Album review

Tiken Jah Fakoly

The Afro-Reggae Rebel With A Cause

Paris 

04/08/2000 - 

With his fourth album, Cours d'histoire, Tiken Jah Fakoly - hot young reggae star from Odienné on the Ivory Coast - looks set to make a major impact on the West African music scene. Tiken Jah's hard-hitting lyrics prove the days of African griots* singing the praises of their masters are well and truly over. Tiken Jah is a griot for the 21st century, a singer intent on expressing the hopes, fears and sufferings of his people. Take a listen to the eleven excellent tracks on this new album and you'll find this is one reggae rebel committed to his cause!

Hailed as the hot new hope of the Ivory Coast's reggae scene, Tiken Jah sounded a rallying cry on his third album Mangercratie (which sold over 300,000 cassettes in West Africa alone!) On Mangercratie Tiken's songs revolved around hard-hitting statements - "Tell the politicians not to go mixing our names with their business/ We know what they're up to!" "They're using us like camels in deplorable conditions," he warned, "Leading us up the garden path in directions we don't know/They light the fire, fan the flames, then turn round and pose as firemen…". Tiken Jah certainly appears to be following in his family's footsteps. Direct descendent of a heroic lieutenant who fought with Sundjata Keïta and son of a well-known blacksmith family, Tiken Jah has reinvented himself as a modern-day griot, singing songs for the African people.

The musician's role, according to Tiken Jah, is to bear the suffering of his people - a role which has become even more important in a country where traditional media, tainted by corruption and partisan politics, has been replaced by reggae, a more credible, trustworthy medium. The coup which brought General Gueï to power in Côte d'Ivoire coincided with a remarkable revival of the national music scene and these days reggae hero Alpha Blondy is back at the top of his form (c.f. Les Voleurs de la République, Dictature, Journalistes en danger, etc.) after having shocked loyal fans in 1995 by lending his support to former president Henri Konan Bedié. Solo Jah Gunt has been equally vociferous on the Ivoirian music scene, denouncing political "parasites" while his reggae compatriot Serge Kassy has waged a one-man war against corruption, encouraging people to take a stand against abuse and corruption.

There's no doubt about it, reggae has gone commercial in recent years, adapting itself to international dance floors and vaunting the joys of fast cars, easy girls and male virility. But thanks to artists such as Alpha Blondy, Solo Jah Gunt, Serge Kassy and now Tiken Jah Fakoly, reggae has also become a force for change in Africa, regaining the power of its original role as protest music. On his latest album Cours d'Histoire, Tiken Jah presents his own truth-seeking history lesson in Dioula, French and English, lest anyone should try and rewrite his country's past. Adopted as an unofficial mascot by those who organised the Ivory Coast coup of December '99, the singer resurrects his country's past, naming the victims (Sankara, Zongo, Diallo Telly…) of the doubtful "democracies" which have sprung up in certain parts of Africa since independence. Tiken Jah's verdict at the end of his history lesson? "We"ll forgive / But never forget!".

Tiken Jah has obviously inherited the story-telling skills of his griot ancestors and learnt to mix them with a healthy dose of his own rebellious nature. His songs denounce corruption, social injustice and xenophobia, rail against politicians' habit of dividing the people to rule and ridicule the current debate on what it means to be "Ivoirian". (One of the songs on Cours d'histoire actively opposes those who wish to stop his compatriot Ouattara from standing in the country's presidential elections because they claim he does not have "pure roots"). Tiken Jah also points up the ambiguities of "neo-colonialism" on one of his new songs, noting how "They came as explorers/ Then missionaries/ After that they called themselves colonisers/ Then co-operators / Today, after devaluing our currency / They're back buying up everything as investors!" .

In short, Tiken Jah has turned himself into an ardent defender of human rights, a people's attorney who comes free of charge. Little wonder then that huge crowds have turned out to see him wherever he has played in West Africa, audiences of 20,000 fans at a time flocking to his shows. In fact, rumours have even begun to circulate in the hipper quarters of Yopougon (the Abidjan suburb where Tiken lives) that Tiken Jah Fakoly may well end up usurping Ivory Coast's current reggae king Alpha Blondy. Tiken's latest album, Cours d'histoire, certainly proves he's well on the way to superstar status.

Mixed in Jamaica - in Bob Marley's legendary Tuff Gong studio - and recorded in the Ivory Coast's JBZ studios where the crème de la crème of Ivoirian artists work, Cours d'histoire presents a smoothly produced sound. True, Tiken's voice wavers a little here and there (notably on one track where he turns breathlessness into a style statement!). But on the whole the Ivory Coast's new Rasta star comes shining through, reproducing the vocals which made his last album, Mangercratie, such a big hit. Tiken's smooth, fresh vocals are perfectly counterbalanced by subtle orchestrations which flirt gently with pop here and there. The great reggae pioneers would not have disapproved. On the contrary, they would have been delighted to see how Tiken, bright young reggae hope from Odienné in the north-west of the country, mixes his own musical influences - Bob Marley, Burning Spear and early Alpha Blondy - into a vibrant cocktail of African sounds and Jamaican roots.

In short, Tiken's Afro-reggae remains refreshingly authentic on Cours d'histoire, from the opening song Les Martyrs right through to the closing dub Africa. Nationalité, a song destined to be taken up as a popular street anthem, stands out as one of the best tracks on Tiken's new album. (And, given Nationalité 's radical lyrics opposing the law against second-generation immigrants standing in elections, it looks set to make a major impact during the run-up to the fight for the country's presidency).

>Make no mistake about it, Tiken is ready to launch a powerful reggae offensive so politicians and presidential candidates had better watch out. Meanwhile, reggae fans are keeping their eyes firmly fixed on Tiken Jah Fakoly and some are even asking whether the young Rasta from the Ivory Coast could prove to be the next Bob Marley? Who knows? One thing's for sure, if Tiken keeps producing albums like Cours d'histoire he is definitely on the right track!

Tiken Jah Fakoli Cours d'histoire (Globe/Sony)

*griots = an African caste of poet-musicians

Soeuf  Elbadawi