Nuit d'Afrique Vocal Revue - Nii from Ghana, Annie Ebene from Congo, Yard Steppa from Zimbabwe and Iba from Mali (Photos and text by William Farrington)
   

Nii from Ghana performed at the "Revue de 20 Ans" portion of Montreal's Nuits d'Afrique festival
   
Montreal Showcases African & World Music:

Truly a multicultural city, Montreal is bursting with creative energy, particularly in the summer when it's clubs and outdoor spaces are filled every weekend.  In 2006, Festival Nuits d'Afrique celebrated 20 years of presenting African music, particularly the music of Francophone Africa and the Caribbean diaspora.  Every night for ten nights in July artists gather to present to world music fans.  This past year, Youssou N'Dour, Daaar J, Kekele, Amazones and many more performed in Clubs and concert halls throughout the city.  On the weekend, the Place Emilie-Gamelin, a long sloping park in the city center plays host to all day concerts of free music.  AfricaSounds took in the extraordinary talents of these artists including Sara Tavares who performed at the recommended Club Ballatou and also the festival finale at Place Emelie-Gamelin which featured Sega music from Mauritius, Highlife from Ghana, Gnawa from Morocco, and Dancehall with a Zimbabwean twist were presented by artists now based in Montreal. The diversity showcased onstage can also be found in the restaurants and on the streets and makes this city such a great place to visit.  This particular feature discusses the "Revue de 20 ans" portion of the festival... additional reviews of the other performances are featured in separate features on our site.
   

   
Revue de 20 Ans:  Standing in the center of the stage at Place Emilie Gamelon, "Nii" was clad in a colorful Kente design of the Akan people dominated the stage with his powerful presence at the Revue de 20 Ans.  Samuel "Nii" Okai Robertson was the first (of several artists that day) whose excellent performance resulted in the audience demanding an encore.  Nii's set highlighted classic moments of Ghana's musical history.  His richly timbered and deep voice brought out the nuances of the traditional Highlife music of Ghana and he soon had the large audience swaying in appreciation.  A native of Accra, Nii, sang in the Twi and Ga languages.  His repertoire included originals and classic covers ranging from OkuKuSeku, a standard highlife original; KpalLogo, a folk medley; and Whiskey Soda sung in French and English.

Speaking to Nii after his performance, we learned that he has finished recording a new CD entitled "Highlife Time" including many of the songs presented at his set during the Revue de 20 Ans.  Several of the songs are sung in French and English to make them  more accessible to audiences here, although Nii was quick to stress that the traditional roots were not forsaken on the presentation.  He hopes for an April 2007 release therefore keep your eyes out for the release at your favorite African / World music record stores.

The outfit that Nii wore at the performance is a weaved material called "Kente", which is a typical Ghanaian traditional wear.  It was traditionally worn by Kings and Queens on special occasions and during Festivals, more recently the Kente cloth has become synonymous with the cultural branding of Ghana.  Nii explained that there are different varieties and the color used as well as the design chosen is typical to each ethnic group within the region.  The one that Nii was wearing is one of the versions of the Akan (Asante) people. The Ga-Danme people (which is Nii's ethnic group) who occupy the Greater Accra plains (the capital of Ghana), usually use the white or Gold versions. These are some of the symbols you will find in a Kente cloth, and each one has a special meaning and indicates the status of the one wearing it, in his/her the society.
   

   
Nii, and the other performers in this retrospective, were backed by "Odja" featuring Brian Quaye on keyboards and Patrice Agbokou on bass.  Following the other performers, Nii was called back to the stage for one final encore, ending this special Revue de 20 Ans presentation on a high note.  Speaking with AfricaSounds recently Nii said that traditional Highlife is dying out with the younger generation, back home, but it has found a niche in Montreal supported by a surprisingly large Ghanaian community.
   

   
Singers from a variety of African countries performed to the crowds at Nuit d'Afrique.  The vocal Revue included Annie Ebene from Congo, Yard Steppa from Zimbabwe, Nii from Ghana and Iba from Mali.  Annie Ébène started singing in her youth first as a backup singer for Mpongo-Luta, a leading figure in Congolese music, and years later Hotel Intercontinental de Kinshasa provided backup singing for artists including Tshala Muana and Abeti Massikini.  She relocated to Montreal in 1997.  During her performance at Nuits d'Afrique Annie Ebene captived the audience with ballads, rumba, and vocal jazz. 

Yard Steppa performed rap and raggae with a high energy and good natured flow of words.  Nii had a booming voice and stationary stage presence focusing primarily on high life influences. 

   

   
Yard Steppa, aka Luckmore Pumhu of Zimbabwe and based in Montreal, states in his own words:

"Well I started this musical thing fours years back in Africa, Zimbabwe along two of my rastas Equinox and Salah King making up the il`mos krue, that was back at the days when Reggae Dancehall was gaining some ground in our region ,so we decided to fuse it up with a bit of hip hop and some local touch and that got us signed to Shamiso record label and we featured in one of Zimbabwe`s hottest compilation albums called the "Feature Album" with tracks like Rastress and Pressure Dem.  Now I have moved to Montreal, Canada and we are trying to get things back to normal as we try to spread de vibe all around the world.  Our main focus in music is to pass positive energy, intertain and teach de youths leaders of tomorrow and so we will keep on creating the most ilest and original vibes because as you know reggae music has been a part of our life for so long and we just can`t live without it or get enough of it .so to all my il`mos watchers me com-dung cause we going to get des place hotter dan the equator trust me."   

For more information on Yard Steppa please visit his official website at:  http://yardsteppa.com
   

Mali singer Iba in duet with actress Kassandra Dasent;