DANCEHALL music
artiste, Edward
Inyang (Blackky)
is upbeat about
his nomination
for this year ’s
continental music honours, the
KORA Awards. Blackky is one of
the acts competing in the Best
Ragga Artiste category.
Honours night for KORA Awards
2010 is scheduled for April 4 in
Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina
Faso.
Blackky who burst into frontline
of Nigerian mainstream music in
1991 with his chart-bursting
album, About Tyme, is one of
the earliest dancehall exponents
in the continent. The skin head
artiste who within the past
decade has performed fewer
shows and not made the kind of
hits he made in the early 1990s
is happy that his recent outputs
are getting back the bounce for
him. He said he felt very
honoured and glad to know that
his brand of dancehall music is
being recognised not only by
Nigerians but by Africans. “It
also further confirmed that I
have been consistent in my
brand of music from 1991 when
my career started till date. Also
this was the first time in my 19
year career that I have ever
entered for the KORA,” he said.
Blackky is competing with such
artistes as Chronik 2H (Senegal),
Ischam Morrahd (Democratic
Republic of Congo), Jusa
(Zimbabwe) and Lex T (Nigeria)
and Redsan (Kenya) in his
category of the award.
Blackky who got his break in
1990 by winning the Lekki
Sunsplash Talent Hunt Contest
(which gave him his first
recording deal) is asking his fans
to vote for him by going to
KORA website. “I expect all my
supporters to go to KORA
website and vote massively for
their Blackman as it would be
impossible for me to bring the
Award back to Nigeria without
the votes. ”
Many would remember Blackky
for fluidly ragga raps and dance-
marked hit songs of the early
1990s. Such his numbers as,
Rosie, Girlfriend and perhaps the
most popular of all, Blackky ’s
Skank, had catchy pop tunes
that were street songs of the
era. Through his music videos
and then plenty, concert
performances he basically
demonstrated how to do his
dance. His 1991 debut album,
About Tyme contained such hit
tracks as Sugar Stick and others.
Between 1991 and 2005, he put
out six albums that won several
awards. But he described the
KORA Awards as one of the
most important platform of
honouring musicians in Africa.
“ To us in Africa, KORA is seen as
Africa’s Grammy. So, a
nomination is a huge honour for
me, ” he said.
The singer told the Nigerian
Compass that in as much as hip
hop, rhythm and blues and
similar pop music genres are
dominating the Nigerian music
space, his well-preferred reggae
lives forever. “Reggae music can
never die. The reason is because
it preaches reality, truth and
justice. If you listen to the beats
that are used by over 90
percent of our artistes in
Nigeria, you will hear outright
ragga, dancehall beats which
they rap over. All we need are
bold artistes who will not be
scared to say that they play
reggae music so that they can
grow and develop in it. What we
have now are artistes who play
every genre without identifying
with one particular style of
music, ” he reasoned.
He also dropped hint that he is
working on a new album which
will be on the airwaves soon.
“ Blackky is still working on his
next album and one other
surprise due to be revealed
soon, ” he revealed.
Organisers of the yearly KORA
Awards for African pop music
inform that the 2010 edition
will be a tribute to the late King
of Pop, Michael Jackson who
died in June, 2009. According to
a statement signed by the
chairman of the organising
committee, Mr. Ernest Coovi
Adjovi, many globally renowned
American artistes are expected
to be in Burkina Faso to
participate in the KORA Awards
2010 celebration of Jackson. “As
we did in Benin for another
lady, Miriam Makeba to whom
we paid homage during a big
concert in Cotonou because she
is a lady who honoured and
supported us... this is the time
for us to show that we have
respect (for music, musicians
and the heroes of the field) and
that we are not here to show
artistes ’ performances but to
promote them” he noted.
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