Gasmilla's "Aboodatoi" and My Daughter's Left Foot
My five-month-old daughter, Abrema, has a unique left foot. It is strong, curvy and well-shaped. Of course, she hasn't started walking yet. But her left foot has a mind all its own. It likes to wiggle and tap and lift itself in a little dance whenever it's stimulated by some good music. It's a highly discerning foot though. So you won't find her responding to just any pretentious aggregation of sounds that passes for music these days. To get a look-in from her left foot, the music must have style, substance and originality . It has wiggled to sounds running the spectrum from Kojo Antwi and Okyeame Kwame to Eminem and Michael Jackson. But I have never seen her left foot turning and tapping so fast to any song as the first time she watched Gasmilla's "Aboodatoi" on Youtube. That singular reaction forced me to take a second look at the cause of this stellar response by her left foot. And did I love what I heard!
According to the three criteria by which a song qualifies as Hiplife- funkified beat, a creative blend of rap and harmony, and avoidance of 50% singing while mantaining well-organized hooks and bars (Kwadwo Ohene-Akoto, "Hiplife: A True Definition,"06/28/2007, Museke, 11/16/2011)- " Aboodatoi" is a very good Hiplife song and quite representative of the genre. Still, in its purest form, it can be classified less as Hiplife than Jama, a call-and-response folk chant peculiar to the Ga tribe of Ghana.
"Aboodatoi" appears to be the missing link in previous attempts to trace the roots of Hiphop in Africa, most notably in Kwaw Ansah's epic film, "Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade" (1994). In Kwaw Ansah's documentary, he makes the case that clap-and-dance games played by native African girls form the roots of Hiphop music. But I think a stronger case can be made for Jama music with respect to the similarities between Jama and Hiphop in terms of themes, structure, content, choric style and group-performance. And, more than any Hiplife song to date, "Aboodatoi" exemplifies this unique fusion between traditional African rhythms and Hiphop.
The first verse, for instance, is comparable to anything ever coined by Wu-thang:
Gasmilla: Yoo fee yoo e...
Response: Yoo ni.
...
Gasmilla: Don't mind the body,
shi yoo tsui mli
Response: Yoo ni.
The most controversial aspects of the "Aboodatoi," however, is the chorus:
Gasmilla: Bo dientse oshamo noo
Response: Nyaa!
Gasmilla: Ni oduna agba
Response:Piaa!
Gasmilla: Ni omusu agbee
Response: Shingologo shingologo
For those unfamiliar with the Ga language, its rough translation means "be free to p*ss, f*rt as loudly as you can and sh*t to your satisfaction."
Wow!
No euphemisms and or attempts to soften the graphic words. For most first-time listeners, the reaction is undoubtedly one of disgust and horror: disgust for the graphic description of some private bodily functions, and horror that someone will dare put out such a song on the airwaves.
But there is a fortuitous design to it, whether or not Gasmilla is aware of that.
When our world-acclaimed novelist, Ayikwei Armah, first published "The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born" a few decades ago, many were those who howled and called him names for his graphic depiction of filth and pulchritude that had engulfed our country. On overcoming their shock and disgust, however, readers came to appreciate-and even enjoy- the novel's idioms and metaphors. Its language was described as "homeopathic" -a method of fighting infection by injecting minute doses of a remedy that in massive doses produces symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease being treated(Webster's New College Dictionary)- and hailed as a very creative way to draw attention to the rot and corruption engulfing our country's politics in that era.
Fast forward to the second decade of the twenty-first century. And from the same tribe as Ayikwei Armah comes a talented, young MC with no track record to boast of except his raw passion for Hiplife and "Azonto," the new dance craze that has got the nation reeling. In true Ayikwei Armahesque fashion, Gasmilla's "Aboodatoi" stands for the repudiation of all that is fake and pretentious about Life and Art, about unbridled foreign influences on the Ghanaian Hiplife/Hiphop scene: from wanna-be Beyonces and Nikki Minajs, to rappers aping T-Pain's auto tunes and Twister's fast rapping style. His is creative, raw, unapologetic and heady, like fresh palmwine!
This repudiation of pretentiousness is beautifully incorporated in the design of the video. And, whether or not the video director made a conscious decision to create these visuals, I find it one of the most creative synthesis of theme, message and style on Ghanaian TV.
The music video for "Aboodatoi" is a bold, no-holds-barred concept that showcases the raw beauty of Bukom as never before captured in any of the HBO pre-fight documentaries on Ike Quartey or Joshua Clottey. No attempt is made to glamorize the video by renting glitzy sets or sporting hip costumes that constitute the regular fare on MTV. No sir. This one smacks you in the eye with interesting low-angled shots of the Jamestown Lighthouse and head-on shots of the faded mural at Bukom Square. It's fearless in its visuals of the beach and canoes, the kenkey and charcoal seller, and a tro-tro bus dating back to a jurassic era.
We see Gasmilla not cooped in a claustrophobic club with caricatured models swilling cheap champagne. Here, he's surrounded by his friends as on a casual Saturday morning, lolling around in cut-off tracksuit bottoms and soccer shorts, ribbing each other and horsing around. He keeps it real. This is the essence that makes his video one of a kind and such a real feast for the eye; it's a pure synergy of lyrics and beats, genre and scenery, and, of course, the inimitable home-grown Azonto dance. Nothing works better.As for the "farting shot" at the end of the video, well, it's nothing more than a parting shot; a period, if you will.
The only aspects of his lyrics that I don't appreciate-which I'm sure he'll learn to respect as he matures as an artist accountable to society at large- are the references to the speech-impaired and those who suffer from epileptic seizures ("gbili-gbili").
Doubtless, this is not an exhaustive article about the song. Other aspects like its craft, meter, linguistics and narrative need further examination and i hope other writers will take it up. I'm particularly impressed with the Ga idioms which are heavy to the point of being baffling. Rich.
But you can ignore all that has been said here about "Aboodatoi." You can ignore its homeopathic message and its link to the roots of Hiphop in Africa. You can even choose to ignore its call to authenticity. But you can never forget its raw rhythms of happy feelings, its joie de vivre that-regardless of age-forces us into reminiscences of childhood, of a pristine period in our lives when we dared to be carefree and careless, wildly ululating on verdant communal playgrounds under bright moonlights before "progress" and technology ruined everything for us.
If you doubt this joie de vivre, just throw back a shot or two of Ahuodzen gin bitters, chase it down with a bottle of stout or beer, wait for that tingly buzz at your fingertips and lay on the "Aboodatoi" track: If your body doesn't contort and wriggle out of your skin in a spontaneous combustion of Azonto, you might as as well question the oracular truth of my daughter's left foot.
©Johnson Arloo
March, 2012.
Huntsville, Alabama.
According to the three criteria by which a song qualifies as Hiplife- funkified beat, a creative blend of rap and harmony, and avoidance of 50% singing while mantaining well-organized hooks and bars (Kwadwo Ohene-Akoto, "Hiplife: A True Definition,"06/28/2007, Museke, 11/16/2011)- " Aboodatoi" is a very good Hiplife song and quite representative of the genre. Still, in its purest form, it can be classified less as Hiplife than Jama, a call-and-response folk chant peculiar to the Ga tribe of Ghana.
"Aboodatoi" appears to be the missing link in previous attempts to trace the roots of Hiphop in Africa, most notably in Kwaw Ansah's epic film, "Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade" (1994). In Kwaw Ansah's documentary, he makes the case that clap-and-dance games played by native African girls form the roots of Hiphop music. But I think a stronger case can be made for Jama music with respect to the similarities between Jama and Hiphop in terms of themes, structure, content, choric style and group-performance. And, more than any Hiplife song to date, "Aboodatoi" exemplifies this unique fusion between traditional African rhythms and Hiphop.
The first verse, for instance, is comparable to anything ever coined by Wu-thang:
Gasmilla: Yoo fee yoo e...
Response: Yoo ni.
...
Gasmilla: Don't mind the body,
shi yoo tsui mli
Response: Yoo ni.
The most controversial aspects of the "Aboodatoi," however, is the chorus:
Gasmilla: Bo dientse oshamo noo
Response: Nyaa!
Gasmilla: Ni oduna agba
Response:Piaa!
Gasmilla: Ni omusu agbee
Response: Shingologo shingologo
For those unfamiliar with the Ga language, its rough translation means "be free to p*ss, f*rt as loudly as you can and sh*t to your satisfaction."
Wow!
No euphemisms and or attempts to soften the graphic words. For most first-time listeners, the reaction is undoubtedly one of disgust and horror: disgust for the graphic description of some private bodily functions, and horror that someone will dare put out such a song on the airwaves.
But there is a fortuitous design to it, whether or not Gasmilla is aware of that.
When our world-acclaimed novelist, Ayikwei Armah, first published "The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born" a few decades ago, many were those who howled and called him names for his graphic depiction of filth and pulchritude that had engulfed our country. On overcoming their shock and disgust, however, readers came to appreciate-and even enjoy- the novel's idioms and metaphors. Its language was described as "homeopathic" -a method of fighting infection by injecting minute doses of a remedy that in massive doses produces symptoms in healthy individuals similar to those of the disease being treated(Webster's New College Dictionary)- and hailed as a very creative way to draw attention to the rot and corruption engulfing our country's politics in that era.
Fast forward to the second decade of the twenty-first century. And from the same tribe as Ayikwei Armah comes a talented, young MC with no track record to boast of except his raw passion for Hiplife and "Azonto," the new dance craze that has got the nation reeling. In true Ayikwei Armahesque fashion, Gasmilla's "Aboodatoi" stands for the repudiation of all that is fake and pretentious about Life and Art, about unbridled foreign influences on the Ghanaian Hiplife/Hiphop scene: from wanna-be Beyonces and Nikki Minajs, to rappers aping T-Pain's auto tunes and Twister's fast rapping style. His is creative, raw, unapologetic and heady, like fresh palmwine!
This repudiation of pretentiousness is beautifully incorporated in the design of the video. And, whether or not the video director made a conscious decision to create these visuals, I find it one of the most creative synthesis of theme, message and style on Ghanaian TV.
The music video for "Aboodatoi" is a bold, no-holds-barred concept that showcases the raw beauty of Bukom as never before captured in any of the HBO pre-fight documentaries on Ike Quartey or Joshua Clottey. No attempt is made to glamorize the video by renting glitzy sets or sporting hip costumes that constitute the regular fare on MTV. No sir. This one smacks you in the eye with interesting low-angled shots of the Jamestown Lighthouse and head-on shots of the faded mural at Bukom Square. It's fearless in its visuals of the beach and canoes, the kenkey and charcoal seller, and a tro-tro bus dating back to a jurassic era.
We see Gasmilla not cooped in a claustrophobic club with caricatured models swilling cheap champagne. Here, he's surrounded by his friends as on a casual Saturday morning, lolling around in cut-off tracksuit bottoms and soccer shorts, ribbing each other and horsing around. He keeps it real. This is the essence that makes his video one of a kind and such a real feast for the eye; it's a pure synergy of lyrics and beats, genre and scenery, and, of course, the inimitable home-grown Azonto dance. Nothing works better.As for the "farting shot" at the end of the video, well, it's nothing more than a parting shot; a period, if you will.
The only aspects of his lyrics that I don't appreciate-which I'm sure he'll learn to respect as he matures as an artist accountable to society at large- are the references to the speech-impaired and those who suffer from epileptic seizures ("gbili-gbili").
Doubtless, this is not an exhaustive article about the song. Other aspects like its craft, meter, linguistics and narrative need further examination and i hope other writers will take it up. I'm particularly impressed with the Ga idioms which are heavy to the point of being baffling. Rich.
But you can ignore all that has been said here about "Aboodatoi." You can ignore its homeopathic message and its link to the roots of Hiphop in Africa. You can even choose to ignore its call to authenticity. But you can never forget its raw rhythms of happy feelings, its joie de vivre that-regardless of age-forces us into reminiscences of childhood, of a pristine period in our lives when we dared to be carefree and careless, wildly ululating on verdant communal playgrounds under bright moonlights before "progress" and technology ruined everything for us.
If you doubt this joie de vivre, just throw back a shot or two of Ahuodzen gin bitters, chase it down with a bottle of stout or beer, wait for that tingly buzz at your fingertips and lay on the "Aboodatoi" track: If your body doesn't contort and wriggle out of your skin in a spontaneous combustion of Azonto, you might as as well question the oracular truth of my daughter's left foot.
©Johnson Arloo
March, 2012.
Huntsville, Alabama.
This was great use of literary history juxtaposed with new trends and journaling on life. Great read, thanks and I hope your child gets to read this one day!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ann. I hope she gets to read it too. I also hope to read some of your pieces.
ReplyDeleteoh wow well thanks, I can email you my articles I did while freelancing for ghanacelebrities.com, I never quite did a blog
ReplyDeleteDo that; I'd like to read them. My email is: bondukuarloo@yahoo.com.
ReplyDelete