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ba2u · 6 years ago

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Voodoo Pussy: Meet Azizaa, the Ghanaian Artist Challenging Western Religion.

Ghanaian artist Azizaa first bewitched us with her unique brand of "Voodoo Music" last year when she dropped the song and video for her single "Black Magic Woman." The singer vehemently criticised Western religion and what she believes is its toxic hold on Ghanaians. Her delivery was clever and assertive, and she had the stylistic prowess to match.

Not much has changed since then. The singer's conscious decision to embrace more traditional forms of African spirituality continues to guide her artistic endeavours and we continue to be intrigued. The singer says that her upcoming album Vodua will give listeners a deeper look into her complex spiritual world.

We got a glimpse ahead of time by checking in with the anomalous artist. We talk voodoo (of course), Yoruba spirituality by way of Beyoncé's Lemonade, and the creation of her aptly named new single, "Voodoo Pussy," which the singer describes as "an ode to women everywhere who know the power of their magic box."

Read the conversation below featuring photography by Dexter R. Jones.

Can you give us some background about yourself and how you got started?

I come from a family that sings, almost everyone is a musician in my family. It also stems from our culture. In the Ewe culture, there's a song for almost everything.

Can you tell us how voodoo has influenced your art?

I think voodoo is what I call art, because I am unable to find an English word for it.

Is there a difference between voodoo and religions like Santeria?

I believe they're the same thing. Santeria is heavily influenced by the Orishas system from Yoruba culture whereas Voodoo is the ancestral way of worship from the Dahomey culture. It's technically the same or a similar form of spiritual practice from two different cultures.

What do you think of Beyoncé’s Orisha symbolism in her recent Lemonade release, does it make you feel better to have people more aware of the culture?

Absolutely! I was happy to see Lemonade. For me its an introduction of the African deities/Orisha to the masses.

Let's talk about "Voodoo Pussy" and the rest of the album. Tell us about this new release.

I recorded #VoodooPussy at Villain sounds in Ghana. It was produced by Kuvie, the same producer who produced "Black Magic Woman," then I brought it up to Brooklyn to RadianLab and got it mixed and mastered by Moni Delgado who also added some sick background vocals. Some songs on the album are produced by other producers. I like to experiment with how I create my sound and art, but I like to stick to the people I work with for the simple fact that my voice requires a sound engineer who gets it, besides, I don' t like special effects on my voice.

Your previous single "Black Magic Woman" denounced Christianity, will the rest of the album follow that theme?

Yeah, pretty much. The album is called VODUA which means "The Deity" so the album has a bit of a trap, where you get a peep into the demented mind of a "Black Magic Woman" and you get to see how I interact with the spirits I see and dance with.

What other projects are you working on right now?

I have a jewellery line called KORGA Pieces. 'Korga' means something beautiful to adorn the neck with, and as part of our culture the size of your neck piece speaks volumes about your elegance so it takes weeks and sometimes months to create a Korga piece. The black piece I had on my neck in the black magic woman video took 6 months to create and required 8 hours a day of work. I just introduced my intimate jewellery collection to the website.

Source: https://www.okayafrica.com/azizaa-voodoo-pussy/

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ba2u · 7 years ago

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Pop Cultural Coast I (Music).

Cartoon animation of the author by FeoIsUgly.

A Pop Cultural canvas with its painting brush, perhaps, held by some of the finest contemporary tastemakers — such as animator Prince Ampofo Bonsu (FeoIsUgly); Ghanaian-Béninoise photographer Daron Bandeira and photojournalist Ofoe Amegavie; couturiers like Atto Tetteh; curators like BZDRKO; sound engineers like Nxwrth; defiant artists like artsoulkojo and filmmakers like Akosua Adoma Owusu and the eccentric Togbe Gavua — the high-spirited post-rainbow generation of the Ghanaian urban arts & culture continues to push aesthetic boundaries in an era of emotional sensationalism.

Three unique artists, amongst the myriad of avant-garde talent clustered in the Republic, splattered on this Pop Cultural canvas are musicians Amaarae; Darkovibes and Kwesi Arthur.

Music is a revolutionary tool which can shift our moods, shape our minds and incite action. It penetrates the pivot of your forehead without permission and feeds the soul. In the sacred words of an ancestor and a symbolic representation of consciousness, Fela Anikulapo Kuti - “Music is a spiritual thing”.

Amaarae (Gamine):

A connoisseur of tailleur and quaintrelle by nature, Amaarae is inch-perfect fresh! An emerging renaissance icon, the acutely meticulous artiste exudes a distinct star quality of gamine. Her debut Passionfruit Summers EP is a seductive piece of art and soulful melodies that manipulate all seven senses which, in my opinion, is best embodied by its premier and third listed classics “Sundays (feat. Fingers)” and “Happy Mistakes” respectively.

A regular on my playlist, “Catching a Wav” transcends a soothing vibe and creates a rather euphoric ambiance. Her recent video “Fluid”, a jolly good bop directed by Fotombo, teases colourful intimate scenes of a young coquettish lady in a bathtub and explores a very subtle sexual theme. If you want to seize a moment in finite time to unwind and ease your mind, listen to the Passionfruit Summers EP. It’ll be intriguing to see her coalesce this style with RJZ, another Ghanaian artiste with a particularly unique eye for illusory visuals.

Darkovibes (Wave):

La Même Tape — a manifestation of teen spirit — shifted the entire urban culture and married music to high fashion, film and even the skating culture. Darkovibes –– a seemingly naturally talented musician — and member of the La Même Gang makes alternative coast music stringing various dialects and sounds together.

There’s a certain spontaneity, free-spiritedness and authenticity to his craft (like champagne devoured in a calabash) — a sort of underlining rebelliousness — which is best conveyed in his track “Stay Woke (feat. Stonebwoy). The record captures the pseudo-Rastafarian hippie Accra City life. It is dotted with wavy slangs, such as “Nice up!”, sweet for a good “toast” or a blotto night of pure debauchery. And the dzama-feel to “Bo Noor” marks his versatility.

The cathedral element in “Mercy” — a record which explores the themes of life, death and the positive vibrations between these two extreme ends –– shrewdly espouses the philosophy of nirvana. Perhaps, a record with Santi, a Nigerian artiste with a moderately gothic persona and raw sound, would be the swiftest broom to a classic like“Tomorrow”.

Kwesi Arthur (The Pop Statesman):

Kwesi Arthur’s Live from Nkrumah Krom EP — referencing the President of Ghana’s First Republic Osagyefo, a cultural icon — is a manifesto of street culture, depicting the daily struggles of life that this new quicksilver generation represent far more accurately than our power-drunk and state-conscious politicians could. Live from Nkrumah Krom is two hundred and thirty three feet deep and a heartbeat. It represents the ascension of a music movement ‘Ground Up Chale’, in juxtaposition with the concept of a Startup Republic, and mirrors a son of the motherland kicking in her womb.

On the record “Devil Knocking”, with agony in his voice, Kwesi Arthur appears to be a revolutionary with a glistening flambeau determined to carve a new path, submitting himself and entire purpose to his perceived sense of a higher power. “Ade Aky3” also begins with a melancholic flow set against the background of a somber melody, preceded by a succinct plea seeking the intervention of God before the record continues.

Commercial successes like “Grind Day”, produced by KaySo, and “No Title” capture the vigorous routine and endless pursuit of the Ghanaian Dream –– high hopes, sleepless nights and taking the road less travelled. Nothing struck a chord within me deeper than the line “Yestee gbek3 I no bed”.

The impact of the renaissance is meaningless unless its very spirit assaults the status-quo on a mass scale and insists on a future which reflects the illumination of the artisans that steer this drive.

Vincent Letsa Kobla Djokoto.

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