Popular music in Sierra Leone

The roots of contemporary pop music in Sierra Leone

Oral histories of the modern roots of pop music in Sierra Leone claim the genre came to being during the 1980s and 1990s. Before then, traditional music dominated almost every part of the country.

Olu Wyse, a pub owner in the 1980s says that even though it can be said that the advent of pop music goes back to the 1950s and 60s when musicians like Ebenezer Calendars and other popular musicians of there time existed, "one cannot comprehensively prove the extent of the popularities of their songs especially in the hinterland.”

In other words, their songs were pop only in Freetown and its environs. By the late 1980s and 1990s, the likes of Amie Kallon, a traditional Mende female musician, became very famous in the country for her energetic hour long singing and use of traditional instruments such as drums, sheah bureh and other instruments to entertain crowds of all ethnicities, even though she sang in the Mende language.

Israel Olorunfeh Cole, commonly called Dr. Oloh was another popular musician who played jazz and traditional music. He was the leader of a popular music band called Milo Jazz using bata (drum) and other traditional instruments to make music. Cole's music became quite famous and is played at big wedding ceremonies across the country. His lyrics often talk of how guests should be merry for the couples, address social issues affecting men and women and sometimes admonished couples to live in unity and love.

Pop music after the civil war

In early 2002, when the 11-year war ended, pop music no longer had a predominantly traditional face. Sophisticated western styled musical Instruments, radio stations and studios had emerged.

This creates a formidable platform for songs and artists to record and measure which songs hits most. More artists have been orientated in the western styled music. The likes of Paradise Studio, Studio J Music, Skyy Radio, the then Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) TV & radio now Sierra Leone Broadcasting Cooperation (SLBC) were among the giants that offered the Sierra Leone people both the opportunity to produce different class of music, and broaden the audience of songs and then create the forum for evaluating music, which one is a pop-based on the hits they generate in weekly shows and broadcast.

Skyy Radio runs the most popular weekly show (Salone Top10), between 2000 and 2010. It allows audience to vote for the song of the week. The SLBS use to run similar series on both TV and Radio.

Some of the most popular music that went on to top the charts for weeks include 'Bam-boat' by Kman, 'This World' by Vickie Fornah, 'Corruption' by Daddy Saj, 'A-Bo' by Yok 7, 'Grap N Clap' by Pupa Banja, 'Titi hold Me' by Manzu avec C Bolt, 'Borbor Belleh' by Emerson, 'Me Padi' by Matu, 'Wuteteh' by Jungle Leaders, 'In da Club' by Kao Denero, 'Money na Bank' by Laj and 'Angel' by Alonzo.

Popular genres in Sierra Leone

Afro-pop

Afro-pop is a richly diversified musical genre that entails the combined efforts and musical styles and instruments of various western and African music. Afro-pop became dominant in sierra leone in the early days of the year 2000 when recording studios and music production had it dawn. It is a style of music that combines the rich melodies and energy of traditional African music with popular music genres like blues, jazz, afrobeat, salsa, zouk, rumba, funk, and rock music. Emmerson Amidu Bockarie stage name Emmerson is one of the most popular musician as far as Afro-pop is concerned. He is well known in and out of the country for his conscious lyrics often directed at bringing social and political change in the country. Over the years, his songs are believed to have influenced voting patterns in about two major elections including the just concluded 2018 elections.

Bubu

This is a music genre very unique to Sierra Leone. It is a type of music played by several men (music band) using self-made instruments containing mainly bamboo pipes of different sizes, to produce various a heavy and peculiar melodious sounds. Ahmed Janka Nabay is the pioneer of this music genre. He took it from low and rarely popular music roaming Temne people’s (an ethnic group in Sierra Leone) villages in the hinterland, mixed it with the required energy to make it cool and more acceptable by everyone.

Hip-Hop

This genre like Afro-pop is the most alive music genre in the country. More rappers are coming up every year since the likes Kao Denero, Yok 7, Star Zero and others light up the genre in the early 2000s. Unlike the rap music of other countries, hip-hop music in Sierra Leone contains a lot of krio (the common language spoken in the country) and bilingual (krio and English or krio and indigenous language) lyrics. Kao Denero, Laj, Yok 7, Star Zero and most recently Samza and Krack Twist, Prodigy, Empress P, Young Sal and many others are the most popular hip-hop musicians in the country.

References
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_popular_music
https://www.last.fm/music/Janka+Nabay/+wiki
http://www.thepatrioticvanguard.com/musician-of-the-week-amie-kallonmusic of the week Amie Kallon
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._OlohDr. Oloh
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmerson_BockarieEmmerson
Interviews conducted personally