A hip-hop artist calling for a revolution might sound like business as usual, but when the country in question is the West African nation of Togo you have to admit the artist has a point. The artist in this case is YaoBobby, one of the pioneers of hip-hop in Togo, founding member of premier rap crew Djanta Kan, and someone who would probably agree wholeheartedly with the idea that it is the duty of every patriot to protect his country from its government.
As he said recently in an interview on the need for change, "Fixed elections, corruption, violence, we’re all fed up, but no one does anything. We’re all responsible for the situation in Togo, and more broadly in Africa. If we’re going to live in a winning Africa tomorrow, we need to take things in hand and get moving to change things.”
Togo has an unfortunate history. It formed part of the Slave Coast, from where captives were shipped abroad by European slavers during the 17th century. It then became the German protectorate of Togoland before being seized by Britain and France at the start of world War I and divided under League of Nations mandate, with the British-ruled part later being incorporated into present day Ghana. But after all this, and despite independence from France in 1960, its troubles weren't over. The first president was assassinated in a military coup three years after being sworn in, and the guy who took over dissolved all political parties and held unto power for 38 years, to be succeeded on his death by his son, whose leadership since 2005 has done little to address the many dissatisfactions people have with its conduct on pretty much everything from human rights to political governance.
Any patriot would be critical, but criticism isn't something this government takes kindly to. They've already warned YaoBobby for remarks made while promoting Histoires d'un continent, his solo debut album, but he remains undeterred, "I always find a way of saying what I have to say, and I intend to continue!”
If you feel strongly about your country, then it's going to feel personal when your government seems to be doing its best to fuck it up. But Histoires d'un continent is personal for an additional reason. The country's troubles drove him into solitary exile at the age of 13. He was away for only six months, but it left a mark. As it would on anyone. You'd probably also return determined to fight against whatever it was that forced you to leave school and go into exile. And if those in power are a disappointment, the hopes rest on the shoulders of the new generation (almost half of Togo's population is under 18), to whom YaoBobby is calling out on this album, as he does as well to Africa's younger generation as a whole.
It's hip-hop with serious intent, but it's also head-bopping music, so download Wawoe (j'accuse) and title track Memoire d'un continent for free, go check out the rest of the album, and raise the Togolese flag for the winds of change.
Also available on iTunes
