King Ayisoba, hailing from the Northeast of Ghana, has dropped his latest album “Work Hard” (available now via Glitterbeat), featuring a dynamic blend of frenzied kologo sounds and intricate musical explorations by a talented group of Ghanaian electronic producers. With this new release, King Ayisoba cements his status as both an otherworldly performer and a daring sonic adventurer.
Kologo music, which originates from the Frafra people in the Northeast of Ghana, centers around the kologo instrument. King Ayisoba is a master of this Northern Ghanaian lute, which boasts a simple design consisting of a calabash covered in goat skins and just two strings.
Recorded and mixed mainly at Top Link, Francis Ayamga’s studio located atop a hill in Bongo, a town in the Upper East Region of Ghana, “Work Hard” showcases King Ayisoba’s unique musical vision.
The album’s second music video, “Tribe,” which follows “Bossi Labome,” has just been released. This track emphasizes the importance of learning and speaking one’s local language, while also confronting ignorance and elitism. The song’s jubilant mood is enhanced by soulful brass interjections that punctuate each melodic message. As the track progresses, the backing vocals become slightly psychedelic, evoking the foxy vocals found on Funkadelic’s mid-1970s records.
This is a description of the meaning of the songs:
1. Good things God knows – ft Raskuuku and Twinkle The moral lesson of this song is that whatever that happened to mankind is already determined by our maker (God). Nothing happened that God doesn’t know, so we should do everything as possible as we can and leave the rest for God to handle. A message for the politicians is that, God knows every promise which cannot be achieved yet the promise just win power. The musicians that fight all the time for awards should stop, for God knows everything and will award them appropriately.
2. Bossi Labome – ft Awilo One Produced by Francis Ayamga at the Top Link Studio in Bongo, center of the Ghana Upper East music scene where musicians and vocalists gather every day. Ayamga is the beat-maker and is providing great electronic beats based on traditional rhythms for many artists from all over Ghana. More and more artists are finding his studio and want to work with him. The compilation This is Frafra Power (Makkum Records, 2019) is a great sampler of his work. In the song King Ayisoba addresses the position of women and how they are treated, punished even, when they commit adultery, while men get away, even are praised when dating other women while married.
3. People talk too much – ft Ayuune Sule, Zea This song talks about how people can be loud in promising others without fulfilling them. Ghanaians all over the world promised to invite the King of Kologo, King Ayesoba but honestly failed to do. His advice to Ghanaians and people all over the world is that “action speaks louder than words” so they should do more and talk less.
4. Namba sonne – ft Atamina Namba sonne means Good king. This is talking of a good King and his role. A good King is a unified and peace loving king. A good KING brings his subjects together by advising them to stay away from fighting, stealing from one another and urge them to be hard workers so that there will be peace and harmony in the community. A good King must not be corrupt or bias. A good King must love all his subjects.
5. Tribe – ft O.C Akomfem, Shiallo Try To Teach Your Children To Speak Their Own Language: This is a very important song that teaches us to try as possible as we can to teach our children our own languages. It’s good for everyone to be able to speak their Language. One which will help them to also learn their culture. Most elites (educated parents) children can’t speak their parents languages. Most immigrants children cannot speak their language. King of Kologo, King Ayisoba, therefore advised all persons to teach the children their local languages.
6. Adinooma – ft Bush Man “Adenu-Nmah” (Eating And Living Luxurious) It is about our lifestyles. Well to do persons that eat plenty of fatty foods, sugar, late eating and under air conditions which build up the body and if one doesn’t do regular exercise to burn fat or for body fitness, it will bring sickness like BP, stroke, obesity, and so many diseases. His advised to everyone including himself is that lets eat healthy foods and do regular exercise to keep our body fit to be able to live long.
7. Abome This song teaches us good lessons. It uses a rat and a hunter as a very good example and relating it to humans. A rat chased by a hunter, and it entered into a tree hole and the hunter without thinking twice set fire on the tree and eventually killing both the innocent tree and the rat which is a delicacy for the hunter. What the song want to communicate to the general public is that we should be very very circumspect when helping anyone who runs to us for a help. There are consequences in helping those in difficulties, so be careful not to inherent someone’s enemy. It’s also telling us that no matter how good one is, people or some people will say he/she is not good because of one or two reasons. It ended up saying that blaming is inevitable so do not try hard to be blameless for humans are to be blamed for wrongdoing and not trees.
8. Kokoko enter – ft Zea This song teaches our leaders to fill all porous borders which people from other African countries enter when just with a knock “ko-ko-ko”. He suggested that passport and other necessary documents should be inspected before allowing anyone who’s about entering Ghana. By doing that people with no business other than army robbery will be stopped from coming into the country.
9. Buri malima – ft Gulkanatesi “Buuri-Malemmah” (cultural performance) This song “Buuri-Malemmah Kalobreh” is to educate the modern society the importance of traditional ( local) cultural in each and every society. It says people should do their possible best to learn it and also pass it onto the younger generation for its sustainability. The song also talks about or explains the traditional talking drummers group ( Kuul-Kanarise) that was featured. That drummers do not perform anyhow, but only performs at a very old person’s funeral and during enskinments or entombments of Kings or Queens. The talking drummers receive goats or kocks when one is hiring them to perform at such important events.
Buy Work Hard
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.