Reasoning With Ghana’s Next To Bust
As the new year begins, so does the quest for which new artist will make an impact on the scene. One of those artist could be ghanaian singer/songwriter Jojo Abot who seamlessly blends electronica, indie-soul, reggae, house, and acoustic instrumentation on top of vocals sung in either English or Ewe, a language spoken in southern Ghana. Abot spends her time between three different locations, her native Ghana, Copenhagen, and New York City. The first part of 2017 already saw her performing at Global Fest on Jan.8th at Webster Hall in NYC, three days later at the JFK Center for the Performing Arts, and the MLH (Ms. Lauryn Hill) Caravan at Radio City Music Hall on Feb. 25th. For the latter performance, Abot will be opening for Ms. Lauryn Hill along with Little Simz, and Kehlani. Video And Interview After The Jump…
“To receive that email, I was in disbelief,” said Abot about her initial reaction to being asked to be on the show with the legendary artist formerly known as L-Boogie. “You know when certain things happen that you don’t anticipate, or that you think of happening further down in your career, and it’s quite sobering? That’s more the experience that I had. I was in disbelief, I was in shock, but also in deep appreciation.”
In addition to getting attention for her music, Abot is also receiving a lot of attention for her unique and intriguing fashion sense. With a combination of high fashion, vintage clothing, afro-centric face paint, and bright colors, Abot has drawn comparison to another fashionable music artist, Erykah Badu.
“Just having myself associated with such a name is incredibly powerful that people see things similar in her that they see in me, so if anything I think it’s a recognition of a similar energy,” she said.
Currently Abot has an EP available titled Fyfya Woto, which contains four songs relating the fictional story of a young Ghanaian woman during the 1700’s in a time of slavery and divide who is caught in a compromising situation with her Caucasian lover. The woman is brought in front of a tribunal in which she must save herself and her lover. The song “To Li,” is the dialogue that takes place between the witnesses, her mother, and people of the community. During the tribunal, witnesses exaggerate what they saw between the young woman and her lover, and how he promised to take her away to a land where gold and silver are on the ground (which is essentially the West and how it is mystified by people who live in smaller towns in Ghana). For more info, check out the artist’s official website.
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