Wanlov the Kubolor is notorious for a few things here in Ghana. Besides his distinctively barefoot, be-skirted, light-skinned and dreadlocked aesthetic, he stands out for hits like Kokonsa from his first album, Green Card, and for his work on the hilarious pidgin musical movie Coz Ov Moni with partner-in-crime, M3nsa.
Released back in 2007, Green Card was a different kind of Ghanaian record. Eschewing the popular temptation to ape America (or – increasingly - Nigeria), Green Card was not supposed to work. Yet with sounds and references recognizable to anyone from these parts, it was easily accessible and made much headway for an album whose creator refuses to pay for airplay.
On his new album Brown Card he raises those stakes for an altogether different gamble. Starting by thanking Kwame Nkrumah for his conception (over the sounds of both African drums and a gypsy accordion), Wanlov sounds like the same old scoundrel on the title track: "African gypsy / Feeling frisky / Getting tipsy / Living risky..." The song is however more reminiscent of a barnyard stomp than anything distinctly Ghanaian. Featuring awesome guitar licks from Keziah Jones, it is a brilliant but sharp sonic departure for the Kubolor familiar to the average Ghanaian listener, used to rhythms far less eclectic than this.
This is Wanlov 2.0, in which the barefoot trickster metamorphoses into an 'African Gypsy': half-Ghanaian, half-Romanian, all kubolor. The tracks most likely to fit into a regular Ghanaian radio playlist are probably Spr Mi Dat (with its afrobeat, horns and catchy chorus), Come Play (featuring multitalented Ghanaian/Hungarian, Sena Dagadu) and - for the more hip-hop inclined DJ - tracks like My Funky Story, Sticks and Tones and the atmospheric Next Life.
Showing Wanlov's dexterity as a producer however, Brown Card makes heavy use of traditional instruments from both West Africa and Eastern Europe. He switches effortlessly between Romanian, Pidgin, Ga, and Twi, singing entire verses in one language before flipping into another to explain himself to those at the back of the class who do not understand. On Vino La Mina, Wanlov and his band sing a traditional Ghanaian children's song in Romanian. He complements this later on the album with Veverita (featuring Pidgin labelmate King Ayisoba), a song based on a story about a squirrel that his mother would tell him as a child. The video for Veverita was release last week:
On the beautifully mellow Petru Mama, he praises her, flipping between Romanian and pidgin English over classic palm wine guitar strings. On 'String Theory', Wanlov sings against the backdrop of drums and a haunting violin, asking listeners to "wrap this theory round your neck if you dare."
Brown Card is a self-produced album, something somewhat rare in hiplife and it represents Wanlov laying his duality bare for all to see, comment on and share in. It is quite a personal record, but just before you forget the trickster of old, he throws 'Mapouka Soiree' at you: a frantic ode to the female behind.
It's an audacious balancing act but, somehow, Wanlov pulls it all off. While it may make challenging listening for the Ghanaian ear, listened to with an open ear and an open mind, Brown Card is a thoughtfully put-together album and hands down one of the most adventurous records released anywhere this year.
This Is Africa met Wanlov in Accra last month, stay tuned for the video interview. Meanwhile listen to his new single on This Is Africa hit radio.
Brown Card - African Gypsy is available at iTunes
Written by Kobby Graham (Accra, Ghana) for This Is Africa
