King Ayisoba, one of Ghana’s outstanding contemporary traditional musicians, has urged Ghanaians to learn from former presidents and Nana Akufo-Addo by portraying the rich culture of Ghana with batakari.
After participating in many European festivals, King Ayisoba, the widely acclaimed “King of Kologo Music” brings the third edition of the Batakari Night to Alliance Francaise Accra.
The musician is currently one of the most popular Ghanaian artists abroad and this year’s Batakari Night will feature some of Ghana’s leading Kologo players and special guest appearances from Kwaw Kese, Yaa Pono, Atongo, Zea (from Holland) with whom King Ayisoba has worked extensively, and a lot of talented musicians in the country.
In attendance also will be chiefs, government officials and a host of others.
Speaking exclusively to 3news.com ahead of the much anticipated concert, King Ayisoba stated that batakari is part of the Ghanaian culture and therefore believes people should make it a part of their wears and promote it.
“Batakari is a Ghanaian traditional wear and it’s my wish that we in this country take it very seriously.”
He remarked, “Anytime I see former president Mahama, he is in batakari and his wife also wears the same thing.
“Our president Nana Akufo-Addo is also a big fan of batakari as you may have seen him recently and his wife is usually in that kind of traditional wear.
“Former president Rawlings never used to joke with the batakari when he was the leader of this country and I always felt proud when I saw him on TV.
“Let’s look at all our leaders who have accepted the batakari and have portrayed the rich culture of our country worldwide so we can learn from them.
“We go out there to buy second hand clothing whiles we have batakari in abundance over her in Ghana and it’s sad.
“We are always complaining about lack of jobs but there are jobs in this country and an example is the making of batakari which I believe we can make and promote our culture around the world”.
King Ayisoba’s style of music is melodic and percussive. It is one that is exclusive to him. He has displayed diversity and innovation by using traditional instruments, integrating hiplife into his music; a style that emerged in Ghana in the mid-90s and contains hip-hop and dancehall elements beats. His lyrics are very personal, sometimes funny, often urgent and always imaginative.
The Batakari Night is a night of fantastic music, performances and a market place for some of the finest batakaris ever made.
By Nana Afrane Asante/3news.com/Ghana