#TGTfeature 013: Rocky Dawuni [Aquarian Records: Accra, Ghana & Los Angeles, USA] Journeying further abroad to where the roots of reggae originated, after American bass weight specialist Bukkha, here comes #TGTfeature 013 with the enigmatic Rocky Dawuni. Hailing from Ghana, the artist and humanitarian embraces diversity to craft his inspiring and passionate sound. This and forthcoming #TGTfeature articles will highlight dedicated musical talents by featuring their recent work as well as an in-depth interview. His latest album, the timely and poignant Beats of Zion, was released earlier this year; it fuses reggae and contemporary Afropop with more traditional rhythms from genres like Afrobeat and highlife. Rocky Dawuni kindly took time out of his busy schedule to discuss his most recent recordings, what keeps him motivated, and much more. A bit about Rocky Dawuni: - A talented Afro/reggae fusionist, he’s released seven albums in his 20+ year career, including the Grammy-nominated Branches of the Same Tree - Known for his emotive and personal style, which emerges not only in his music but also in his videos - In 2018, named a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Africa
Beats of Zion (album) by Rocky Dawuni
TGT: For those that might be less familiar with your work, are there some selections from your back catalog that you could recommend for people to better understand the sounds and evolution of your art? RD: I think the album Book of Changes would be a good reference point for people to have to experience the full realization of my fusion of reggae and traditional African sounds. This album produced some of the standards for my signature Afro Roots music. Listener and concert favorites like “Afro Roots Vibrations,” “Wake the Town,” and “Africa For Learn” explored fresh new territories of combining reggae, Afrobeat, highlife music and traditional rhythms. It was also the beginning of my songs being featured on US TV shows and global video game soundtracks including “Wake the Town” and “Shashemane” being heard on the hit series ER and EA videos games. TGT: How do you balance living in two places, creating new music, touring, and also being a notable humanitarian? What advice do you have for up-and-coming artists about time management? RD: I am driven by my personal sense of mission to keep striving for excellence in all aspects of my life. Movement and traveling provides valuable and constant insights to experience new music and influences. These are indispensable to my creativity. Also, in my case, creating music is in many ways inspired by my humanitarian work. The opportunity to transform my musical leverage into being of service and making an impact on the ground is of primary importance to me. Constantly changing environments helps me to also keep a direct connection to all that is happening culturally in Ghana and abroad - especially in my efforts to keep creating musical bridges between Africa and the diaspora. My advice to upcoming musicians would be for them to make sure they don’t lose sight of putting the energy into the art and constantly challenging themselves to grow. If their use of time can revolve around these central principles, it could nurture a deeper sense of fulfillment and nourish an enduring momentum to their artistry. TGT: How challenging was it to follow up the Grammy-nominated Branches of the Same Tree, as far as both expectations and studio creativity, and what were your ambitions with Beats of Zion? RD: After the Grammy nomination, I set my sights on pushing my musical experimentation further and at the same time highlighting my roots. I always try to let my inspirational influences direct my creativity. With Beats of Zion the vision was to push more of the musical diversity upfront. Beats of Zion features some diverse sounds and vibes, yet to me the title track is really one of the standouts. I love the accompanying video as well which we shot in Jamestown, Accra.
TGT: So what was the inspiration for that track and its video, and how does Batimbo Percussion Magique fit into to all of that? RD: The title track is an Afro roots/dancehall song which uses various traditional drums of Africa to forge a sound that borders on Jamaican dancehall music and traditional African drum beats. The song and the message of the lyrics touched on emergence of an African inspired global spiritual awakening and music serving as the catalyst for this new dawn. I worked with varying drum tones sounds from djembe, dundun drum sounds to create the right grooves. The song needed that powerful big drum sound to drive the beat and that is what led me to Batimbo Percussion Magique of Burundi. Their sound had the right drum orchestral element that finally made that track come fully alive. The vision of the accompanying video explored the colorful cultural heritage of the continent in a celebration of emerging youthful power of Africa.
TGT: Another track, “Modern Man,” just got a remix by the skilled Gaudi. What led to that collaboration, and can you talk about the lyrics a bit about how they reflect your worldview? RD: “Modern Man” is a song about the invasion of technology in modern life and the gradual transformation of society and social behavior into an algorithm-controlled utopia. The song is about sounding a warning about the inherent danger to outsourcing our humanity to an inhumane tool. The stealthy illusion that transforming ourselves into mechanical society represents a sort of evolutionary progress. The original version on the album was acoustic but there was a general feeling to put more power and dimension to the words and the message. Gaudi was drawn to that song and loved the message as well. We all knew something special could result with his remix for the song. He did an amazing job with it! TGT: You were designated a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Africa last year – congratulations on receiving such a tremendous honor! – what projects and works have you been involved in with so far in this role, and how do you see the relationship between your activism and your music in 2019? RD: It is truly an honor to be designated as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment for Africa at a time when there is an urgent need to deal with pressings issues like the changing climate, the need for protecting land rights, the importance of standing up for indigenous cultures while combating corporate and political greed as well as unchecked destruction of forest and ecosystems . There is a need for real action to inspire a grassroots solution to these issues. My current mission in this role is to shed a light on these issues. I launched the Rocky Dawuni Foundation to work on youth leadership and help facilitate equipping the youth with cultural tools to take initiative and also advocating for a true African Green Revolution. We have partnered with Mayor of Ghana’s capital city Accra to launch planting 100,000 trees in the city among many other current projects that we are working on.
