J-Rio
J-Rio, the father of Gabon's ntcham music scene, tells DJ Edu about inspiring Gabonese people at home and in the diaspora - but also reveals why he lost confidence in himself.
Why were young people in Libreville dancing to ntcham, a high-energy urban dance that was born in Gabon - while listening to Ghanaian and Nigerian soundtracks? It wasn’t right, thought J-Rio, a Gabonese musician who was one of the first Francophone artists TIA host DJ Edu the Afroboss played back in the day.
J-Rio did something about it – and he tells This is Africa how, in 2014, he became the father of ntcham music, when he made the first Gabonese song to complement the dance craze. Sors Ça became a massive hit – and inspired other Gabonese musicians to make songs in this new genre of music.
J-Rio also talks about how his phrase “Je suis Gaboma et c’est Mal Swag” became a rallying cry for Gabonese people at home and in the diaspora. And he opens about how he lost confidence in himself and found himself in a creative block for a few years.
Plus DJ Edu plays his latest mix of the hottest tunes coming out of the African continent.
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Broadcasts
- Sat 16 May 202601:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 16 May 202610:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Sat 16 May 202617:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sat 16 May 202622:32GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Sun 17 May 202610:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
- Mon 18 May 202601:32GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
