Gabon has been having one of the most interesting urban scenes in francophone Africa for a while now, but its artists are still struggling a bit to export themselves for a couple of reasons. That’s why i am excited about “La Kinda Tape”, a free mixtape aiming at unveiling fresh talents from Gabon, set to drop next month. But before that, let me introduce J-Rio. This young musician, based in Houston, is a sort of gabonese Wizkid (at least, to me!). He has been proving over the time to be THE voice of Gabon’s local R&B, from ballads like “Je t’aime vrai vrai” to club bangers like “Le Ndem”, his latest hit. He even did a quite successful gabonese remix to Ice Prince’s “Oleku”.
As Ghana had Azonto and Nigeria had Etighi or Alanta, the youth from Gabon has been dancing to “Djazzé” for a while now but trends come and go.. Now, it’s all about the “Ndem” craze, with dance routines popping all over Youtube. J-Rio dropped an anthem to this new dance back in september 2013 and it instantly had everyone going! Have a look at the video matching the song, which just dropped last week and was shot in the streets of Libreville, Gabon’s capital.
Not sure i can dance the “Ndem” correctly, but i’m definitely loving the song!
Enjoy!