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| King Sunny Ade |
It
will be a fusion of the contemporary genre of music and the old as AFRIMA 2016
comes alive with a tribute session for three African music legends on November
6.
The
2016 All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA’s stage at the Eko Hotels & Suites,
Lagos will witness young African music stars line up for pulsating and emotive
tribute performances in honour of Manu Dibango, King Sunny Ade and late Papa
Wemba.
In
partnership with the African Union Commission, AUC, and the support of the
Official Host City, Lagos State, AFRIMA 2016 grand awards ceremony is preceded
by The AFRIMA Music Village on Friday November 4, 2016, a non-stop music
concert with over 40 African artistes performing live at the Waterfront, Bar
Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos in Nigeria. Thousands of guests expected in Lagos
for the various events.
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| Manu Dibango |
82-year-old
Cameroonian saxophonist and vibraphone player Manu Dibango, is hailed for
making an enormous contribution to African music as a whole. Nicknamed ‘The
Lion of Cameroon’, Manu Dibango is recognised for developing a music style
fusing jazz, funk and traditional Cameroonian music. His song “Soul Makossa”
has influenced several popular music hits, including Michael Jackson’s “Wanna
Be Startin’ Somethin”, as well as his recording of that song with Akon, the
Fugees’ “Cowboys”, and Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” and Comedian Eddie
Murphy in his 1982 parody song “Boogie in your butt”.
Artiste-in-Residence
at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, King Sunny Ade is classified as one
of the most influential musicians of his time. The Nigerian singer-songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist and two-time Grammy award nominee is known for his
pioneering of modern world music. His stage performance is characterised by
dexterous dancing steps and use of the guitar.
Papa
Wemba, the late iconic musician from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who died
at the age of 67 on April 24, 2016 during a stage performance in Cote d’Ívoire,
also pioneered a blend of African, Cuban and Western sounds which became one of
Africa’s most popular music styles. Dubbed the ‘King of Rhumba Rock’, Papa
Wemba was also a fashion icon who popularised the La Sape look and style through his musical group Viva la Musica, with whom he performed on stages throughout
the world.
Speaking
on the purpose of the tribute, President and Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr.
Mike Dada said: “Contemporary African stars will be pledging their loyalty to
these grassroots legends of African music to show the beauty of their music
through outstanding performances on stage during the AFRIMA awards. It is also
a means of showing the younger generation that they can connect to music made
by older generations of artistes and use this to unite the world through
music.”
Mr.
Dada described these three music icons as the ‘voices of African music and the
epitome of Africanness’.
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| Papa Wemba |
Some
of the top African artistes billed to honour the legacy of the three African
legends include: Kiss Daniel (Nigeria); Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania); Brymo
(Nigeria); Wax Dey (Cameroon); Seyi Shay (Nigeria);Fally Pupa(DRC), Yemi Alade
(Nigeria); Victoria Kimani (Kenya); Tiwa Savage (Nigeria); Aramide (Nigeria);
Niniola (Nigeria); YCee (Nigeria); TJAN (Nigeria) and Flavour (Nigeria) among
others.
Meanwhile,
public voting continues on AFRIMA website via the platform.
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