Hi folks,

I'm writing this one out of guilt!

I started writing it on June 21, and have not come around to completing it to send it to the list.  Some of you might recall a series of postings about my reaction to the release of "Kairo", and it's announcement on the list by Tombong Saidy.  In short, I said that politics aside, I liked the sample tracks I heard online, and thought that CD would be something to be proud of, if the samples were representative of the CD.  I also offered information about promoting the CD, and I think I also sent Tombong (either privately or on the list) the address to our community radio station here in Madison.
 
A number of people took offense at my offer to help with "Kairo."  Hamjatta Kanteh in particular was really upset at me, to say the least, and I promised him that I'll respond to his posting in time.  I'll now proceed to touch on a few things regarding my attitudes to music, and Senegambian music in particular.

I mentioned that I'm a big music fan, and that feeling goes back a long way.  I always say, very proudly, that the first demonstration I participated in was held by Armitage School kids, pleading with the Super Eagles to do a show for us.  The tradition was that when they come to Georgetown, they will do a dance on Saturday night in town at Liberty Cinema, and before they leave the following Sunday, they'll do a show for us at the Assembly Hall.  It happened that they were not planning to do a Sunday show on one of their visits, resulting in a demonstration pleading with them to do a show for us.  They finally agreed, and I still remember running back to the Staff Quarters, and getting 50 bututs from Mr. Goode to go see the show!

I still am a fan of Senegambian music, and have tried to do all I can to make sure that it prospers.  Despite our problems with the Jammeh government, and by implication, GRTS's Arch Records, I think it is absolutely important that we give Gambian musicians and artists all the support we can provide them.  The fact of the matter is that it is in our tradition not to harm the "Jalibaas"; indeed, they were always spared in the wars that were fought long ago in our history.  For this reason, the fact that one or two of them might praise President Jammeh and his government should not deter us from supporting the rest, or indeed Jammeh's supporters.
 
I would like to urge people like Hamjatta to consider the fact that our popular culture will outlive Jammeh.  For this reason, they should not let their disdain for the Jammeh government to prevent them from living up to their responsibility for helping the growth and development of our musical heritage.  Furthermore, given that Gambian pop groups are only beginning to be heard in far and wide places, it is especially important that those of us in different parts of the world help.  If their music is The Gambia's cultural ambassador, then we are THEIR ambassadors to the rest of the world.
 
It was just a few months ago that I received a package of tapes from The Gambia.  Oussou Njie "Senor" sent me a number of releases from Da Fugitivz ("Fu 4 Life"), Mam Tamsir ("Weer ak Njabot Gi", and "Goor Gi"), Pencha-B ("Chosaan Ken Dumom"), and Masla Bi ("Bu Nui Merro").  Even though I've heard Mam Tamsir's music before, I'd never listened to the others, and so was delighted at the quality of their music.  In addition, some of the songs talked about serious issues, and did a very good job of marrying our tradition of "kebetou" or "tassu" with the new hip-hop global movement.  Irrespective of what Hamjatta and others might think, I have no problems doing all I can to support groups like these.  In the end, we all will be better off for helping them keep our culture alive and thriving.

We all know how rich and thriving the Senegalese music industry is. And they have benefited greatly from this growth not only in terms of material and financial rewards, but also in terms of the development of their national psyche.  Any Senegalese, anywhere in the world, can always get any number of Senegalese popular songs he or she can play to re-connect to Senegal, and re-enforce his or her sense of purpose.  Youssou Ndour's music is not just about having a good time, it's also loaded with words of wisdom that are drawn from our very deep well of history.  Multiply that by the number of musicians in Senegal, and you'll have an idea about what I'm talking about.

It is because of this important role that musicians play that I once told Baaba Maal that they should all strive to write songs that educate and enlighten.  I told him that their blessing is that people are listening to them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Given our numbers, and the fact that most of these Senegalese musicians have now become international superstars, it is not difficult see that at any one second, someone, somewhere is listening to Baaba Maal.  And the same goes for Youssou Ndour.  And Njaga Mbaye.  And why should we not help our own to have them listened to all around the world?  Or why should we expect the world to love our culture, and musicians, if we don't champion them?

It was rather unfortunate that I got the tapes that Oussou sent well after I'd stopped hosting my African music show on our community radio station, WORT FM, here in Madison. I was a volunteer host of the show for 6 years, and in all that time had always craved for Gambian music.  We had a few CDs from Gambians and The Gambia: The Sotokoto Band, Alhaji Bansang Jobarteh (an uncle to Mali's great Toumani Diabate), Dembo Kuyate, and Jali Musa Jawara.  But that's about it.  But we had a fairly respectable collection of music from Senegal (even though most of them were stolen from the station!), as well as from many other parts of Africa.  If you've ever done an international music show for any length of time, you'll realize how powerful a tool music is.

Most people begin, and continue to learn a lot about other countries and people purely because of their love for music from these places.  And frequently, these are the people that visit these countries as tourists, and tell their friends about their experiences.  In short, you can develop a powerful word-of-mouth marketing machine for a lot less money than would have been possible with other channels.

Doudou Ndiaye Rose of Senegal was in Madison in 1993 or so as a guest of the Univ. of Wisconsin, and gave a number of drumming workshops.  I attended the workshops, which were free, and drew impressive crowds.  He came with one his daughters, and a son, along with over 30 drums.  But if you were late for 5 minutes for the workshop, you wouldn't get a drum!  This, even though some people came with their own drums.  Mr. Ndiaye and his children did a show with us, the day before he left, it was a lot a fun and eye-opening drumming "mbalax" with the maestro, and a bunch of Wisconsinites.  Mr. Ndiaye's has since fame (and fortune?) has since grown, and he continues to dazzle people all over the world.  And we had better ensure that The Gambia starts cultivating a crop of musicians and performers that will take the place of the likes of Mr. Ndiaye.

It is rather unfortunate that we haven't heard from Tombong Saidy and Malafy Jarju in a long time, and for this reason the debate on the "Kairo" issue is now dead. Malafy wrote me in private asking for information about promoting the "Kairo" CD, but I never got around to replying to him.  This was around the end of June, and I would appreciate it if anyone who still has contacts with him to extend my apologies to him, and ask if he would kindly write again to me.

I guess that's about all for now.  Have a great weekend, and best wishes in your endeavors.

Katim

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