Sounds of the Ivory Coast
Ki-Yi Mbock, West Africa’s most culturally diverse musical theatre troupe, has a unique flavour, says Kate Thomas. Its sounds bring Africans together
Swathed in gold, purple and red, the stage erupts in a cacophony of sound and colour. Light pours down, showcasing the exuberant outfits of the dozens of singers and dancers. Two women strut across the stage, hitting high notes with sweet, honeyed voices. Bare-chested drummers move to the beat. In a corner, a dreadlocked musician teases base notes from his saxophone.
This could be a Malian drumming session, a Cameroonian wedding or a concert by some of the world’s finest vocalists. It’s all of those things and more. It’s a live performance from Ki-Yi Mbock, West Africa’s most culturally diverse performance troupe.
Brainchild of the acclaimed Cameroonian artist, poet and playwright Werewere Liking Gnepo, the Ki-Yi Village and its eponymous musical theatre troupe – which serves as the Ivory Coast’s national cultural ambassadors – were founded in the early 1980s. Most West African nations have a group of performers who compete in regional contests, but the Ivory Coast’s is something special. Since 1985, more than 2000 young people have passed through the Village’s gates, seeking first-class training in the arts, including music, vocals, dance, hip-hop, poetry, sculpture, painting and writing.
By no means limited to Ivorians, the Ki-Yi Village is home to talented people from several African nations, including Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal. Students from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United States have also come under the tutelage of Werewere Liking Gnepo. With strong ideals and an insatiable appetite for powerful, thought-provoking performance, she is a prominent figure in driving West Africa’s artistic resurgence.
When writers and academics are described as “brilliant”, the accolade doesn’t usually extend to their fashion sense, so when I first meet Liking Gnepo I’m struck by her energy and presence. Brilliant blue feathers swing from her ears, one arm is adorned with beautifully carved bangles and the other with electric-blue toile. An introduction isn’t necessary, I know in an instant that this must be her.
Although it’s her novels, plays and writings on Pan-Africanism that have earned her an international reputation, the Ki-Yi movement – meaning ‘ultimate knowledge of the universe’ in Liking Gnepo’s native Bassa language – is clearly her baby. Founded to help widen the “artistic education of young people”, the Fondation Panafricaine Ki-Yi is a work in progress, an open dialogue of expression.
“It’s a movement for the rebirth of African arts, for the birth of a contemporary Pan-African culture and for a coming together and recognition of the cultures of the black world,” she says. You don’t just go to a Ki-Yi Mbock performance to listen – here you feel every word and note.
Inside the village, adorned with tiles and mosaics, are a recording studio, dance lounge, multimedia centre, exhibition hall, puppetry centre, fashion studio and theatre. Tourists are welcomed with open arms, while those interested in perfecting their vocal or dance skills or artistic abilities can join a number of classes. Some of the courses run for up to five years. Anyone of secondary school age or above can apply for a place.
Although relatively unknown in Europe, the Ki-Yi Village continues to churn out stars of the future. One of its most successful graduates is Ben Mpeck, the Cameroonian hip-hop artist. “Coming to the Ki-Yi Village felt like heaven. I found a community that was welcoming and full of understanding about my work,” says Mpeck, whose latest single ‘Abidjan Girl’ is taken from his album Akwaaba Abidjan (Welcome to Abidjan).
Manou Gallo is another well-known Ki-Yi alumnus. Now a star in her own right, the Ivorian produces rich and lively, yet graceful, tunes that call you on to the dance floor. Fellow pupil Dobet Gnahoré practically grew up in the Village, where her father is still Mbock’s musical director. Hailed as one of Africa’s brightest new musical stars, the 25-year-old is currently on a tour of Europe and the US and her music has been widely distributed on the internet. With a strong, buttery voice and staccato vocals – to be heard on the track ‘Inyembezi Zam – Gnahoré’ will soon be joining the likes of Alpha Blondy as one of the Ivory Coast’s most famous musicians.
The Ki-Yi Village may be thousands of miles from Europe, where many of its alumni now live, but the sweet sounds produced by Ki-Yi Mbock are by no means confined to the village. As the hour-long show reaches a climax, I wander outside and stand under the stars. Notes drift along the bumpy red roads that lead to downtown Abidjan and Le Plateau, the city’s towering business district. With beads in their hair, kids jam in the street.
The Ki-Yi Village is located in the community of Cocody, by the Riviera 2 roundabout (tel. +225 2243 2005, www.kiyi-village.org).
There are national performance groups of musicians and dancers in most West African countries, including the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Sierra Leone. One of the most famous is that of Sierra Leone: the Sierra Leone Dance Troupe combines traditional singing and drumming with acrobatics and lively dancing. It took home the winners trophy at the 2007 Gambian Cultural Festival, which brings together many West African cultural groups.