Silence. On pense.

Anabelle. Aka AB. A-Bee. Bena. Belle. Bee. Fei Lin. Nayanika. Cameroun.

[lifeilin]

I sang a little set the other night and then I took these and then I forgot to post em.

[lifeilin]

Blurry music nights. 📸@kimberleyclaudia #music #linkinbio #mirror https://www.instagram.com/p/CpVvhEzImls/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[megwesnsick]

Hello again! Long time! I made an album titled "Feet On the Ground" and I am so proud of it! Here's its link!

[lifeilin]

Meet The Belle. Stills from the visualizer of “Jamboree”, song #2 on the album “Feet on the ground”, out in February. 🎞️🎥 @kimberleyclaudia #visualizer #music https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnrst95tEOI/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[lifeilin]

Hey all! My name is Anabelle and I made an album titled "Feet on the ground", which I'll release in February.

I don't want to make this post TOO long even though quite frankly, the story behind putting these ten songs together is an extremely long one. I will share more about it when those who want to hear them, get to. For now, I'm excited to say that I worked with very talented Cameroonian and American musicians to bring this little story to life in music form and I'm endlessly thankful for every single one of them. Again, more about them later!

I've been sitting with the mastered files of this record since September 2021, thinking of the millions of ways to release it, not having much of a clue about the "right" time to do it. The truth is, there's no "right time" to make art, and there's certainly no "right time" to share it. There are standards and there's History, precedents that need to be respected, but there's no "right way" to make or share art either. I'm just grateful for art. It saved my life.

Sooo, to make my pulp cover idea for this pulp music (HA! 🤣) a reality, the amazing @kimberleyclaudia (no really, she absolutely is amazing), conceptualized the album's artwork from top to bottom, down to the colors and the textures. She also shot and edited it in November 2021, assisted by @davybell. Hair and makeup by yours truly and @estherrosaline. Last but not least, the super fun @vijith.illustrations took care of the graphic design early last year.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this, and be on the lookout for album content in the upcoming weeks!

Love, always.

Anabelle. Check out my Instagram page @_thebelle_

[lanumar]

I havent painted in a bit so i decided to practice a bit w tessa!!

[megwesnsick]

Geo William Masso was a Cameroonian Makossa singer who just passed. This was my favourite by him. 

Qu’il repose en paix. 

I can’t wait to go back to posting as much as before. Hope everybody is well. 

[popofmelanin]

Rest In Peace, Aretha Franklin 😔

[lifeilin]

Safe travels Queen. Respect.

[twixnmix]

Aretha Franklin inside her New York home, 1974.

(Photos by Moneta Sleet Jr.)  

[newguineatribalart]

Mangbeta harp Africa

[megwesnsick]

Ever seen this music instrument? Needless to reiterate that Africa is a very rich land. 

[atane-deactivated20200604]

From the archives, 3 Brenda Fassie records.

[megwesnsick]

Some Brenda Fassie (South Africa) records! Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! 

[revolutionarykoolaid]

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (born 26 September 1936 ; passed over 2 April 2018 ) 

Rest in Power to a true revolutionary!

[lifeinpoetry]

All my life I’ve bitten at the knots of my solitude. No one wants to be alive when they’re forgotten. When she is gone, who will call my name?

— Hieu Minh Nguyen, from “Notes on Staying,” published in The Offing

[megwesnsick]

Taty Eyong est une jeune chanteuse Camerounaise de Bikutsi, Afro-jazz et de world music. She happens to have gone to one of the same schools I attended as well and that’s a fun fact. She released her first single “C mon comme ça” last year (2017) and although it is her most successful jam, I actually like this one better. It is named “ME MANÈ” and is performed in Ewondo I believe and seems to be about hope. C’est une belle chanson et elle apporte un certain sentiment de paix intérieure aussi.  Salut! 

[megwesnsick]

“L’argent appelle l’argent”. “Money calls money”. This is basically a Congolese classic that spilled over to the entire continent. So many musicians covered it, revisited it and sampled it for as long as I remember. As the Youtube links suggests, it was originally performed in 1981 by Pamelo Mounk’a who was a singer/songwriter and record producer from Congo Brazzaville. He also worked with legendary Congolese artist, record producer, singer songwriter Tabu Ley (whom I’ve featured on this blog before). Pamelo Mounk’a is credited for having contributed greatly to Congolese Rumba but also to Afro-Cuban music (he spoke Spanish really well). Pamelo Mounk’a died of diabetes in 1996.

Ce morceau est une référence dans la musique Congolaise mais aussi Africaine, parce qu’il a en effet eu beaucoup de reprises. C’est l’une de mes chansons préférées, comme vous pouviez certainement l’imaginer.

[thepatco]

thru hoops 4 u 

[mindlesscy-sarang-deactivated20]

[megwesnsick]

I mean, when everybody is saying WAKANDA, I’m saying AGOLO! Lol it’s one of the most popular and commercial Angelique Kidjo songs. I uploaded a picture of hers the other day. Well today you’re getting a song, and a successful one at that. Give it up for Beninese royalty! Salut en passant!