Music of Togo
Encyclopedia
Togo
has produced a number of internationally known popular entertainers including King Mensah
, Bella Bellow
, and Jimi Hope. The country has a diverse folk tradition with more than forty ethnic groups
, each with their own musical styles.
-led dance music
. Folk songs are typically in the Ewe
, and Kabye languages. Some are also in Fon
and Yoruba
. There are folk songs for fishermen in the south of the country, sometimes accompanied by bells including gankogui and frikiwa. Other folk instruments include the flute
and the bow.
Percussion
Drums are played all over Togo, and are used to celebrate all the major events of one's life including marriage and baptism. Drums are also used religiously, by both Christians and Muslims, and for festivals like the Expesoso or Yeke Yeke festival. There are numerous rhythms in Togo, with each area having its own special beat. There are numerous forms of drums, OxFam notes, in the Aneho
district alone. These include agbadja, ageche, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, akpesse, grekon, blekete and adamdom drums.
Dance
Dances include Kamou, Soo, Tchimou, the southern royal djokoto, the war dances kpehouhuon and atsina, the hunters' dance adewu, the stilt dance tchebe, the miming masseh, as well as regional dances like the coastal sakpate and the kaka.
, a former performer at the Ki-Yi M'Bock Theatre in Abidjan
, toured Europe and Japan before opening his own show in French Guiana
and then moving to Paris and forming a band called Favaneva. Bella Bellow is Togo's best-known musician, and is often compared with South Africa
's Mariam Makemba. Her career began after representing her country in 1966 at the Dakar Arts Festival. She began a career singing love-oriented ballads in 1969, when she worked with Togolese-French producer
Gérard Akueson and soon appeared on French national radio and then the prestigious Olympia Music Hall
. She toured across much of the world before dying in a car accident in 1973, just after recording the hit collaboration with Manu Dibango
"Sango Jesus Christo". In Bellow's wake came a wave of female singers, including Mabah, Afia Mala, Fifi Rafiatou and Ita Jourias. Other musicians include Jimi Hope. Hope is known for politically incisive lyrics and an innovative rock-based style.
Hip hop
is on the rise, and 2003 saw the first Togo hip hop awards ceremony.
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
has produced a number of internationally known popular entertainers including King Mensah
King Mensah
King Mensah known as "The Golden Voice of Togo", is one of the most popular musical acts from Togo, West Africa. Though based in Lomé, he regularly records and promotes his albums in Paris, and has embarked on several world tours since 2005...
, Bella Bellow
Bella Bellow
Bella Bellow was a Togolese singer, who created an international career and recorded several albums. She died at the age of 27 in a car accident. She performed at the Paris Olympia and recorded with Manu Dibango. Angélique Kidjo and Afia Mala have been influenced by Bella Bellow.- References :...
, and Jimi Hope. The country has a diverse folk tradition with more than forty ethnic groups
Demographics of Togo
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Togo, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
, each with their own musical styles.
Folk music
Togolese folk music includes a great variety of percussionPercussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
-led dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
. Folk songs are typically in the Ewe
Ewe language
Ewe is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ghana, Togo and Benin by approximately six million people. Ewe is part of a cluster of related languages commonly called Gbe, spoken in southeastern Ghana, Togo, and parts of Benin. Other Gbe languages include Fon, Gen, Phla Phera, and Aja...
, and Kabye languages. Some are also in Fon
Fon language
Fon is part of the Gbe language cluster and belongs to the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo languages. Fon is spoken mainly in Benin by approximately 1.7 million speakers, by the Fon people...
and Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
. There are folk songs for fishermen in the south of the country, sometimes accompanied by bells including gankogui and frikiwa. Other folk instruments include the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and the bow.
Percussion
Drums are played all over Togo, and are used to celebrate all the major events of one's life including marriage and baptism. Drums are also used religiously, by both Christians and Muslims, and for festivals like the Expesoso or Yeke Yeke festival. There are numerous rhythms in Togo, with each area having its own special beat. There are numerous forms of drums, OxFam notes, in the Aneho
Aneho
Aného is a town in southeastern Togo. It is situated 45 km east of the capital Lomé, between the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo in Maritime Region. Historically it was known under the name Little Popo and it had a Portuguese slave market. It later became the first German capital of Togo in the...
district alone. These include agbadja, ageche, aziboloe, kple, amedjeame, akpesse, grekon, blekete and adamdom drums.
Dance
Dances include Kamou, Soo, Tchimou, the southern royal djokoto, the war dances kpehouhuon and atsina, the hunters' dance adewu, the stilt dance tchebe, the miming masseh, as well as regional dances like the coastal sakpate and the kaka.
Popular music
Internationally known performer King MensahKing Mensah
King Mensah known as "The Golden Voice of Togo", is one of the most popular musical acts from Togo, West Africa. Though based in Lomé, he regularly records and promotes his albums in Paris, and has embarked on several world tours since 2005...
, a former performer at the Ki-Yi M'Bock Theatre in Abidjan
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, toured Europe and Japan before opening his own show in French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
and then moving to Paris and forming a band called Favaneva. Bella Bellow is Togo's best-known musician, and is often compared with South Africa
Music of South Africa
The South African music scene includes both popular and folk forms. Pop styles are based on four major sources, Zulu isicathamiya singing and harmonic mbaqanga...
's Mariam Makemba. Her career began after representing her country in 1966 at the Dakar Arts Festival. She began a career singing love-oriented ballads in 1969, when she worked with Togolese-French producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Gérard Akueson and soon appeared on French national radio and then the prestigious Olympia Music Hall
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
. She toured across much of the world before dying in a car accident in 1973, just after recording the hit collaboration with Manu Dibango
Manu Dibango
-External links:*...
"Sango Jesus Christo". In Bellow's wake came a wave of female singers, including Mabah, Afia Mala, Fifi Rafiatou and Ita Jourias. Other musicians include Jimi Hope. Hope is known for politically incisive lyrics and an innovative rock-based style.
Hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
is on the rise, and 2003 saw the first Togo hip hop awards ceremony.
External links
Audio clips: Traditional music of Togo. Musée d'Ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.- Audio clips - traditional music of Togo. French National Library. Accessed November 25, 2010.