Alkayida

Last updated

Alkayida (also spelt Ashanti Twi : Alkaida), also known as Akayida, is a Ghanaian dance with an emphasis on side to side moves, incorporating upper and body gestures, and encouraging group routines as well as individual competition. [1] Alkayida dance is intensively relaxed, intensively free-form, intensively involves footwork, and incorporates vast arrays of hip-life dance moves. [1] It involves the swaying of the body along with hand and shoulder movements in a certain pattern. According to hiplife artist Guru who had a key role in popularizing the dance, the name of the dance should be written "Akayida" [2]

Contents

Choreography

The dance, spelt Alkayida, began as a slower dance with moves that seemed to be replicating the extremist group and more recently, the dance and rhythms have picked up pace and delivered colourful choreography and the “Alkayida”—often misspelled “Al Qaeda”—not only vies in unseating the azonto, but it inadvertently embeds the Ghanaian hip-life culture levity into the name of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. [3]

Viral hit

The Alkayida dance craze has been associated with hip-life music icon Guru after he popularized the term in his hit song "Akayida (Boys Abrɛ)". [4] "Brɛ" in the Ashanti language means "tired". [4] In Guru’s song titled Alkayida, the response to the word Akayida is "boys abrɛ", and this catch phrase has gradually crawled its way into the vocabulary of the Akan youth. [4]

Asamoah Gyan and the Black Stars squad were scheduled to showcase the "Alkayida" dance on the global stage at the 2014 World Cup. [1] Gyan and the rest of the team danced after scoring a goal in the Germany vs. Ghana group stage match. It was, however, an Azonto dance and not Alkayida.

During 2014, Panamanian dancehall deejay Japanese alongside Honduran dancehall artist AlBeezy released the song "La Caída" ( [lakaˈiða] , "The Tumble"), using a similar instrumental to Guru's track but with unrelated lyrics (a common practice among Panamanian dancehall songs, which are often modeled after existing Jamaican dancehall songs. This is sometimes discouraged and deemed plagiarism), and featuring the same dance moves. This gave the dance a brief, minor raise of popularity in Panama and, to a much lesser extent, Guru's music and Azonto music overall.

Related Research Articles

There are many styles of traditional and modern music of Ghana, due to Ghana's worldwide geographic position on the African continent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghana national football team</span> Association football team

The Ghana national football team represents Ghana in men's international football. The team is named the Black Stars after the Black Star of Africa in the flag of Ghana. It is governed by the Ghana Football Association, the governing body for football in Ghana. Prior to 1957, it played as the Gold Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baffour Gyan</span> Ghanaian former professional footballer (born 1980)

Baffour Gyan is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asamoah Gyan</span> Ghanaian former footballer (born 1985)

Asamoah Gyan is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a former captain of the Ghana national team.

Reggie Rockstone is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994. He is married to Dr. Zilla Limann, Daughter of Hilla Limann, the only president of the third Republic of Ghana. They have three kids together and have been married since 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammer of The Last Two</span> Ghanaian music producer and entrepreneur (born 1977)

Edward Nana Poku Osei known by the showbiz name Hammer of The Last Two is a Ghanaian record producer. He is the founder and CEO of The Last Two Music Group and known for growing Ghanaian Hip Hop or Hiplife artists, including Obrafour, Tinny, Kwaw Kese, Sarkodie, Ayigbe Edem, among others. He is sometimes credited as one of the people in the popularization of Hiplife or Hip Hop made in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azonto</span> Ghanaian dance and music genre

Azonto is a dance and music genre from Ghana. Ghana News Agency cites their study which found out the dance is connected to the traditional Ga dance Kpanlogo, associated with the coastal towns in the country such as Chorkor, James Town, Teshie, Nungua and Tema, in the Greater Accra Region.

Kwadwo/Kwadjo/Kojo is an Akan masculine given name originating from the Akan people, meaning born on a Monday. As an Akan given name, with the Akans being a large ethnic group consisting of various tribes such as the Fante, Asante, Akuapem among others, Kwadwo/Kwadjo is sometimes written as "Kojo", Kwadwo or Kwadjo and is also used less frequently as a family name. People born on particular days are supposed to exhibit the characteristics or attributes and philosophy, associated with the days. Kwadwo has the appellation Okoto or Asera meaning peace. Thus, males named Kwodwo tend to be peaceful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EL (rapper)</span> Ghanaian rapper

Elom Adablah, better known by his stage name E.L, is a Ghanaian Afrobeats musician, rapper, singer and producer.

"Azonto" is a song by Nigerian singer Wizkid. It was produced by the record producing and songwriting duo Legendury Beatz, and was officially released on 28 January 2012. The song helped popularize Azonto, a Ghanaian music genre and dance, and peaked at number nineteen on the Afribiz Top 100 chart. Wizkid performed "Azonto" at Chris Brown's Lagos concert, which occurred at the Eko Hotel and Suites. Chris Brown talked about the dance on 106 & Park and thanked Wizkid for teaching him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiyaala</span> Ghanaian singer-songwriter

Noella Wiyaala Nwadei is a Ghanaian Afro-pop singer-songwriter who sings in her native language Sissala and Waala dialects and English, often combining all three languages within her songs. Wiyaala means "the doer" in the Sissala dialect. She has attained public renown with her single "Make Me Dance" and her androgynous image. After making her name in reality shows in Accra, she established a solo career in 2013 with the hit single "Rock My Body",(Dance move was initiated by Van Calebs) which won her two awards at the 2014 first edition of the All Africa Music Awards, the Most Promising Artiste in Africa and Revelation of The African Continent. Wiyaala is also associated with UNICEF Ghana and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana in campaigns against child marriage, child poverty, health and sanitation. She headlined the 15th London African Music Festival in London. In March 2021, she was among the Top 30 Most Influential Women in Music by the 3Music Awards Women's Brunch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castro (musician)</span> Ghanaian musician (1982–2014)

Theophilus Tagoe, popularly known as Castro, Castro Under Fire or Castro De D’Destroyer, was a Ghanaian hiplife recording artist and musician.

Appiah Dankwah, popularly known as Appietus is a Ghanaian actor musician, music producer and sound engineer based in Accra, Ghana. The name Appietus gained prominence from his signature "Appietus in the mix". It was, however, coined from the phrase "Appiahs' Tools". He has been the winner of six music industry awards in the 10-year span from the start of his career. He won the Ghana Music Honours 2015 Best Music Producer and Sound Engineer award, Sun Shine Music Awards 2010 Best Sound Engineer award and the UK Ghana Music Awards, Best Sound Engineer in 2008. His remarkable work has also led him to represent the country in some international programs including WOMEX 2013 in Wales, UK, and Worldtronics in Berlin, Germany, 2012.

Albert Serebo Ayeh-Hanson, known by his stage name Ball J or Ball J Beat, is a Ghanaian rapper, sound engineer, record producer and entrepreneur from Accra. He spent most of his formative years in the U.S State of California. Ball J is the CEO and founder of Nu Afrika Records. He is currently signed to Platinum Management, an American record label and the brand ambassador to Roca Bella Brands.

Maradona Yeboah Adjei, also known by his stage names Guru and Gurunkz, is a Ghanaian rapper and fashion designer. Guru NKZ is a hiplife artist in Ghana. He is known for his contemporary hip-hop rap style that combines English and Ghanaian indigenous languages. Guru's breakthrough was in 2011, when his hit song "Lapaz Toyota" appeared on the Ghanaian music charts. Guru is considered a contemporary hip-hop artist, as his songs venture new ground in the Ghanaian music scene, mixing hip-hop, Afrobeats, highlife, and dancehall sounds.

Nana Yaw Nkrumah born in Accra, professionally known as Dr Ray Beat is a Ghanaian record producer and sound engineer, who produces music ranging from Afrobeat, Hip hop, Hiplife, Azonto, Dancehall and Afropop. He also produced for Guru, Kwaw Kese, Kofi Kinaata and more.

Joseph Kwame Addison, popularly known as KillBeatz, is a Ghanaian music producer and sound engineer. He is a member of music group R2bees and is also the CEO of Legacy Life Entertainment, which has signed the Ghanaian musician King Promise.

Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife, azonto music, and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.

Fábio Gama dos Santos is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Al-Muharraq SC. Gama has featured for several clubs in Brazil including Bahia where he started his career, Gama, Itabaiana, Botafogo-SP, Botafago-PB, ABC, Campinense and URT. In 2018, he moved to Sweden where he joined IFK Värnamo and later Jönköpings Södra in 2019. In 2020, he joined Ghanaian club Asante Kotoko giving way for a resurgence of his career and was regarded as one of the exciting footballers and play makers in the league during his two year stay.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ghana Striker Asamoah Gyan To Launch Alkayida Dance At Brazil World Cup". ghanasportsonline.com. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-04-08. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Alkayida Is Not About Terrorism Guru". showbiz.peacefmonline.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-18.
  3. ↑ "Azonto or Alkayida dance for world cup". heyghana.com. 15 January 2014. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 "Alkayida – boys abr3… the new dance craze". globalnewsreel.com. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.