CULTURE
SENEGAL: Jimmy Dose, an icon of the song.
Fan of Public Enemy and especially of their legendary title “Fight the power”, of the king of the pope Michael Jackson but also of Bob Marley, Jimmy Dose finally became engaged singer. Ze-Africanews.com went to meet him.
How did you get to the music and the song?
It all started with Public enemy this great African-American group that made us vibrate with its legendary title “Fight the power”. I will mention Michael Jackson, Bob Marley and subsequently Mc Soolar who marked the beginnings of French rap. I remember that at the time I lived in Senegal, I had the opportunity to go often to France for the summer holidays and that’s how I discovered the hip hop movement and thereafter The raggae with the band Raggaesonic, Tonton david and many others, from there I wrote my first lyrics, early lives until today.
How do you define yourself as an artist?
I see myself as a social artist. What does the people need? Hope, purpose, project and also entertaining, it’s my role.
For you what is a good music, a beautiful song, a beautiful sound?
A gathering music, a music that comes from the heart. It could be a beautiful or dark story, it’s a matter of feeling and taste
Why this musical genre?
I do reggaedancehall, a native of Jamaica who comes from the lower quarters. I sometimes add a touch of hip-hop always with this little tropical and African side, some call it world music. This kind of music has a history, it advocates peace and love. Its dynamic and deep sounds give hope. On the other hand, world music brings me deeply into my roots.
For you song rhymes with search for social justice?
Yes ! Otherwise, we play the card of the blind, it would be irresponsible. For me an artist must be social, show the facts and misdeeds of this world is hard for some, I know what I’m talking about. I will go so far as to say that in some societies, immigrants are more pointed at. When you live in poverty and inequality, you would not like to be always talked to about you, you would also like to escape and smile in song.
In your opinion, music is a commitment or a simple passion?
It could be both, but at the beginning I do not think we enter the music by commitment but rather by passion. Music is not political, it is neither for the rich nor for the poor. It makes us vibrate. One becomes close to the people as soon as one takes the microphone, the pen or its instrument. Subsequently, a complicity arises and with time become an artist. We realize its impact by the people who listen to us and it is only after that that we become a spokesperson.
Why music as a means of expression?
I think that every person has their own means of expression: dance, writing or painting. Personally, I found in music a weapon that suits me and with which I manage to give hope to people.
Where did this passion come from?
The musical influence of my childhood, has guided me throughout my life. Some artists whose names I quoted above have succeeded by their texts to speak to me and to convey to me the importance of music
What do you feel when you are in front of the audience and why?
When I am in front of the public, I only wish one thing, to convey my messages and my emotions. And this sharing is done very simply every time I sing for them.
How long have you been in Europe and why?
I live in Montreal in the province of Quebec in Canada, I lived in France in Paris for a decade. I consider myself a globe trotter and I do not see myself staying in the same place a lifetime.
What is your relationship with your country of origin?
I am from Senegal, having spent my adolescence in Dakar, I represent my country and in some of my songs I quote often.
What are your prospects for the future?
After having been chained for several years, the sound system, the studios, the concerts, my first album finally arrives. So I now wish to be able to release other albums, that people are always behind me for a long time.
How do you define yourself as a singer?
A singer artist is simply a person who, by his words, his sentences and thus his songs, comes to say what many people live on a daily basis. I define myself as a vector of emotions, feelings and ideas in my texts. I also think I can see the positive side of things, or at least I try, and what is essential to me is that people see our action as a need to exist and to build, in short, to Respect. I also like to make people move with rhythmic lyrics conscious or often innocent for good vibrations.
CINEMA
BURKINA FASO – Culture and tourism: The 4th edition of Tunnel honors the builders of the shadow
Koudougou, May 31, 2025 (AIB) – The 4th edition of Tunnel, a ceremony for distinguishing cultural and tourist actors in the Central-West region, was held in Koudougou on Saturday, noted the AIB on site.
This annual event, initiated by Adama Badiel, aims to create, according to him, a platform of visibility and support for artists and tourism professionals to allow them to establish themselves on national and international scenes.
The promoter Adama Badiel stressed the importance of this edition, placed under the sign of collaboration, recognition and collective construction. He recalled the fundamental objective of the Tunnel: “to highlight the cultural and tourist talents of the Center-West, these women and men who, often without spotlight or support, nourish our region with their passion, creativity, and determination.”
This year, the event paid a special tribute to its partners, whose support is deemed indispensable. Among the officials present were Jean Noël Bonkoungou, representing the minister of culture, patron of the ceremony, El Hadj Inoussa Bagué, president of the Patronat du Centre-Ouest, Franck Alain Kaboré, CEO of Cinéma Neerwaya, and Ali Bonkoungou, CEO of Salsabil Bâtiment, testifying to the commitment of the private and public sectors.
Despite a slight reduction to five categories in competition this year, due to a limited number of album releases and works meeting the criteria, Adama Badiel ensured that the “Golden Tunnel” category will evolve from next year to expand opportunities while maintaining the quality requirement.
The promoter also launched a call for goodwill because, “we need you to build a true ecosystem where art, heritage, tourism and youth can express themselves, thrive and inspire.” This heartfelt plea highlights the major challenge of the lack of resources to fully support the laureates and optimize their visibility.
Several emblematic figures of Burkinabe cinema, such as Eugène Bayala (Oyou), Sawadogo Alidou (head of the Village of Kikideni), and Rasmané Ouédraogo (Razo), have already been honored in previous editions.
This year, the winners on the artistic side include Mr. Baraka, Tasha, Yololo Junior, and KSB 80.
In the cultural and tourist field, personalities like El Hadj Inoussa Bagué, Franck Alain Kaboré, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Boubacar Berewoudougou (Hôtel Pousga), Catherine Zoma (ISMK), and Salfo Dermé were distinguished, in addition to tributes paid to ancient glories of Burkinabe music such as Pasteur Moussa Josué.
Adama Badiel concluded by stating that “the Tunnel is not a one-time event. It is a movement, an ambition, a bridge between what we are and what we can become. A strong message for the future of culture and tourism in the Center-West.
The boss’s representative, Jean Noël Bonkoungou, reassured the promoter of Tunnel of the support of the ministry.
Source: Information Agency of Burkina
Photo credit: Information Agency of Burkina
See on the platforms the legendary Senegalese hip-hop group Daara J Family. On May 30, 2025, the band returns with “COSAAN”, a committed single that resonates, with its morning mbalax melodies and gentle flows, as an essential reminder: never forget where you come from. The single has over 80,000 views and 900 comments on YouTube.
“Fan nga cosaanoo?” – Where are your roots?
This question in wolof, almost a supplication, serves as the thread to the new title of Daara J Family. NAACP literally means “origin” or “heritage”. With this single, the iconic duo formed by Faada Freddy and Ndongo D delivers a work that is at once poetic, political and deeply rooted in history, especially that of Senegal. It is also a call to African youth not to forget their origins. And above all to enhance its cultural heritage by walking with pride in the footsteps of the ancients.
Cosaan, between mbalax and rap
Formed in 1994, while still in high school, the members of Daara J Family never gave up their musical identity. Indeed, they have always mixed sharp words, spirituality and pan-African consciousness. In “COSAAN”, they revisit this tradition that is dear to them. In this song, there are traditional sounds (mbalax) and contemporary hip-hop textures, echoing their long-standing belief: rap was born in Africa, traveled, then came back. The refrain, translated into French, is unequivocal: “Le monde et ce qu’il contient / Si tu vas là et que tu l’obtiens / N’oublie pas, n’oublie pas / This is where your origin lies!” A direct appeal to African youth not to give in to cultural amnesia and to keep the memory of ancestors and African identity alive.
When history inhabits the word
Faada Freddy, with his recognizable soul voice among a thousand, hums: “We know where we come from/ What worries us is where we are going…” This lucid concern can only be tempered by an unwavering faith in the values of the elders. Ndongo D, adds in a quick flow: “If you forget yesterday, tomorrow you will be lost (…) You were born here, you come from here, you live here.” It is an anchor cry, a response to uprooting, a warning against forgetting.
Daara J Family: Making sense of the flow
From their first eponymous album in 1998 to Boomerang in 2003 — hailed as one of the best hip-hop albums of the century by The Observer — to Yaamatele in 2020, Daara J Family have always been able to combine the art of flow with that of meaning. Their commitment goes beyond words. They shared the stage with icons such as Public Enemy or Mos Def, and travelled through festivals from Africa to Europe, from WOMAD to Live 8.
COSAAN: a single dedicated to transmission
More than a return, COSAAN is a transmission. It is a manifesto. That of a knowledge, a duty to remember, a pride. At a time when markers are shifting, when crops are being diluted. In an era marked by migration, globalization and multiple influences, Daara J Family reminds us that identity is a foundation, not a burden. That heritage is not nostalgia, but a compass. And they offer a musical compass and identity with this single: Cosaan!
The monumental works depicting the battle of Little Big Horn, exhibited on the Pont des Arts in Paris in 1999, made the Senegalese artist famous. The installation has just joined the fortress in the Hautes-Alpes for at least ten years.
Muscled warriors meld, horse bumping. Sounds of the fury of battle are heard. Under the impressive curvilinear wooden frame of the old Rochambeau barracks, at the fort of Mont-Dauphin (Hautes-Alpes), is played the battle of Little Big Horn, opposing, in 1876, a coalition of Cheyennes, Sioux and Arapaho to the soldiers of General Custer’s regiment.
In thirty-five monumental sculptures, visible from 6 July, the Senegalese sculptor Ousmane Sow (1935-2016) celebrates the resounding victory of the fragile over the powerful. Deposited in this fortified village for a period of ten years renewable by his widow, the director Béatrice Soulé, this epic installation is well known to the Parisians who discovered it amazed, one day in March 1999, on the Pont des Arts.
The exhibition has remained in the annals with its record attendance – at least 3 million visitors in three months. «An unexpected success», recalls art critic Emmanuel Daydé, then deputy mayor for cultural affairs. For the former physiotherapist born in 1935 in Dakar, who later became an artist, it is consecration. But also, surprisingly, a swan song.
At the moment when Ousmane Sow gains international fame, the art world turns its back on him. Although he was the first African artist recognized in France, none of his successors, to whom he had paved the way, claimed it.
Mayor’s daughter supports her cause
It had all started well. In 1993, the Senegalese sculptor, who two years earlier had been on the cover of Revue noire – a quarterly magazine that revealed a number of African talents – was invited to the major five-year exhibition at Documenta in Kassel, Germany. In 1995, here he is at the Venice Biennale, which is to contemporary art what the Cannes Film Festival is to cinema. The autodidact dreams of an event in Paris.
By chance, he met Hélène Tiberi, daughter of the mayor at the time, Jean Tiberi. Who supports his cause at the City Hall. The location is easy: it will be the Pont des Arts, between the Louvre and the Academy of Fine Arts. It will take diplomatic treasures to convince these two institutions, who have not seen with a good eye the proximity of massive silhouettes imagined by an African artist.Archives «World»: Ousmane Sow questions Bordeaux and politicians
The neighbouring National School of Fine Arts, where figurative art was then taboo, is also pinching its nose. Money is missing. The Havas group had initially promised to contribute to the addition of 5 million francs (the equivalent of 1 million euros today), but its new CEO, Jean-Marie Messier, is sneaking out. Béatrice Soulé moves heaven and earth, finds sponsors and is personally indebted to the tune of 1 million francs. More here
Source: Le Monde
