Osekre and the Lucky Bastards will be performing at the Viva La Vuvuzela Festival in New York City, this Saturday, July 9th.
Ghanaian-American singer Osekre describes his music as “sweet, catchy-tasty West-African style melodies/hooks called “jama,” dipped in soft elements of hip-hop, pop and rock” and heavily accentuated by his poetry. On the eve of his performance at Joe’s Pub with his band, Osekre and the Lucky Bastards,the Columbia University graduate spoke with AfriPOP! about his influences, whether or not he makes “world music,” and what makes someone an Africa……(click on pic to read the story)
AfriPOP!: First of all, what does the name Osekre mean?
Osekre: Osekre means relentless.
AfriPOP!: What inspires your music?
Osekre: Moments in life … an advice from my mum, a funny love story, a moment of being so broke that I can’t get on the bus, a girl I’m checking out who keeps turning away when I look and looks at me when I turn, a crazy political situation … Life, moments in life does it for me.
AfriPOP!: There’s a tendency to call any music by artists from Africa, world music. Are you comfortable in that category?
Osekre: I really don’t care much about categorization. Some cultures are more obsessed with labels than others. My music is so fluid that calling it rock or reggae wont do justice to it and yet, not associating it with world music will be deceitful.
AfriPOP!: Who do you consider your musical contemporaries?
Osekre: Hm. Before mentioning my contemporaries, I definitely want to recognise one of the biggest musical geniuses from the African continent, Kiki Djan who shaped my ambitions as a young high school graduate. I am a protege of Kiki Djan, the late keyboardist of Osibisa whose influence on my life during an intense 6-months phase with him can’t be overlooked in my development as an artist/person. I do not have immediate contemporaries because most of the guys I w’d identify as contemporaries are AHEAD of me in varying degrees: Esperanza Splading, friend and awesome talent. Vampire Weekend, fun music and also part of my Alma mater, K’naan, a guy I admire a lot, Nneka, whose “heartbeat” keeps my heart beating, Blk Jks, awesome live band, and Blitz the Ambassador who’s got excellent music and sound.
AfriPOP!: How does being a Ghanaian in New York City influence your music?
Osekre: Being Ghanaian in New York city is quite interesting musically because my sounds and rhythms constantly intersect with reggae, hip-hop, jazz, blues, and rock and roll, something I keep hearing more of now that I live in the heart of a lot of indie and raw musical talent in Bushwick.
AfriPOP!: What makes someone an African?
Osekre: Jaja … that’s a good question. Being an African is in the heart. I have some European Middle-Eastern, and Asian friends whose passion for Africa challenges the notion of who is really African. And I have met some folks with Africa in their blood line who feel unsettled when connected to the continent, and I have met other folks from Africa who do not associate with the continent. So being African has to be something that is deeply from the heart, and yet it has to be more than feelings, knowledge, biography or geography.
AfriPOP!: What do you love most about the continent we come from?
Osekre: It’s essence.
AfriPOP!: What was the last Ghanaian meal you ate?
Osekre: Fufu and Pea-nut soup!
AfriPOP!: What proverb do you live by?
Osekre: My mum once told me, “If you don’t know, don’t act like you know, even if you know, act like you don’t know, so you might learn, something you don’t know.”
Be sure to catch Osekre and the Lucky Bastards at the Viva La Vuvuzela Festival in New York City, this Saturday, July 9th.
