Born in Paris in 1969, bassist and vocalist Bibi Tanga traveled extensively throughout his childhood due to his father's career as a diplomat. After a coup d'etat in his parents homeland, Central African Republic, ended his father's international career, he settled in the suburbs of Paris at the age of ten. It was there that his musical education took shape.
"My father had a lot of records. I grew up listening to everything. Franco and Tabu Ley from Congo, Fela Kuti from Nigeria, Bembeya Jazz from Guinea, I grew up on all of that," Bibi describes the music to which he was exposed during his youth, "American music, too - James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Jimi Hendrix and of course Bob Marley. I love disco, funk, soul, reggae, R&B. It's all like a big library to me. I feel like there's this heritage of black music from around the world, and I'm the heir to it."
Listening to Dunya, one can hear all of that and more. I feel a strong Prince presence throughout, both in Bibi's voice, as well as in the general attitude and vibe. Certain tracks are more funk and less African, like Swing Swing, while some are a page ripped right out of Fela Kuti's song book, like Shine.
My personal favorite track off the album is Be Africa, the album's signature track in my opinion. It's distinctly African while at the same time maintaining a signature Parisian attitude. The lyrics are in Sango with a hard driving bass line laid down over an electronic drum beat. Similar to the way Tony Allen incorporates electronic drums into his music, Be Africa forges a uniquely contemporary African identity.
Be Africa by afrobeatblog
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