Sky Eclat
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- Oct 17, 2012
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Jammeh feared musicians'
Twenty years Yahya done for me anything. Anything, anything. Anything, anything," a rapper shouts angrily as the dreadlocked driver and his passengers rhyme along.
A short distance away in Kairaba Avenue, the city's main thoroughfare, on a newspaper stand beside the road, the cover of G-life magazine reads ANYTHING. It is a reference to the song that was playing in the taxi.
Big Faa is the rapper behind it. A 30-year-old father-of-one, he penned the protest song that has grabbed the nation's attention as a way to share his frustrations following more than two decades of rule by The Gambia's former president, Yahya Jammeh.
Political raps
"Since I was a child I saw a lot of things but I could not open my mouth," he explains as he prepares for a show in Banjul. "Anyone could report you to Jammeh's people and you might not be seen again."
Unlike neighbouring Senegal, which has a vibrant music scene, the industry in The Gambia has been heavily restricted and underfunded. Many musicians who felt unable to freely express themselves went into exile.
MC Mbaye is another artist breaking his silence after years of staying out of the limelight in Banjul. He is hoping to capitalise on the country's new-found freedom. In a two-bedroom house outside the city he is writing and recording a mix tape that he hopes will put him at the top of the country's music charts.
"You could not make money as a musician unless you were singing songs praising Jammeh," he says. "He corrupted some musicians by giving them money and they made songs for him and also performed for him.
My latest song, Anything, is about corruption and how it stops us from moving forward. It also talks about things like prostitution and how when the girls bring the money from prostitution home no one says anything," he says, holding a book in one hand and a mic in the other.
Twenty years Yahya done for me anything. Anything, anything. Anything, anything," a rapper shouts angrily as the dreadlocked driver and his passengers rhyme along.
A short distance away in Kairaba Avenue, the city's main thoroughfare, on a newspaper stand beside the road, the cover of G-life magazine reads ANYTHING. It is a reference to the song that was playing in the taxi.
Big Faa is the rapper behind it. A 30-year-old father-of-one, he penned the protest song that has grabbed the nation's attention as a way to share his frustrations following more than two decades of rule by The Gambia's former president, Yahya Jammeh.
Political raps
"Since I was a child I saw a lot of things but I could not open my mouth," he explains as he prepares for a show in Banjul. "Anyone could report you to Jammeh's people and you might not be seen again."
Unlike neighbouring Senegal, which has a vibrant music scene, the industry in The Gambia has been heavily restricted and underfunded. Many musicians who felt unable to freely express themselves went into exile.
MC Mbaye is another artist breaking his silence after years of staying out of the limelight in Banjul. He is hoping to capitalise on the country's new-found freedom. In a two-bedroom house outside the city he is writing and recording a mix tape that he hopes will put him at the top of the country's music charts.
"You could not make money as a musician unless you were singing songs praising Jammeh," he says. "He corrupted some musicians by giving them money and they made songs for him and also performed for him.
My latest song, Anything, is about corruption and how it stops us from moving forward. It also talks about things like prostitution and how when the girls bring the money from prostitution home no one says anything," he says, holding a book in one hand and a mic in the other.