Didier Awadi is a big name not only in his hometown of Dakar, Senegal, but also in many places in the world where he has performed as a solo artiste and member of the Positive Black Force he helped form in 1989. The winner of the RFI Afrique 2003 who has had collabos with many artistes, from Wyclef to KRS One, was in Nigeria for the September edition of Afropolitan Vibes. Before his superlative performance, he talked about his music and a whole lot else in this interview with Assistant Life Editor, TERH AGBEDEH.
Is this your first time to Nigeria?
This is the fifth time. I used to come when I was younger, and in 1995 or 1996 we came with the group, Positive Black Force, to perform at the Alliance Francaise. Last year I came to have a look at Afropolitan Vibes, and this time I am honoured to be invited as a performer.
Why music?
I was a dancer, so I just followed the vibe of being a break dancer and from there you start copying the Americans, taking the mic and trying to sound like them, and all of a sudden you discover that this is what you want to do. When we started to rap in schools, people liked it; so we decided to keep this passion growing. We understood that we could keep some important messages for our people and give sense to our lives with this music. So this is how we started doing conscious music, and with this conscious music we have been able to change a regime in 2000. In 2012 also, because of the rap and free press, we changed the system. Now we understand and I am sure that we have a power in our hands and in our mics.
Starting out, who were your influences?
I had so many influences from Bob Marley first to KRS One in the U.S. In Africa I have Alfa Blondi, Fela, Baba Mal and even Cesar Evora. I take influence from everywhere, from good music, mostly from music with a message.
There is a lot of influence in my music. I can take the guitars of South Africa, some melody from the Mandarika in Mali, I take influence everywhere. I have travelled to over 42 African countries, and anywhere I go I try to see what I can take, what source of inspiration I can have in this country? So I take inspiration everywhere.
What do you want to do with your music?
Life is very hard and a lot of people are waiting for somebody to speak for them. I am very lucky; I know I am blessed, so I have to use my voice to speak for the voiceless. I know we can create change with the music, especially with conscious music. We have experienced it in Senegal in 2000 and 2012. In Burkina Faso also, we know that music helped to change the regime that was in place for more than 26 years. The message of the musicians, the rappers and the reggae artistes was able to change a regime.
What is Artwatch Africa about?
Artwatch Africa is a network of artistes and activists all over Africa. We decided last year to do a song against all the extremism like violence here in Nigeria, in Niger, Mali all over West Africa. Because of the war in Libya, all the arms are free everywhere; so there is a lot of violent extremism. We decided to do a song against it and to use all our voices bringing people like Ade Bantu, Jose from Cote d’Ivoire, Smokey from Burkina Faso. Singers from Mauritania, Mali, Niger together. We did a song together against extremism because we don’t want to wait for people like Bono in England to sing for us and to be our voices. We have our voices and nobody will come and save Africa. We did the song called ‘Right to Live’. This network, Artwatch Africa, is for freedom of expression.
You also make documentaries?
Yeah, I did one documentary and was lucky to screen it at the Festival de Cannes. Called Lands Point of View, it is about migration, all these kids going to Spain on boats and dying in the sea or desert. I had the opportunity to travel to a lot of countries with my small camera. I say I am not a filmmaker. I just made a documentary because I use cinema as a weapon. I know that with the music you can reach a target audience, but with the cinema you can reach further.
Are you going to do another film?
Yes.
What subject are you looking at?
It is going to be about what happened in Libya and Ivory Coast; the impact of the manipulations in our countries and how we Africans were not able to respond to these manipulations and to fight against them. I will try to prove in this documentary that everything they said about Ghadafi, about Gbagbo was wrong. There will also be a small part about what happened in Mali; the real aim of this war was not for me a war against terrorism, but a war for the oil in Mali.
You have an album coming.
Yeah.
What is it titled and what is the story behind the songs?
The album is on the same subject about African revolution. I don’t know what the name will be yet, but it is conscious music and all the trouble that we face in Africa today because of all the travels I do on the continent, I am inspired by that and that is going to be the subject of the album. I will also have songs about love because I am not only about revolution.
You have said that we are sounding the same with our music in Africa, do you think that is good?
Yeah, it is evolution and I am happy that today we copy Africans. We used to copy Americans, but they don’t have any respect for us, they don’t know us, they don’t care about us. But we feel the same vibe with Nigerians. If you go to Benin (Republic), you will meet exactly the same thing. If you go to Togo, you will find the same kind of people. So we have the same beat that we understand. When you play the talking drum, I, as a Senegalese, can feel it. I have the talking drum. So, for me it is a natural thing that we follow a strong example. Your music is strong, your show business is strong and you have an impact all over, that is why people are copying you. If you go to Ghana, they will say that this music is coming from Ghana, why are Nigerians saying that it is their music? It is because highlife is everywhere and the music that P-Square and all of them are playing today is coming from that root. So, music will take inspiration from wherever it feels and as long as the melody is good, the vibe is good, people will copy. For me, that is not a problem. Today it is Nigeria; tomorrow it may be Ivory Coast.
You count Fela as one of your influences and he saw all of this confusion and chaos now prevalent in Africa coming. Do you see where this will end?
It is difficult for me to say, but my mission is to bring back hope, and this project of ‘Right to Live’ is to bring back hope to our population wherever they are suffering – victims of extremism. When will it end? I don’t know. This is a political, military and social issue because in all these regions, there is a lot of poverty, unemployment that makes people easy to manipulate. So our governments have failed in certain ways, but also there is a lot of manipulation from superpowers coming from outside. And if you check the map of where this situation happens, you will see oil or uranium. So there is a link.
You probably have a yardstick for measuring the progress you have made with Artwatch Africa; has the feedback been positive?
It is difficult because we have just launched the project. But for me, the one reason I am happy is that we have been able to put it together and bring more than 12 artistes from across Africa together, without considering money, to do a project for Africa. For me, that is our first victory.
Are you looking at doing collabo with Nigerian artistes?
Yeah, there are a lot of artistes that I am following, so I will see.
Have you spoken with any of them?
No, we have been very busy, but I am checking with Ade Bantu because I have some people that I really want to know better. For me, the first thing is not the business, I need to talk with you and see if we have a natural connection. If the connection is there, then we can go to the studio and share music.
There must be some things here that remind you of home.
There is the food, the way you eat with your hands and the way you dress with this African print that is not African made. We have all of that. The taste of the food and some other things also.
What kind of music do you listen to?
I listen to a lot of music mostly reggae, Still Pause; I love Still Pause. I love Bob Marley. I listen to a lot of rap music too.