Mama Ohandja

Last updated

Mama Ohandja is a Cameroonian singer, musical arranger, dancer and choreographer. In the early 1970s, he became the most prominent musician in the region to marry traditional music with modern international styles, combining tom-toms, traditional balafons , and other instruments with electric instrumentation.

Ohandja was born in the village of Ebanga, in the district of Okola in Cameroon to parents who were traditional singers. His own musical career began in the 1960s interpreting African, Latin American , and European songs in cabaret with his orchestra De Mandoline Jazz d'Efok. But it was in 1971 that Ohandja developed his recognizable style with the release of the successful Confiance jazz. One of his most famous songs remains "Super Moon Ebon" (The Super Fancy Lady) in the early 1980s. Ohandja fused disparate influences to become known as "Jimi Hendrix of Cameroon." Belinga Multiforme known nowadays as an autonomous singer started his career as dancer and choreographer within the "Confiance Jazz". Mama Ohandja continues to record and perform with his group les Magistrats which was founded in 1991.

He has 5 children: 3 daughters (Aimée, Bernadette, Fanny) and 2 sons (Guy and Jean).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of the United States</span>

The United States' multi-ethnic population is reflected through a diverse array of styles of music. It is a mixture of music influenced by the music of Europe, Indigenous peoples, West Africa, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa, amongst many other places. The country's most internationally renowned genres are traditional pop, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, rock, rock and roll, R&B, pop, hip-hop/rap, soul, funk, religious, disco, house, techno, ragtime, doo-wop, folk, americana, boogaloo, tejano, surf, and salsa, amongst many others. American music is heard around the world. Since the beginning of the 20th century, some forms of American popular music have gained a near global audience.

Makossa is a music genre originating in Douala, Littoral Region, French Cameroons in the late 19th century. Like much other music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. Makossa uses guitar accompaniments, in the forms of solo and rhythm guitar, with a main singer and a choir of backup singers, with the focus being on the texture of the guitar, the role it plays in the song, the relationship between it and other instruments, the lyrical content and languages sung as well as their relationship with the music, the uses of various percussion instruments, including the bottle, the groove of the bass as well as the drums, and the use of technical knowledge and microprocessors to make the music. It is in common time (4/4) for the vast majority of cases. Language-wise, it is typically sung in French, Duala or Pidgin English. Tempo-wise, it is typically in between 130 and 170 BPM. It traditionally consisted of guitar-picking techniques that borrows from bikutsi; with a guitar-structure of a guitar switching from solo to rhythm from assiko; supplanted with complex bass grooves, and gradually picked up on brass section, from funk and later in the 70s, string section, from disco. It along with this acquired the sebene from Congolese rumba. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a lesser extent abroad. It is considered to be one of the greatest Cameroonian and even African "adventures" as a music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balafon</span> Type of wooden xylophone originating in Mali

The balafon is a gourd-resonated xylophone, a type of struck idiophone. It is closely associated with the neighbouring Mandé, Bwaba Bobo, Senoufo and Gur peoples of West Africa, particularly the Guinean branch of the Mandinka ethnic group, but is now found across West Africa from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali. Its common name, balafon, is likely a European coinage combining its Mandinka name ߓߟߊ bala with the word ߝߐ߲ fôn 'to speak' or the Greek root phono.

The music of Louisiana can be divided into three general regions: rural south Louisiana, home to Creole Zydeco and Old French, New Orleans, and north Louisiana. The region in and around Greater New Orleans has a unique musical heritage tied to Dixieland jazz, blues, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The music of the northern portion of the state starting at Baton Rouge and reaching Shreveport has similarities to that of the rest of the US South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Cameroon</span>

The music of the Cameroon includes diverse traditional and modern musical genres. The best-known contemporary genre is makossa, a popular style that has gained fans across Africa, and its related dance craze bikutsi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Senegal</span>

Senegal's music is best known abroad due to the popularity of mbalax, a development of conservative music from different ethnic groups and sabar drumming popularized internationally by Youssou N'Dour.

Ethiopian music is a term that can mean any music of Ethiopian origin, however, often it is applied to a genre, a distinct modal system that is pentatonic, with characteristically long intervals between some notes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Dominica</span>

The music of Dominica includes a variety of genres including all the popular genres of the world. Popular music is widespread, with a number of native Dominican performers gaining national fame in imported genres such as calypso, reggae, soca, kompa, zouk and rock and roll. Dominica's own popular music industry has created a form called bouyon, which combines elements from several styles and has achieved a wide fanbase in Dominica. Groups include WCK, Native musicians in various forms, such as reggae, kadans (Ophelia Marie, and calypso, have also become stars at home and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Uruguay</span>

The most distinctive music of Uruguay is to be found in the tango and candombe; both genres have been recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Uruguayan music includes a number of local musical forms such as murga, a form of musical theatre, and milonga, a folk guitar and song form deriving from Spanish and italian traditions and related to similar forms found in many American countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manu Dibango</span> Cameroonian musician and songwriter (1933–2020)

Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother was a Duala. He was best known for his 1972 single "Soul Makossa". The song has been referred to as the most sampled African song in addition Dibango, himself, as the most sampled African musician in history. He died from COVID-19 on 24 March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Denmark</span>

The earliest traces of Danish music go back to the many twisting Bronze-Age horns or lurs which some experts have identified as musical instruments. They have been discovered in various parts of Scandinavia, mostly Denmark, since the end of the 18th century. Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen, especially remembered for his six symphonies, while the Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has acquired an international reputation. The modern pop and rock scene has produced a few names of note, including MØ, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, Lukas Graham, D-A-D, Tina Dico, Aqua, The Raveonettes, Michael Learns to Rock, Volbeat, Alphabeat, Safri Duo, Medina, Oh Land, Kashmir, King Diamond, Outlandish, and Mew. Lars Ulrich is the first Danish musician to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Italy</span>

In Italy, music has traditionally been one of the cultural markers of Italian national cultures and ethnic identity and holds an important position in society and in politics. Italian music innovation – in musical scale, harmony, notation, and theatre – enabled the development of opera and much of modern European classical music – such as the symphony and concerto – ranges across a broad spectrum of opera and instrumental classical music and popular music drawn from both native and imported sources. Instruments associated with classical music, including the piano and violin, were invented in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Armenia</span>

The music of Armenia has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompasses diverse secular and religious, or sacred, music. Folk music was notably collected and transcribed by Komitas Vardapet, a prominent composer and musicologist, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who is also considered the founder of the modern Armenian national school of music. Armenian music has been presented internationally by numerous artists, such as composers Aram Khachaturian, Alexander Arutiunian, Arno Babajanian, Haig Gudenian, and Karen Kavaleryan as well as by traditional performers such as duduk player Djivan Gasparyan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Grand Kallé</span> Congolese musician (1930–1983)

Joseph Athanase Tshamala Kabasele, popularly known as Le Grand Kallé, was a Congolese singer and bandleader, considered the father of modern Congolese music. He is best known for his role as leader of the band, Le Grand Kallé et l'African Jazz, in which capacity he was involved in a number of noted songs, including Indépendance Cha Cha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congolese rumba</span> Genre of African music and dance

Congolese rumba, also known as African rumba, is a dance music genre originating from the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. With its rhythms, melodies, and lyrics, Congolese rumba has gained global recognition and remains an integral part of African music heritage. In December 2021, it was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.

<i>Dance on Sunset</i> American TV series or program

Dance on Sunset is an American dance and music series hosted by Quddus on Nickelodeon that featured dance routines, called the "Fresh-Squeezed Dance", designed to be performed by its preteen and teenage viewers. Choreographer Tony Testa and the show's dance troupe, the Nick 6, demonstrated each routine slowly, repeating it several times during the episode. An "advanced" version of each routine was featured on the show's website. Episodes featured musical guests, which included Akon, Natasha Bedingfield, Miranda Cosgrove, Fall Out Boy, Fergie, Janet Jackson, Sean Kingston, Lil' Mama, Jesse McCartney, Menudo, Omarion, Panic! at the Disco and Ashlee Simpson, as well as dancing by a studio audience. The show premiered on March 29, 2008, immediately after the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards. The name 'On Sunset' came from the production location Nickelodeon on Sunset on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The show was canceled due to low viewership. The series finale aired on June 21, 2008. The website has been discontinued & shut down as of December 21, 2017.

This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Njacko Backo</span> Musical artist

Njacko Backo is a musician, poet, writer, composer, performer, and choreographer from Cameroon. He was born in 1958 and raised in a very musical family. He spent most of his childhood in a village called Bazou in western Cameroon where he was introduced to music. Like most children in his village, he began playing percussion and making instruments. However, with his Grandmother's assistance, Njacko met with the elders of the village who taught him to play music. He studied drumming, kalimba, percussion, and an African harp called zaa koua.

Super Biton de Ségou, Super Biton for short and also known as the Orchestre Régional de Segou and Super Biton National de Ségou, are an African jazz musical group. They were especially popular and influential in the 1970s, when they became the national orchestra of Mali, and in the first half of the 1980s. They formed in Ségou, Mali, in the 1960s, had up to 19 members at one point, but dwindled after 1986 after band leader Amadou Bâ left. After a hiatus, they re-formed with four new members and guitarist Mama Sissoko as band leader in 2001, and started playing the closing set at the Festival sur le Niger in Ségou each year.

References