Album review

Tiken Jah Fakoly

Africa's Reggae Rebel

Paris 

22/02/2002 - 

Tiken Jah Fakoly, the rebellious Rasta star from Ivory Coast, is back in the music news with his first internationally-released album, Françafrique . Recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with the crème de la crème of the reggae kingdom, the album features new versions of Tiken's greatest hits as well as catchy new compositions. 33-year-old Tiken, who has earned a reputation as Rasta's rebel warrior and Ivory Coast's Robin Hood, not only champions authentic African reggae, the hard-hitting lyrics on Françafrique rail against globalisation and corrupt politicians, flying the "red, yellow and green" flag of hope.

Tiken was a passionate reggae fan from an early age. At school he insisted on wearing jeans under his official uniform with the word "Jah" boldly emblazoned across the pockets. And when the schoolmaster left the room he would invite young "Jah" up to the front of the class to preach the gospel of Bob Marley. As for his surname, Fakoly, Tiken added it to his own name in 1989 when a local village griot told him of the glorious warrior past of his ancestor, Lieutenant Fakoly, head of Emperor Sundjata Keïta's armies.

Tiken Jah Fakoly grew up dancing to the wild Nigerian dance music of Prince Nico Mbarga. But it was the Jamaican reggae stars - Toots, U-Roy and Dennis Brown - who lit the musical fire within him. Bob Marley was the musician who influenced the aspiring young singer and idealist most in his early years, because Marley sang about the victims of injustice and inequality. Burning Spear and his songs about the history of Africa were to prove another major influence on the young Tiken.

The event that really pushed Tiken to launch his own music career, however, was when fellow Ivorian reggae-man Alpha Blondy put out a debut album, entitled Jah Glory , in 1982. Tiken's reaction? "If he can be a success singing in Malinké and French, why can't I?"

Tiken went on to record his own debut album in 1993, but its release was overshadowed by the three months of national mourning decreed after the death of Félix Houphouët-Boigny, first president of the Ivory Coast Republic. Tiken's second album, recorded in 1994, fared little better than the first. But he finally went on to make his name with Mangercratie , an album which landed him an international distribution deal.

Tiken's latest release, Françafrique , sums up his musical adventures to date, bringing together old favourites from his first albums and brand new compositions. All the tracks were recorded in Marley's legendary Tuff Gong studio in Kingston with a dream team of a musical line-up including Sly Dunbar (on drums), Robbie Shakespeare (on bass), Tyrone Downie (on keyboards), Earl "China" Smith and special guest star U-Roy. A vibrant dub mix of English, French and Tiken's native tongue, Malinké, Françafrique confirms T.J.F. as the new champion of African reggae. RFI/Musique met up with Rasta's Robin Hood and asked him a few questions about his career to date:

RFI Musique: Tiken, I'd like to kick off by asking you about the champions of African reggae who, for a long time, have been your fellow countryman Alpha Blondy and South African reggae star Lucky Dube. Following the trail blazed by Alpha and Lucky, do you feel like they've acted like big brothers to you in a way?
Tiken Jah Fakoly: Alpha Blondy's always been a bit like an elder brother to me and he always will be! After all, Alpha was the first musician to champion reggae in the Ivory Coast and the African sub-region. Lucky Dube played a major role too. He emerged on the music scene after Alpha, but he fought a really important battle before the end of apartheid. I have deep, heartfelt respect for both musicians. And I'm aware of the fact that if my own career's beginning to take off today it's because they went before me.

Why do you think there's such a passion for reggae in Africa?
I think it's simply because reggae came along and broached subjects that other musical styles had never tackled before. In Africa musicians are still very much treated like griots, that's to say, people who are paid to sing the praises of the rich, the powerful and the political classes. But then reggae singers came along and put a different spin on things. They started championing freedom of speech and voicing opinions that other singers had never dared express in their songs.

Alpha didn't always go out on a political limb though, did he? He sang the praises of President Houphouët on Jah Houphouët !
Sure. But listen to Jah Glory or Brigadier Sabary and you'll hear the other side of Alpha Blondy, the man who blazed the trail for us all. I have to admit though, when I heard Alpha singing "Jah Houphouët is a Rasta-man" it really got on my nerves. I was as shocked as the rest of Africa's youth when Alpha came out in support of the government. But that's all water under the bridge now. Houphouët's dead and Alpha's put that all behind him now.

Your song Le Pays va mal (The Country's in a Terrible State) doesn't exactly beat about the bush…
Well, the problem is that Ivory Coast, like so many other African countries right now, is being torn apart at the seams by futile fights and quarrels. I really don't understand how you can start talking about "nationality" or "nationalism" in a country like ours. How come you suddenly have people who are "authentic" Ivorians and others who aren't? It's a disgrace! And the country's sick at the core because of all these divisions in society and in the army. That's why we suddenly ended up with a military coup when no-one was looking! I mean, it's not as though Ivory Coast was a democracy or anything, but at least it used to be one of the most stable countries in Africa.
I sat down and wrote Le Pays va mal when we were living under a military regime in 2000. The Ivory Coast was a real hotspot at the time, there was a lot of trouble and tension. It was just before Laurent Gbagbo came to power. I think my album must have helped Gbagbo in a way, because it was anti-military and he kicked the military out. I know that was the only way we could have a civilian leader back in power, but I'll say it once and I'll say it again, Laurent Gbagbo came to power by accident. If all the potential candidates had been allowed to stand in the elections I honestly don't think he'd be president of Ivory Coast today. The problem is, it wasn't a fair vote. A lot of people were prevented from voting in those elections. Several MPs in the National Assembly ended up getting in with a mere 100 or 200 votes. You can't tell me that's normal - 200 votes out of a population of 40,000! The parliamentary and presidential elections were a complete fiasco! When you twist democracy's neck like that you don't get rid of the problems. You only start tackling the problems when the president gets voted in by a real majority!
It was a very different story with the local elections in Ivory Coast. Local elections were held under international scrutiny and the opposition pretty much swept the board! That proves that if the parliamentary and presidential elections had been organised the same way, Laurent Gbagbo wouldn't be where he is today!

And - if nothing happens between now and then - when are the next elections due?
Well, normally they won't come round until 2005 - and that's a long way down the track! But one of my greatest hopes is that there'll be an election before than and next time round there'll be a clear majority. It's about time people in Ivory Coast got to express their political opinions for once!

Do you see African reggae as a powerful movement and a force for change?
I think African reggae has proved it's an authentic movement these days. But you have to remember reggae was invented by Jamaican musicians. And as Jamaicans originally came from Africa they've always considered their roots to be African. Bob Marley once said reggae would go back to its roots one day - and I think that's exactly what's happening now!
The most popular artists in Ivory Coast right now are the big-name reggae stars who pack out entire stadiums when they play. But there's a new generation beginning to break through too. I've started producing a few young talents myself, in fact. There are a lot of Alpha and Tiken clones around on the music scene right now, but the musicians I'm interested in helping are the ones who've got a bit of originality. I'm currently working with a young Ivorian singer by the name of Soum Malaki. We're recording in a studio in Burkina Faso right now, in fact. It's funny, but while somewhere like Senegal is completely dominated by rap groups, the music scene in Ivory Coast is chock-a-block with "reggae boys".

Tiken Jah Fakoly - Françafrique Barclay (international distribution: Universal)
Tiken will be in concert at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris on 28 February

Gérard  Bar-David

Translation : Julie  Street