can
raise their children
00:12:47.560 --> 00:12:50.840
without following ancient traditions
00:12:51.000 --> 00:12:52.960
that can damage their health and their
children's health.
00:12:55.640 --> 00:12:58.160
The Senegalese rappers are very
politically engaged.
00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:00.680
I remember 2000, when the rappers
made a compilation
00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:03.560
to encourage the young people
to go and vote,
00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:05.760
to go and vote
instead of throwing rocks.
00:13:06.040 --> 00:13:08.720
They have done a lot to criticize the
government,
00:13:08.880 --> 00:13:10.640
to encourage the young people
00:13:10.800 --> 00:13:15.280
to make better decisions, to go and
vote and make decisions that way.
00:14:20.520 --> 00:14:23.520
The past elections have shown
something else,
00:14:23.680 --> 00:14:26.600
that the rappers are not only here to
stir up the youth.
00:14:26.760 --> 00:14:31.160
We are also here to fight for the
people.
00:14:31.880 --> 00:14:36.200
I think that if it wasn't for the Y'en a Marre
movement and the M23 movement
00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:38.920
and the Senegalese rappers
behind the movement,
00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:41.160
Wade would still be there.
00:14:48.640 --> 00:14:51.320
The political situation
in Senegal is simple.
00:14:51.880 --> 00:14:56.999
There was an election, and with all
the socio-political movements
00:14:57.002 --> 00:14:59.960
people managed to get rid
of president Wade,
00:14:59.960 --> 00:15:02.040
who wanted a third period in office.
00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:07.080
That's good, but the real fight
isn’t just an election.
00:15:07.520 --> 00:15:09.360
It’s the system that you have to change.
00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:12.560
There’s a new team and they
have promised to change the system.
00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:17.201
They are still quite new,
so we observe them.
00:15:17.203 --> 00:15:21.160
If it doesn’t work,
we go back in the streets.
00:15:21.160 --> 00:15:23.240
And they know it.
00:15:23.520 --> 00:15:25.999
So for the moment we observe a little,
00:15:26.002 --> 00:15:30.680
and we hope that they will respect the
moral contract between them and the people,
00:15:30.680 --> 00:15:32.101
the people who have elected them.
00:15:32.104 --> 00:15:36.760
I hope that the new leaders will see that
they are there to serve and not to be served upon.
00:15:36.760 --> 00:15:41.480
Because democracy isn't just a system
that's good for the West.
00:15:41.640 --> 00:15:50.840
It's a normal system. Human.
How do you say it? I've lost my words...
00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:56.000
It's a natural system,
a system that exists by itself,
00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:59.840
a system where the majority
chooses a leader.
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.200
It's a democratic system.
00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:04.800
It's not an invention that only comes
from Greece.
00:16:24.680 --> 00:16:30.840
Here is Studio Sankara,
where we work to
00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:34.400
try to create good conditions
for our independence.
00:16:34.920 --> 00:16:40.440
Today we no longer have the need to go
to USA or France to make our albums.
00:16:40.640 --> 00:16:43.600
We stay here and record in good conditions.
It's possible.
00:17:08.760 --> 00:17:16.840
Thomas Sankara was president in Burkina
Faso and was assassinated in 1987, 15 October.
00:17:17.560 --> 00:17:22.640
But before he was killed, this gentleman has proved
to us that you can be an African president,
00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:30.360
work for his people,
and sacrifice himself for his people.
00:18:05.960 --> 00:18:11.720
Talking about revolution,
1983 to 1987.
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.880
Someone came, he was
called Captain Just.
00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:15.240
He has told us that we have to find
independent means of production to be independent,
00:19:15.560 --> 00:19:19.880
to not be led around
like a sheep by a colonist.
00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:50.760
Waga 3000, we represent Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, the land of Thomas Sankara.
00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:53.240
Our cry.
Our warning cry.
00:19:57.280 --> 00:20:02.120
That’s hip-hop, it represents the voice of
the oppressed, the voice of the ghetto.
00:20:02.680 --> 00:20:06.360
The ones that cannot hear the speeches,
the ones who carry the burdens.
00:20:08.280 --> 00:20:21.400
The woman in a village, far from a mobile phone,
you cannot imagine what she has to endure.
00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.501
There are millions of Burkinabé
who live in the countryside,
00:20:28.503 --> 00:20:33.680
but their suffering is not very exposed.
00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:37.120
It’s enough to look at the street to see it.
It’s fucked up.
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:14.480
Our message is that there is a lot of injustice here,
that everything is fucked up.
00:21:36.280 --> 00:21:38.280
We too have to do something.
00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:40.440
Go against the system.
00:21:40.600 --> 00:21:45.800
Every young African has to undertake
something.
00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:54.080
If you don't work for the government,
you have nothing to do.
00:21:54.440 --> 00:22:04.160
Today it circles around getting your
daily bread independently.
00:22:04.320 --> 00:22:06.280
Yes, independent.
00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:12.520
When you look closely at who's gotten
to the higher positions,
00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:13.840
you get worried.
00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.680
If you can't get work even though
you've got a diploma,
00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:19.200
then every door is shut.
00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.960
I've written a song called
"This President Has To Go,"
00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:17.600
and the song was played on the radio
and it created problems.
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:22.640
The boss already had problems, pressure,
and tried to put pressure on me.
00:23:22.840 --> 00:23:25.600
So that ended with us separating,
00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:28.480
since I requested that every president
that had been in power for
00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:31.960
more than 20 years should resign
because that becomes dictatorship.
00:23:32.280 --> 00:23:39.120
You can talk about the coffee merchant,
you can talk about the shoe polisher,
00:23:39.120 --> 00:23:42.120
but if you start to talk about
the president's family,
00:23:42.280 --> 00:23:45.560
who often is involved in
journalist murders,
00:23:45.760 --> 00:23:48.240
then you get all sorts of problems.
00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:51.600
According to me, the freedom of speech
shouldn't be limited
00:23:51.840 --> 00:23:53.440
to the goat merchant.
00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:58.400
If the president has killed we have
to have the courage to say to him,
00:23:58.600 --> 00:23:59.800
"You've killed!"
00:24:00.360 --> 00:24:04.040
Thomas Sankara isn't just Africa,
it isn't just Burkina.
00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:08.760
When I see people commit suicide in
the West because of unemployment,
00:24:10.840 --> 00:24:13.240
when I see the young in Greece
go out on the streets
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:17.999
to demonstrate against the
restraining plans,
00:24:18.001 --> 00:24:21.699
when I see panic everywhere in
Spain, Italy, Frankrike.
00:24:21.701 --> 00:24:25.480
Everyone's panicked by the story
of the financial crisis,
00:24:25.482 --> 00:24:28.101
but Thomas Sankara talked about this
a long time ago.
00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:31.400
It's a crisis,
00:24:31.560 --> 00:24:35.400
because there's a minority that wants
to eat more than the others.
00:25:01.680 --> 00:25:05.200
There's artists existing only to make
Waga Hip Hop once in a lifetime,
00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:12.240
even though the show isn't in
a big arena.
00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:17.400
But Waga Hip Hop is the most credible
since it's the oldest.
00:25:32.200 --> 00:25:36.520
To us the Waga Hip Hop festival is
above all a festival
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:42.120
to give freedom of speech to the young.
00:25:42.280 --> 00:25:47.440
We've experienced the revolution
as kids and partly grew up with it.
00:25:47.600 --> 00:25:53.800
We're doing our job around the
celebration of Sankara's death,
00:25:53.960 --> 00:25:56.040
which is on the 15th of October,
and every year we're trying to
00:25:56.200 --> 00:26:00.520
make tha festival happen
around that time.
00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:02.600
That makes it possible for the artists
00:26:02.760 --> 00:26:04.720
to say during the concerts,
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:07.440
"Long live Thomas Sankara
and the revolution."
00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:16.920
It's another way to contribute to
this revolution, making it everlasting.
00:26:27.960 --> 00:26:32.480
In 2000 we wanted to make rap like
Tupac, be like Biggie.
00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:37.440
We watched Snoop Dogg.
But today we have references.
00:26:38.520 --> 00:26:41.800
After 2000 we got references through
our elders like Positive Black Soul,
00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:47.360
who showed us that we can be ourselves and
offer our music to the Americans, the French.
00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:06.560
We've mixed our African culture
with the urban
00:27:06.680 --> 00:27:08.480
and what was offered to us.
00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:12.560
By using only the hip-hop basis,
we've added our own culture
00:27:12.560 --> 00:27:14.720
and created somthing new.
00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:21.360
I wish the next Tupac, Jay Z, Dr. Dre,
comes from Africa by 2020.
00:27:21.560 --> 00:27:25.200
I hope and believe that is
going to happen.
00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:28.920
Let's close the chapter
00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:33.560
about the revolution between
1983 and 1987.
00:27:34.320 --> 00:27:38.080
What's going to stop this process,
00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:43.760
this process that was about to lead us
from revolution to democracy?
00:27:45.320 --> 00:27:49.880
It's about lack of loyalty, lack of
sincerity, lack of honesty.
00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:55.440
It’s about culprits, it’s about corruption.
It’s about not talking the truth.
00:29:11.040 --> 00:29:15.920
Not everybody knows our traditional
music, Gazo, everyone can dance to.
00:29:16.080 --> 00:29:21.880
This is cool catché, but the style
is known as Gazo cool catché.
00:29:22.040 --> 00:29:29.400
Let me show you directly.
This is how you dance cool catché.
00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:50.600
I include it all, a bit of Gazo like this,
Agbadja mixed with cool catché.
00:29:53.200 --> 00:30:02.120
Like this for example, one, two.
00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:06.960
Or like this...
00:30:09.120 --> 00:30:15.920
That's my way of mixing
Gazo with cool catché.
00:30:16.080 --> 00:30:21.760
I'm trying to bring a Togolese
identity to cool catché.
00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:29.600
I liked the rhythm. We'd been looking
for our own cultural identity
00:30:29.760 --> 00:30:32.720
without finding it.
But when cool catché arrived,
00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:36.800
it went all over.
Everybody embraced it, even children.
00:30:36.960 --> 00:30:43.240
To give it an extra traditional touch,
I mixed cool catché with Gazo.
00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:50.240
So two weeks ago I released the real traditional
version of "Gazoo Cool Catché."
00:31:39.800 --> 00:31:46.600
Polyrytmo describes what we're doing.
We're around since 1968.
00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:55.880
So far we've released about 500 records.
That means 1000 or 1500 songs.
00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:00.999
So, we were there,
we experienced the revolution.
00:32:01.002 --> 00:32:05.560
The revolution has given much to us,
but also taken much from us.
00:32:05.560 --> 00:32:11.760
The revolution has allowed us to have
another dimension in our music.
00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:20.101
We have our own rhythm.
Our funk, our chenka.
00:32:21.999 --> 00:32:24.999
Our style of music
is identified as voodoo funk.
00:32:25.002 --> 00:32:28.758
It's taken from the source of
our national cultural heritage
00:32:28.760 --> 00:32:30.880
to make our music.
00:32:31.040 --> 00:32:34.360
There's plenty of instruments that
came out of the monesteries
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.560
where the Voodoo existed,
where it was worshipped and magnified
00:32:38.800 --> 00:32:40.560
in the monesteries.
00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:43.560
From those monesteries, many
things came.
00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:48.680
The tam-tam drum,
it comes from the monesteries.
00:32:49.400 --> 00:32:53.600
The castanets, it comes
from the monesteries.
00:32:53.760 --> 00:32:56.560
Today, the whole world is
using these instruments.
00:32:57.360 --> 00:33:03.680
We believe Benin has contributed a lot
to the international music scene.
00:33:03.840 --> 00:33:07.800
That is something that
cannot be neglected.
00:33:23.840 --> 00:33:27.480
Attaya, it's peace.
00:33:27.520 --> 00:33:32.680
When people come we share a cup.
00:33:32.840 --> 00:33:39.600
We take this time to sit down and discuss,
talk about reality.
00:33:39.760 --> 00:33:45.600
That's why the Ataya is well
respected and loved by all Senegalese.
00:33:45.760 --> 00:33:48.680
There you go. Cheers.
00:34:02.520 --> 00:34:11.180
Hip-hop opened doors for the young
Senegalese generation of singers.
00:34:16.600 --> 00:34:21.280
Today there's hip-hop.
Something else is about to emerge.
00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:24.920
We don't know exactly what,
but time will tell.
00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:31.920
I can't say it was by chance,
but I understood pretty early
00:34:32.080 --> 00:34:34.600
that I can't be like the Americans.
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:44.040
I made the choice.
I don't want to be like an American.
00:34:44.200 --> 00:34:47.240
I'm satisfied with myself.
I feel good as an African.
00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:55.040
I have my own spot in this world.
I will always be proud of this place.
00:34:55.200 --> 00:35:03.200
Meaning, I defend originality,
the African reality.
00:35:03.360 --> 00:35:12.840
By using our traditional instruments,
the kora, the djembe, and the khin,
00:35:13.000 --> 00:35:19.200
which is a real spiritual instrument
that we have,
00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:24.240
this makes that the style of Carlou D
known as muzikr.
00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:27.560
The music and the zikr.
00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:32.120
Zikr is a spiritual Senegalese way of
singing, that's the Baye Fall order.
00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:52.600
We're going down the road to hand out
some flyers for an event.
00:36:52.760 --> 00:36:59.760
With Soundcloud, people download my
songs and post them on Facebook.
00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:04.680
When I upload a new song, instantly,
I get hundreds of downloads
00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:13.200
until the maximum limit is reached.
They say, "You have to send more!"
00:37:13.360 --> 00:37:16.440
But also outside in the diaspora
people download it.
00:37:16.600 --> 00:37:21.480
The internet access is now easy.
00:37:21.640 --> 00:37:26.040
Drive here, make a turn right here.
00:37:26.200 --> 00:37:35.720
It used to be hard for Gambian
artists getting played on radio or TV.
00:37:35.880 --> 00:37:37.920
In our own country!
00:37:38.080 --> 00:37:40.320
But now, "Allhamdullillah", thank god!
00:37:40.520 --> 00:37:42.480
If you want to listen to African music?
00:37:42.640 --> 00:37:44.200
C'mon, lets do it for ourselves!
00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:42.720
He's a Manding. Manding originates
from the Manding Empire in Mali,
00:41:42.880 --> 00:41:45.101
and we are rooted from that group.
00:41:45.103 --> 00:41:48.643
And you sing to me something
that is going to root it to me,
00:41:48.645 --> 00:41:51.001
that something in my heart
to know where I belong:
00:41:51.003 --> 00:41:52.081
in the Manding Empire.
00:41:53.160 --> 00:41:56.840
Today, Gambia could be a part of
the Manding Empire.
00:41:57.000 --> 00:41:59.080
Mali could be part of
the Manding Empire.
00:41:59.240 --> 00:42:05.560
Ivory Coast and also Burkina Faso
could be part of the Manding Empire.
00:43:02.720 --> 00:43:11.240
We now are free to use this
heritage the way we want.
00:43:11.400 --> 00:43:18.560
Inside, for example, griots tradition.
Everything is not traditional.
00:43:18.720 --> 00:43:22.320
They continue singing some traditional
songs in a very modern way.
00:43:34.699 --> 00:43:40.999
Inside what we think is Malian tradition,
there is modernity.
00:44:13.080 --> 00:44:18.080
Our music can be divided in two parts.
00:44:18.120 --> 00:44:21.440
One that's our own creation,
00:44:21.600 --> 00:44:28.560
and one that's based
on the traditional music.
00:44:28.720 --> 00:44:34.880
It's the traditional music that we've
modernized with modern instruments.
00:44:35.040 --> 00:44:38.920
We play it with the guitar,
the djembe and so on.
00:44:39.080 --> 00:44:43.720
But the spirit is the same,
it's the spirit of our traditional music.
00:44:51.360 --> 00:44:57.400
It's a style of music that emerged
out of the resistance struggle.
00:44:57.560 --> 00:45:07.520
Music transports the people's needs.
Daily problems in the desert,
00:45:07.680 --> 00:45:14.120
the exile, the suffering,
bad treatment and education, and so on.
00:45:14.280 --> 00:45:20.760
Our music appealed to the young people.
Instantly they liked it.
00:45:27.480 --> 00:45:32.040
The inspiration of our music
comes from right and left,
00:45:32.200 --> 00:45:39.960
Combined with African sounds,
European or American sounds.
00:45:40.120 --> 00:45:46.080
It's impossible to control.
You can't control inspiration.
00:45:46.240 --> 00:45:49.400
Not even the inspired can control
the true source of inspiration.
00:45:49.560 --> 00:45:58.960
It's unexplainable. I listen to music
from Latin America and Australia,
00:45:59.120 --> 00:46:03.840
and from that I can recieve a glimpse
of inspiration or influence
00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:07.920
that I will add to my music
without even knowing it.
00:46:39.440 --> 00:46:43.101
When people ask me about Europe,
I talk to them.
00:46:43.103 --> 00:46:46.040
I talk to them in a
slightly distanced way.
00:46:46.040 --> 00:46:52.840
They think "She's not one of us anymore.
She's from Europe."
00:46:52.840 --> 00:46:56.560
I tell this to my friends.
I tell them how I feel.
00:46:56.720 --> 00:46:59.440
Even though they don't
always accept it,
00:46:59.600 --> 00:47:04.400
they'll always say:
"Fatou, only help me make it to Europe."
00:47:04.560 --> 00:47:09.200
"We don't care what we will find there."
00:47:09.360 --> 00:47:11.840
"It can never be more complicated than
the life we live in here Senegal."
00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:18.120
One thing is for sure, in Senegal
you can have no money and still live.
00:47:18.280 --> 00:47:24.560
In Europe, you'll be on minus.
No money, no family, no happiness.
00:47:24.720 --> 00:47:27.440
While in Africa, you can be without
money and still have your family,
00:47:27.600 --> 00:47:31.760
maybe even happiness, because the people
surrounding you can also show love.
00:47:41.800 --> 00:47:48.760
In my own family, my cousin who I
used to live with died on a boat.
00:47:48.920 --> 00:47:58.520
They threw his body into the sea,
claiming he got dizzy and fell into the water.
00:47:58.760 --> 00:48:02.440
I told my father he died because
they couldn't travel with him.
00:48:02.600 --> 00:48:06.480
They threw him into the sea to feed
the fishes.
00:48:06.640 --> 00:48:13.600
It’s really a tragedy for my family.
He was called Famara. Famara Badji.
00:48:13.600 --> 00:48:16.040
We used to call him "Badjo".
May him rest in peace,
00:48:16.200 --> 00:48:21.840
one of many Senegalese and African victims
who have wanted to come to Europe.
00:48:45.560 --> 00:48:50.120
I'm the type of guy, I rap what I live
and I do it for love.
00:48:51.480 --> 00:48:56.999
The person I am,
on the street or on stage,
00:48:56.999 --> 00:48:58.499
I stay the same guy.
00:49:07.920 --> 00:49:09.880
That's my philosophy.
00:49:10.080 --> 00:49:13.400
I come from a really hard place.
00:49:15.080 --> 00:49:19.680
People don't have any
security or health care.
00:49:20.040 --> 00:49:22.800
There are so many issues.
00:49:23.080 --> 00:49:25.800
There's plenty of problems
for the people where I come from.
00:49:26.040 --> 00:49:32.720
My first priority is to represent them
and deal with these issues.
00:49:33.240 --> 00:49:37.560
They can't be heard.
But I have a weapon: my music.
00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:40.960
What's being said quietly
I can speak out loud.
00:49:41.200 --> 00:49:46.920
Besides the protest aspect,
I also make nice music.
00:49:47.080 --> 00:49:51.480
You can't only talk of the ghetto,
life under harsh circumstances.
00:49:51.800 --> 00:49:56.320
Sometimes you only need to
listen to nice music,
00:49:56.920 --> 00:50:00.800
music that touches you,
daily life things you see on the street.
00:50:01.000 --> 00:50:07.680
I don't look for inspiration.
It finds me at home or in the streets.
00:50:08.040 --> 00:50:12.400
I don't need to look far to sing.
00:50:22.280 --> 00:50:26.600
We're a big network of Sankarists
all over the world.
00:50:26.760 --> 00:50:30.840
We really believe that with these kinds
of ideas we can change our lives,
00:50:31.000 --> 00:50:35.080
the lives of the people living with us.
00:50:35.080 --> 00:50:39.960
Yes, he was honest.
00:50:40.120 --> 00:50:49.080
Even if it wasn’t the democracy way,
because it wasn't democracy yet in Africa,
00:50:49.520 --> 00:50:54.999
people felt like there was an African
leader doing things the right way,
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:58.999
starting by doing things
the right way himself.
00:50:59.001 --> 00:51:01.890
He didn't have such a
long time to continue.
00:51:01.891 --> 00:51:05.040
Now he's a kind of hero
because of that.
00:51:05.200 --> 00:51:07.999
Nobody knows what would have
happened if he continued,
00:51:08.000 --> 00:51:14.320
but probably the short example he showed
is the right one for Africa.
00:51:14.999 --> 00:51:21.999
Even if they killed Sankara in '87,
we are still asking for justice first,
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:25.001
and we still believe that was
the best example.
00:51:25.002 --> 00:51:29.640
You can kill a man,
but not his ideas.
00:51:29.800 --> 00:51:35.720
They killed Sankara, but Sankarism is
everywhere now whether you want it or not.
00:51:35.880 --> 00:51:39.280
And he will have it on his face every day.
00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:43.520
We want Sankara back.
We want the ideas of Sankara back.
00:51:44.480 --> 00:51:46.999
We want the philosophy of
Sankara back.
00:51:47.000 --> 00:51:50.999
And we need to continue his fight,
and we will do it.
Distributor: First Hand Films
Length: 52 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English / English subtitles
Grade: 10-12, College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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