Killa Ace returns to Gambia with ‘Lyrical Revolution’

The album will be launched on 1 April, with a musical event dubbed “Killa Ace Comeback Show” to attract artists home and abroad.

He returned to the Gambia last week after spending a year and nine months in exile in neighboring Senegal as a result of a song critical of the past government.

The song’s message is thus: ‘Ku Boka C Geta G, Naan C Meow Mi’ (If you are part of the herd (of cattle), you will drink milk) and ‘Ku Boka C Deka Bi, Warr Nga Am Baat Si Rewmi’ (If you are part of the country, you should have a voice in the country).

Produced by Harley Leigh, the song tries to address issues of freedom of expression, injustice, repression, economic hardship and purported democratic failings in The Gambia during former President Yahya Jammeh regime.

It is recorded, mixed and mastered at Alien Zik Studios in Dakar, and received 30 000 plays on SoundCloud in less than 48 hours.

He fled to Senegal with his family because of constant death threats he was receiving from men associated with the then feared and notorious National Intelligence Agency. The new album shows how Ace lived in exiled in Dakar and how Gambians were going through a tough time under former President Yahya Jammeh.

Killa Ace told journalists that the album is revolution action for people to have a clear mindset by mapping out the way forward for the country.

“Because regime change without attitudinal change is meaningless, there is need for youths to know their rights and responsibilities by holding the leaders accountable towards the betterment of the country,” Ace said.

“I feel delighted and this is what we have been fighting for. Now we have to fight what I called ‘Jammehism’, to change the attitudes and the way of thinking left by Jammeh.” It can be recalled that Lucky Dube, South Africa, accepted exile in Jamaica, to help fight apartheid through his reggae music.”

He noted that he never regrets of going to exile and he is ever prepared to speak for the voiceless through music. Ace Killa lamented that life in exile was very tough for him in the first month as he was sleeping on the floor in a room full of mosquitoes.

“I was isolated by my own people because many fear to associated themselves to me, but I believe in a cause keep pushing taking it to another level off late donors came up to help me most of them are Gambians in Diaspora,” he explained.

According to him, he survives on donations from Gambians and non-Gambians across the world.

Gambia music scene

He describes the Gambia music scene as very uninteresting, discouraging but he is going to concentrate on hip-hop to move it to the next level.

“Let all artists humble down as artists to move forward the industry to next level where all stakeholders can benefit,” he said. “Is the same Killa Ace, but I came with different mind to represent the youths in a more mature and positive mindset.”

On 31 March, 2017, he will work on launch his new movement, “Team Gom Sah Bopah” on the topic, “The Responsibility of Artists in Society” to attract activists from both home and abroad.