Wax Dey | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nde Ndifonka |
| Also known as | Wax Dey |
| Born | 9 May 1985 Bamenda, Cameroon |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | Calabash Record |
Nde Ndifonka (born 9 May 1985), popularly known by his stage name Wax Dey, is a Cameroonian singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and social activist. [1] [2] [3] He won Best Male Artist in Central Africa at the 2016 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA). [4] He owns a record label called Calabash Music. In December 2015, he released the Yemi Alade assisted "Saka Makossa" (Dance Makossa) which pays tribute to the Makossa music genre. [5] Wax Dey is also the Producer and main actor of the Cameroonian reality TV contest, Number One Girl, which airs on Equinox TV. [6]
In December 2020, Wax Dey was knighted with a presidential medal as Chevalier of the Order of Valour of Cameroon. [7]
Ndifonka was born in Bamenda and is from the Northwest Region of Cameroon. He was inspired to get into music when his father brought home a VHS cassette. He started listening to Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and others. He studied at Sacred Heart College in Bamenda where he was singing with the school choir and took part in songs competitions, all this helped him find a place in music. He later graduated from the University of Buea [8] after studying law.
He began his professional career in 2008 with the release of African Soul with records such as "Butterfly". In 2006. Richard Nwamba described him as a newfound young talent to walk in the shoes of Richard Buna [9] He released his debut solo album in 2016 360 Degrees featuring artists such as Banky W and Yemi Alade. [10] [11] In 2012, he earned 3 nominations for the Cameroon Entertainment Award as best artist, and when speaking with Sheer Publishing he said
"It feels really good to get such recognition only a couple of years after I took up music fulltime. I've been doing a lot of things career-wise, and even when it came to music, I've always been behind the scenes"... [12] [13]
He became a, LuquLuqu Ambassador to the UN in Africa 2017. [14]
In June 2020, Nde Ndifonka released the EP, Rise Again: The Lockdown EP, inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. [15] [16]
In December 2020, he ran for the position of board chair of Cameroon Music Corporation (SONACAM) and lost the elections. [17]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Cameroon Entertainment Awards (CEA) | Best artist | Himself [19] | Nominated |
| 2014 | AFRIMA Award | Best African Collaboration | Himself [20] | Won |
| 2014 | Young People in International Affairs | Top 35 African under 35 | Himself | Won |
| 2016 | AFRIMA Award | Best Male Artist in Central Africa | Himself [4] | Won |
| 2016 | Avance Media | 50 Most Influential Young Cameroonians | Himself [21] | Won |
| 2019 | AFRIMA Award | Best African Pop | Himself [22] | Nominated |
| 2019 | Cameroon Heroes Awards | Impact Artist | Himself | Nominated |
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.
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.
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