"The Song That Gets Africans On The Dance Floor", Vlog Part 1 , Part 2, & Part 3 (vlogs & selected comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases three comedic cultural vlogs* by Ghanaian blogger Clifford Owusu. In each video Clifford Owusu describes what he considers to be "The Song That Gets Africans On The Dance Floor" without naming that song until near the end of the video. And in each video, Clifford Owusu does a brief comedic dance to portion of that showcased song.

This post includes selected comments from the discussion thread for Vlog #3. Most of these commenters are from various regions of Africa (particularly West Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa, in that order). There are also a few comments in that discussion from the Horn of Africa, and the southern African region (but not from South Africa or Zambia), and from the Caribbean and United States. As a matter of record, I didn't find any comments in that discussion from North Africa, except for the Sudan and South Sudan.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, etymological, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Clifford Owusu for publishing these video blogs and thanks to the performers who are featured in these music videos. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/03/youtube-comments-from-africans-about.html for the pancocojams post entitled YouTube Comments From Africans About The Jamaican Dancehall Records "Bam Bam" & Murder She Wrote". This post includes a video of and comment from Clifford Owusu's 2014 vlog "The Song That Keeps Africans On The Dance Floor".

*Here's the definition of "vlog" from https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=vlog
"A video log. A journalistic video documentation on the web of a person's life, thoughts, opinions, and interests.

A vlog can be topical and timeless, instructional and entertaining. The main thread is trying to communicate on a personal level with your audience.
Zadi decided that setting up a daily vlog was the best way to show the sun setting in the west to her friends living in the east.
by ZMD January 06, 2005

****
SHOWCASE VIDEOS:
Pancocojams Editor's Note:
In each of these showcases vglos, Clifford Owusu leaves his audience guessing which song is showcased until he starts playing the record and doing his signature dance moves. In the discussion thread for each of these vlogs a number of commenters wrote that they had guessed the name of the song he showcased based on his description of the song and of people's responses when they hear this song. However, some other commenters suggested other contemporary African dance records that they considered "the song that gets Africans on the dance floor".

For the purpose of this pancocojams post, I've "revealed" the record's title after each embedded video.

Example #1: The African Song That Gets Everyone On The Dance Floor



Clifford Owusu, Published on Aug 31, 2014

There are many African songs that get people on the dance floor, but this one is the ultimate one. The drum intro in the beginning of the song gets everyone excited. The worst party turns into the best party when this song comes on.
-snip-
Showcased record: Premier Gaou (1er Gaou) [Zouglou music; originally recorded in 1999, from the Ivory Coast]

Here's a link to a video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmDwHPMrfOc

****
Example #2: The African Song That Gets Everyone On The Dance Floor, Part 2



Clifford Owusu, Published on Oct 8, 2014

There are many African songs that get people on the dance floor, but this one is the ultimate one. The drum intro in the beginning of the song gets everyone excited. Everyone wants to show off their dance moves when this song is played.

-snip-
Showcased record: Awilo Longomba - Karolina [Soukous music] released 1990s? from Democratic Republic of the Congo]

Here's a link to a video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX1o1GxwyR4.

****
Example #3: The African Song That Gets Everyone On The Dance Floor, Part 3



Clifford Owusu, Published on Sep 10, 2016

There are many African songs that get people on the dance floor, but this one is one of the ultimate ones. The intro in the beginning of the song gets everyone excited. You don't want to be the person leaving the party when this song comes on!!!
-snip-
Showcased record: Iyanya - "Kukere" [Afrobeats music, released December 2011, from Nigeria]

Here's a link to a video of this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YvzTizFakk.

Also, here's the link to the dance video that I think Clifford Owusu was referring to in this vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hb-yqY7IPQ "Azonto Dance to Iyanya - Kukere! Azonto Fever"

****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THE DISCUSSION THREAD FOR VLOG #3
As of March 6, 2018 at 9:45 AM EST there were a total of 743 comments in this vlog's discussion thread (out of 196,961 total views). This pancocojams compilation presents 128 of the comments from that discussion thread. These selected comments are given in relative chronological order with the oldest comments given first except for replies. Numbers are assigned for referencing purposes only. By "relative chronological order" I mean that I presented some of the comments with the same subject together when they weren't necessarily together in that YouTube discussion thread.

Most of the comments in this vlog are from West Africa (especially Ghana and Nigeria) and also include comments from East Africa (especially Kenya), and from some other nations. Note that unlike the discussion thread for Clifford Owusu's Vlog #1 which I read in its entirety as of 3/4/2018), for some reason, I didn't find any comments from the nation of South Africa in the comment thread for Vlog #3 as of that date.

There are also a number of comments from the Caribbean (especially Haiti) and a few comments from the United States.

In addition to comments about that vlog's featured record, certain comments that are featured in this pancocojams compilation provide socio-cultural insights about the relationships between people in various African nations and the relationships between Africans and the African Diaspora.

Most of the comments in all of these vlogs can be placed in four main categories (given in order of their numbers in discussion #3 only, with the largest category given first)
1. commenters giving a shout out to (representing) where they are from (Commenters usually referred to them being in the "(country's name) squad" or "gang".

2. commenters praising this particular song and/or sharing memories of this song

3. commenters suggesting another African song that "gets everyone on the dance floor"

4. commenters expressing African unity (including unity between people of African descent in the Diaspora).

This compilation includes examples of comments from all of these categories.

In addition to examples from these categories, I've also added an exchange from this discussion thread about Clifford Owusu's last name and examples of comments in that discussion about the made up story that Owusu gave about the origin of the Eighti dance.

I've also included brief explanatory comments about certain African Vernacular terms and a few other terms that are found in some of these comments. Additions to and corrections for these comments are welcome.

As somewhat of an aside, another aspect of these comments that interest me is how so many Africans and other people who aren't African American use African American Vernacular English (AAVE), for example, the word "represent" ("reppin') meaning public acknowledge your connection to a continent, nation, city, ethnic group etc; and the word "lit" (meaning something that is very good. Some other equivalent AAVE terms are "[on] fire", and "the bomb"). Another example of African American Vernacular English that is found in this discussion thread is the purposely AAVE articulated question "Where my [national origin] people at?"

By purposely written I mean that the person knowingly used so-called incorrect standard American grammar, perhaps because using "African American talk" is considered "being cool". This "on purpose" use of Black talk may be an example of what I refer to as "putting on the Black". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/puttin-on-black-online-black-talk-code.html for an example of a 2012 pancocojams post on this subject that is entitled "Puttin On The Black - Online Black Talk & Code Switching".

****
2016
1. Candice 4ever
"I love Kukere that's my favourite song"

**
2. Yolavisthic Taylor
"lololol....I don't even know the song but funny video and halarious story! 😂"

**
3. тяιᴘᴘɪᴇ ᴊαу
"THAT SONG IS LIT"

**
4. Tochi Ude
"How about flavour baby okwu"

**
5. Khadija Ali
"If your Somalian, thumbs up"

**
6. I_Fank
"I thought he was taking about Johnny by Yemi Alade but what he said was so true tho."

**
7. sam kibarita
"East African rep. from Kenya"

**
8. LowkeyRari
"East African ⛽️🅰🆖 wya? 🤔🇪🇹🇰🇪🇺🇬🇸🇴"

**
REPLY
9. Nyambura Miano
"LowkeyRari 🇰🇪🇰🇪 Nairobi"

**
REPLY
10. elle19ism
"LowkeyRari 🇷🇼🇷🇼🇷🇼let's not forget Rwanda too"

**
REPLY
11. xmissyangelzx, 2017
"Uganda🙋"

**
REPLY
12. Diane Ah, 2017
"ummmm excuse you where is the queen of east africa 🇹🇿😒😒😒"
-snip-
The initials at the end of this comment refer to "Tanzania."

**
13. Surmindi qalaw qalaw,
"LowkeyRari 🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴🇸🇴😍😍😍😍 yes sweetie. This song made me dance😎😎😎"

**
14. Zainaxx
"Sierra leone and and Nigerian squad where u at though"

**
REPLY
15. Nik Ndongo
"9ja......"
-snip-
"9ja" is a variant spelling for "Naija", an informal nickname for "Nigeria".

**
REPLY
16. 2truetutu
"Zainaxx SIERRA LEONE!! 🇸🇱"

**
17. CurlyChemist
"I first heard this song on Pandora African Channel, and my daughter and I love it's."

**
18. befikir teferi
"I'm Ethiopian and I've never heard this song. 0_0"

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REPLY
19. Safiya Ummi
"lmao...u lived under a rock or u must be young... cos i have Ethiopian friends and they know the song...."

**
20. Tracy Afriyie
"Yes!!! I always hear Kukere at every Ghanaian and Nigerian party. Ghanaian gang🇬🇭🇬🇭"

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21. Nanaeffia Boahine
"Honestly kukere is good but I thought he was going to say mr. Flavour Ashawo is loved by everyone...."

**
22. Matushca Précil
"Watching your videos made me realize Hatians are lowkey Africans in North America 😂😂"

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23. Ashley Waweru
"I know how to do that all my Kenyans know that song"

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24. Lilly Yarney
"When I was in Ghana this song was playing all the time"

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25. Nelly
"MA kenyan squad knows what's up"

**
26. George Geri
"Sudanese gang🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸"

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REPLY
27. USG
"Yeah South Sudan I am from there too!!!🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸🇸"

**
28. Curving Them Softly
"Ayyee!! We love you Clifford! lol Ghanaians run this!! Where are my Ghanaians?!! Stand up!! There's nothing touching
our Jollof!!

**
29. Safiya Ummi
"Nigerian squad squad squad!!!💚💚🇳🇬🇳🇬🙌🙌 repping.... lmao...Clifford Crifford Crifford...how many times did I call u (African mums voice)...take this L with ur fellow Ghanaians cos our jollof is still better...Naija wins🙌🙌🇳🇬 the way to a girls heart is by serving her Naija jollof❤❤"

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REPLY
30. John III
"Nigerian Jollof is the best"

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REPLY
31. BlueVaporeon
"Tbh Ghanaian jollof is better..."

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REPLY
32. JessGamer
"oh my days Why can't we just live together as one Nigerians and ghanaians are always debating on which countrys better you're all acting like uncivilized people arguing about which music is better, dance, and now jollof rice what is this world turning into"

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REPLY
33. Stylized! Circus Baby -SL-
"What does the "L" stand for?"

**
REPLY
34. Safiya Ummi
"+Nan ohh sorry i didnt read the previous comments of others i just read urs hahaha i understand now..my close friends are also Ghanaians we argue like this a lot and funny enough they actually like dancing lmao.... +Circus Baby -SL- L stands for Loss"
-snip-
"take an L" is an American {African American?) Vernacular English term. Click ttps://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Taking%20an%20L for definitions for the phrase "take an L"

**
REPLY
35. Mrs ada Adom32, 2017
"yall are both the same I deal with this always especially being married to African yall have very similar ways of cooking and acting I will say Nigerian music is better (now dont tell my husband on me lol) but Ghana food is better especially the jollof Nigerian jollof is to dry now maybe its the Nigerian that cooked it but im rolling with Ghana on this jollof issue I still love both countries and im not from either place"

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REPLY
36. Nona Jamaica, 2017
"Safiya Ummi I've tried Nigerian, Ghanaian and Senegalese jollof but there's just something about the Senegalese jollof😍😍😍. I'm proudly Nigerian tho"

**
37. Olawale Eleso, 2017
"Next he will come out and say... Naija jollof is a derivative of Ghanaian. chai!!! these Ghanaian."
-snip-
This comment alludes to the made up story that Clifford Owusu shared in that vlog about the meaning of the stomping motion in the Eighti dance that is done in the official video for the song "Kukere". Read the comments in this compilation about that story.

**
38. Gledus
"Clifford Owusu is Ghanaian sometimes he speaks twi like Mr cocoyam"

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39. Gina Asamoah
"Clifford is Ghanaian"

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REPLY
40. Adetomi Akintitan
"No he's not he's Nigerian"

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REPLY
41. Crazee Kidz
"+Adetomi Akintitan he's Ghanaian NOT Nigerian"

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REPLY
42. Gina Asamoah, 2017
"owusu is a Ghanaian last name duh"

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REPLY
43. Mfonemana Ekene, 2017
"Gina Asamoah duh.. my foot. there's owusu in Nigeria 2.... open your brain. it's easy for confusion to happen."

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REPLY
44. Yaw Owusu, 2017
"Actually, the Nigerian version is Nwosu. If you know an Owusu in Nigeria, and I'm sure there are many, they could possibly have Nigerian citizenship but of Ghanaian heritage. Just like there are Ghanaian citizens with Yoruba names such as Ayo, Kayede, etc because their families are originally Yoruba."

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45. Unicornfan 246
"I am Togolese but i love that song😃😎"

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REPLY
46. Stella Daboni
"Finally oo I've been looking through the comments for another Togolese lol 😂🇹🇬"

**
47. Benz Abanga
"Forget the division. All of Africa stand up."
-snip-
"Stand up" appears to be a common African [West African?] term that is the equivalent of the African American Vernacular English term "represent"/"reppin" (publicly represent yiyacknowledge and rep

"Stand up" may [also] be a clip of the saying "stand up and be counted".

**
REPLY
48. Nanaeffia Boahine
"Benz Abanga chale what division....Africa stand up lol"
-snip-
*Click http://meghaninghana.blogspot.com/2010/04/chale-ghana-ism-3.html for a discussion of the word "Chale" [pronounced CHAH-lay] in Ghana.
Here's one comment from that discussion:
Toks,August 12, 2010
The word 'chalѐ’ contrary to popular belief is not a Ga word. It came from the American G.I.'s that were stationed in Accra in the 40's during the 2nd World War who would refer to everyone as Charlie during radio transmissions to allied forces. This word being heard by the Ghanaians at the base was taken away and used in their own accent would sound more like Chale than Charlie.

Over the years it has come to be commonly known to mean 'my friend'."
-end of quote-
Note that "chai" is the equivalent slang term to "chale" in Nigeria.

**
49. newawesomefaceman 22
"eh chale I hear this song every single time I go to an African party"

**
50. davina bonsu
"I thought he was gonna say the song Mansa - by Bisa Kdei"

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REPLY
51. stylishnene
"davina bonsu dat song is sweeter n tastier than jollof rice"
-snip-
Here's some information about "jollof rice" from
..."Jollof rice is one of the most common dishes in Western Africa, consumed throughout the regions of Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Mali. There are several regional variations in name and ingredients, with non-local versions regarded as "inauthentic".[1] The name Jollof rice derives from the name of the Wolof people,[6] though in Senegal and Gambia the dish is referred to in Wolof as theibou dienne or benachin. In French-speaking areas, it is called riz au gras. Despite the variations, the dish is "mutually intelligible" across the region, and has spread along with the diaspora to become the best known African dish outside the continent."...
-end of quote-
As found in this compilation, there's a lot of friendly and not so friendly competition-especially between Nigerians and Ghanaians-about which nation makes the best jollof.

**
52. Curving Them Softly
"Ayyee!! We love you Clifford! lol Ghanaians run this!! Where are my Ghanaians?!! Stand up!! There's nothing touching our Jollof!!"

**
53. caramelsweetea1
"I'm American I like this song and the video you did to it"

**
54. Rohanna Parram
"That's my song right there. I knew he was talking about kukere"

**
55. Kennedy Dayshine
"OMG YES I WAS AT A WEDDING (Nigeria wedding) AND MY WHOLE TABLE GOT UP TO THE DANCE FLOOR WHEN THIS SONG PLAYED"

**
56. Cassie Oppong
"The story OMG I'm dead 😂"
-snip-
"I'm dead" here is an African American Vernacular English phrase that is derived from the saying "I died laughing".
-snip-
This comment refers to the made up story that Clifford Owusu shared in the video that the Eighti dance was created by a Nigerian man who traveled to the United States and did a stomping dance while saying "I hate Ghanaians".

From the outside looking in (as an African American), it seems likely that one major reason for the friction between Nigerians and Ghanaians (and Ghanaians and Nigerians) is this history:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana%E2%80%93Nigeria_relations
"Many Nigerians began moving to Ghana after Ghana became the first independent country in the region in 1957. Also in the late 70s many Ghanaians moved to Nigeria as economic migrants. The relationship became sour for various reasons. Thus, under former Ghanaian president Busia's Aliens Compliance Order, Nigerians among other immigrants were forced to leave Ghana as they made up a significant percentage of Ghana's large undocumented population. The official reason for deportation was failing to comply with the immigration laws of the country. In 1983, Nigeria retaliated and deported up to 1 million Ghanaian and other African immigrants when Ghana was facing severe drought and economic problems. This further strained relations between the two countries."...

**
57. Ebere Okereke
"Funny story Clifford, but you know it's not true 😀
The dance is called 'Etighi' and is a traditional dance from the Calabar area of southern Nigeria. Nothing to do with Ghanaians."

**
REPLY
58. Aurélie Kakou
"This dance is actually Seka-seka from Cote d'Ivoire 😎"

**
REPLY
59. Peace Mgboji
"I'm African so yh and it's etighi"

**
REPLY
60. Precious xoxo
"bruhh etighi came from the calabar tribe in Nigeria, iyanya just made it popular"

**
REPLY
61. WILSON EKANEM
"im calabar and akwa ibom he didnt pronounce it well the dance is not the way he pronounced it it saying it wrongly it etikgi not nte"

**
REPLY
62. Kachikwu Somto, 2017
"the 'etigi' not 'entigi' was invented by the akwa iboms that is why those people were dress like that in the video. it was not invented by any tunde because that is a yoruba name and akwa iboms are not related to the yoruba's

**
63. Nseobong Mbebeng, 2017
"The ETIGHI dance is an Efik dance(a Calabar dance). Calabar is the capital of Cross River State in Nigeria. Iyanya is from Calabar. It is more or less a local dance.
Nice one @Clifford. We are proudly Nigerian!!!!"

**
64. Mercy Babs
"IYANA always knows how to pipe up Africans."

**
REPLY
65. Ogechi Obi
"Ikr"
-snip-
"Ikr" is African American Vernacular English for "I know [that's] right" (an expression of agreement with what was just said.]

**
66. nikki
"that song was definitely cracking in the dancehall clubs."
-snip-
The phrase "dancehall clubs" suggests that this commenter is talking about the Caribbean.

**
67. Sterlange Nzeza
Where my Congelese gang at? 🇨🇩

**
REPLY
68. hubbabubbawin
"congolese repping"

**
REPLY
69. violaine muhemedi, 2017
"We hereeeeee🇨🇩🇨🇩🇨🇩🇨🇩"

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REPLY
70. Cafe au lait, 2018
"Sterlange Nzeza, présente !!!"

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71. Guy Enzanga
"That's my JAM at African party's"

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72. Marie Chanel
"dats right this is the tuune"

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73. Muriel Melly
"Côte d'Ivoire Squad"

**
REPLY
74. Leandrea Brown
"I'm Ivorian-American does that count? lol"

**
REPLY
75. Muriel Melly
"+Leandrea Brown​ Ayye I'm Ivorian-Canadian"

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REPLY
76. Janet Akinnuwa
"+Leandrea Brown what does that mean"

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REPLY
77. Muriel Melly
"+SimplyJanet'sLife!​ It means she is an American whos parents come from Ivory Coast"

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REPLY
78. Janet Akinnuwa
"+Muriel Melly alright so I'm Irish and my perants are from Nigeria so that makes me an Irish-nigerian I guess btw thanks

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REPLY
79. Muriel Melly
"+SimplyJanet'sLife!​ Exactly!! Welcome to the African squad 😉😚"

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REPLY
80. Queenie M.
"Ehh my squad!! Ivorian-Canadian in the building!! 🇨🇮🇨🇮"

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REPLY
81. AKAN TRIBESMAN
AKAN SQAUD
-snip-
"Akan" is an ethnic group in Ghana and in the Ivory Coast.

**
REPLY
82. Muriel Melly
"+Adgegbe50 As long as you're African 😄😄 Beside we are all from West Africa"

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REPLY
83. Muriel Melly
"+Adgegbe50 We should unite all Africans & make the ones who are asleep, awake. And we gotta stop dividing each other over ethinicity, language, culture, countries and north Africans must unite with us also"

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REPLY
84. Muriel Melly
"+Adgegbe50 Yas!! In a few years, I truly believe Africa will rise upon!!"

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85. juliete pierre
"any Haitians that know this song too? I do"

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REPLY
86. Frantz Norme
"juliete pierre do we !! all 3 parts premier gaou Karolina! deada$$ ran out the bathroom one time because the DJ had the nerve to play Karolina while I was in there!"
-snip-
"Premier Gaou" and "Karolina" are showcased in Part 1 and Part 2 of Clifford Owusu's vlog series.

**
REPLY
87. Elizabeth Home, 2017
"juliete pierre this song introduce me to the African world, ou nananana"

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REPLY
88. Emmanuela Possible, 2017
"juliete pierre yup all of them !! My African music playlist is deep lol much love for Africa, the mother of all mother lands"

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REPLY
89. imonay, 2017
"I have several playlists with Haitian, and African music! I love my Compas, Zouk, and Azonto. I was living in Arizona. Met a lot of Africans on campus. They took me to this restaurant that plays music, I guess it turns into a club at night. It was like I was at a Haitian party. A lot of the music had French as well, so I understood what they were saying. I also have an idea of what my Africans friends would talk about, some of it sounded a lot like Haitian Creole."

****
2017
90. Natasha Mutopo
"Zimbabwes 🇿🇼🇿🇼"

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REPLY
91. Kim Masiyandima, 2018
"yass girl preach. i am zimbabwean!!!!!!"

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92. Rihanna Xx
"Omg in every party I go to this song is ALWAYS played. I'm even Congolese"

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REPLY
93. PewDie Pie
"yup its played at all African parties i love this song whenever i go to a party this song must be played"

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94. amarachi ukonu
"I actually thought it would be either that song,Azonto or Fuse ODG"

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REPLY
95. JJP, 2018
"amarachi ukonu I thought it would be P Square"

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96. Mimi Chabi
"BENIN 🇧🇯 SQUAD!"

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97. Anthony Baisden
"I love this song and I'm not even African im African American"

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98. siphosenkosi rejoice mpofu
"The Song has married many people in Africa. ... it went viral and it was played at every wedding in Zimbabwe"

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99. AshantiCaltini
"this dude is mad funny"
-snip-
"Mad"
In the context of this comment, "mad" means "very". This is an African American Vernacular English originated meaning.

**
100. Kundai Moyo
"Hahaha its true that song is lit"

**
101. Rena's Glamour
"Cameroon🇨🇲🇨🇲
Anyone? Anyone?
Oh welll Africans should all wave their flags together"
-snip-
"Wave their flags together" probably means "be united as one regardless which African nation you come from".

**
REPLY
102. dorothee michele
"Here here ✋🙋‍♀️, #237 represent"
-snip-
#237 is Cameroon's telephone "area code" ("dialing code")

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REPLY
103. the star
"Right here representing!!✊✊"

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REPLY
104. laure pamela, 2018
"Rena's Glamour here we are"

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105. Sterlange Nzeza
"Where my Congelese gang at? 🇨🇩"

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106. Safi Moss
"🇹🇹 Much love from a Trini who loves this song".
-snip-
"Trini" = Trinidad and Tobago

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107. Genesis laurent
"#congolesesquad"

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108. Lovely Desiral
"I have no clues what this song means but I am always happy whenever it comes on !:)"

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109. Inumiko_youkai
"one song, two words: SISTER BETINA #EnoughSaid"

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110. Geselle
"Even Guyanese love this song.❤💞😭"

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111. Marie Tiaffi2007
"My whole family is from Cameroon in Africa and it is I'm my blood and I am it to and I know this"

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112. Ana Carolina LAZARO CUEVAS
"I'm from the Dominican republic and my sister and I love that song"

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113. Precious Basam
"All my African stand up❤🤗🤗"

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114. Vani Jay
"I knew it! haha that was my second guess. My first was Azonto"

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115. Abdoul Diallo
"Africa's number song is Etat Major- Extra Musica. look it up"

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116. Jenny Tchao
"This song is ALWAYS played at every birthday party my family has. Also any one from Togo 🇹🇬 or just me?"

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117. alocintsruh
"I just happened to stumble across this channel for some reason and clicked on. It has brought me so much joy! LOL! I am African American and I felt the same thing with the songs were playing. LOL!"

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118. lyz18
"How did this dude just pronounce kukere, after all that introduction and you butchered the pronunciation 😜"

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2018
119. Olivia
"I thought that dance step was invented by ivorian, 'Seka Seka'."

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120. Jei Asberry
"I was waiting for it...I LOVE THIS DANG SONG! I WISH they would play this song in a Texas store.... I'd probably get escorted off the premises for starting a Soul Train line in the middle of the aisle!"

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121. Kadiyatu Mayah
"🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷🇱🇷where my Liberians at?"

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REPLY
122. Christine Saamoi
"Kadiyatu Mayah I right hereeeeeee✌🏽🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️🙋🏽‍♀️"

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123. Rowland Davies
"where are the sierra leone people?"

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124. nubianthought69
"You crazy...i got so tired of hearing this song....they played it too much...but you telling the truth!"

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125. rose onyinge
"I know this Pearson he is diamond pla... I am a Kenyan but I know Nigerian, Uganda, all over the Africa"

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126. Anjie Osibodu
"Yes my Nigerians where you at 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬"

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127. Andy kly
"Sick music I use to this in Ghana"
-snip-
"Sick" is an African American Vernacular English term that means "very good".

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128. Mwesh Kmau
"Kenyan gang"

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Comments About The Influence That Caribbean Music Has Had On African Music & Vice Versa (From A YouTube Discussion Thread)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post highlights comments from the discussion thread of Iyanya's song "Kukere" about the influence Caribbean music has had on African music and vice versa.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to Iyanya for his musical contribution that is showcased in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.

Click "http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/09/iyanya-nigerian-afrobeat-song-kukere.html for a previous pancocojams post on Iyanya's "Kukere". That post includes the lyrics to that song and some information about Iyanya and about that song.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Iyanya - Kukere [Official Video]



officialiyanya, Published on May 14, 2012

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SUB-THREAD: CARIBBEAN MUSIC'S INFLUENCE ON AFRICAN MUSIC
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBoV1VSpKLo#t=45.168396

Note: This is the complete sub-thread from that discussion thread as of the date of this post's publication. These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only.

1. Gian Gayle, 2014
"This has nothing to do with black, ancestors, etc... There is no such thing as a" black culture" since Africa is one of the most diverse places in the world, when it comes on to culture, tribes and languages. Caribbean music and dancing is quite popular in Africa. No one can tell me that these modern day Nigerian music and dancing, did not have influence from Caribbean music. I know you will say "whining" is African, yes it is. In a foolish way, our whining is somewhat more advance. I am not talking about that aspect of our culture, for our dancing is not just whining. I am talking about their movements. West Indian culture is a melting pot of different cultures. Do not tell me we got our dances and rhythms influences from Africa only! For to take something from another country, would be like a replica (cultural wise). We have influences from Africa, yes. Along with many other cultural influences from all around the world. In the end, we created our own identity with the "melting pot".Admit the fact that Our Caribbean culture has influence on modern day Nigerian music. "

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2. IAMTOLANI31, 2014
"Other way around mate"

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3. emperor8483, 2014
"well as a Nigerian, i understand what you mean but this particular song has no Caribbean influence, also Caribbean music is well influenced by African instruments and sounds which is FACT and yes some Nigerian music have samples of Caribbean beats e.g bam bam, when it comes to dancing lol the basics of almost every Caribbean dance is from African, e.g one drop(Jamaica), is traditionally known as etighi in southeast Nigeria, you can see the girls in this video doing the traditional dance with traditional attire. assuming this comment was made in a video that actually have samples of Caribbean music, i would have known that you knew what you were talking about but because this song sounded like what you hear in the Caribbean you thought it was influenced by Caribbean music while the reverse is the case. Truth of the matter is that a lot of Caribbeans and Americans have a lot to learn about Africa."

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4. alima ABDOULAYE, 2014
"Do you know where the caribbean population is originated from??????"

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5. Scopps94, 2014
"Your comment is very bias and toxic. Your concept is all jumbled, yes you have pride in your islands. But don't come on here and try and claim ownership of the style of music and dance.
Just stop. Caribbeans love this song, leave it to that and shut up with your shenanigans please, it's ridiculous."

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6. Scopps94, 2014
"And also To me The Caribbean islands are nothing more than just African occupation."

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7. alima ABDOULAYE, 2014
"Thank you Scopps94.teach him some history"

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8. stargyal shabine, 2014
"are u serious gian gayle? smh"

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9. Mike Weller, 2014
"Seriously Gian Gale! Dah weh kinda schtupedness you di taak bwai.
Now you translate that if you can buddy!"

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10. superAweber, 2014
"I'm Nigerian. I think people genuinely don't know. So they can't admit what they don't know. I know you're right because I heard Nigerian music in the 80s. To my ears it was lacking. I heard old latin-american inspired Congolese pop from the 1960s when I was a kid. So I had already heard latin beats in African music and I loved it. Later in the UK, I searched and searched for this kind of music. I listened to Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian music and a bit of Soca. (I still have a CD called Africa to Cuba - it's like a precursor to Afrobeats). 20 years later I found exactly what I was looking for in Afrobeats and I love it the most. But younger people have no idea that Afrobeats rhythms are inspired from Latin (ie Spanish) American percussion and also a bit of the Carribean. They don't know and can't know because they aren't widely musically educated. But it's no big deal! The artists don't hide it! In a few songs they even sing in Jamaican patois! Timaya's beat sometimes sounds like 100% soca. The arrangement in "Sanko" is partly Jamaican, with that interlude near the end. In Flavour's song "Ashawo" the melody is straight, 100% from a Cuban song "Peanut Seller". Wizkid has a song "Only one she wants" which is a cover of a song by Popcaan (Jamaican I think?). Burna Boy raps in patois as well as pidgin. Again people can't know if they're not musically exposed. Probably any of the older Nigerians who lived abroad for a while would know this.

The other influences are from French West Africa and Congo. Different artists take influence from a specific area. I gave examples above. This particular artist, Inyanya, often has French West African sounds and rhythms in his music.

Oh before someone misunderstands. I'm not saying they're *copying. Afrobeats is a *fusion of Nigerian plus many different influences. That *fusion is new and unique and it's a big achievement and probably very hard to do."

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11. DonCapoeira, 2014
"+superAweber
Still if you listen to the guitar music and background guitar rhythm, there is a distinctive Highlife influence, almost purely so. To discount that completely is to rob Nigeria of it's musical past and act as though it did not exist. Go listen to highlife and afrobeat music from artists like Fela. I hear more Highlife than Carribean in this. Maybe some of the way they structure beats might have some dancehall influence but the sound is African purely. If you're truly Nigerian then this should be obvious to you. I'm Nigerian and American and grew up listening to all types of music from hip hop to dancehall/reggae, to my parents highlife collection.

There are even Carribean ppl who think that Ashawo (which is a word-for-word and beat-for-beat remake of Sawale from the 1950s) is a remake of a Jamaican song from the 1980s. Come on Nigerian music has been evolving on it's own with some outside influences but we had our own sound for quite some time. The only reason why noone heard it until recently is the same reason many Americans never watched soccer until recently, lack of access to it. Itunes and Youtube have connected us and given Nigerians access to new markets with their own music, something that Jamaicans (due to their proximity to the US) have benefited from for decades."

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12. superAweber, 2014
"+DonCapoeira Please, please don't create create a "straw man" position that I never took. I never said there's no Nigerian influence. What I'm contesting is the attitude that there is no Carribean or latin influence whatsoever.

Reposting my last sentence: "Oh before someone misunderstands. I'm not saying they're *copying. Afrobeats is a *fusion of Nigerian plus many different influences. That *fusion is new and unique and it's a big achievement and probably very hard to do."

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13. davies99313, 2014
"And where did your own influence in Caribbean music come from, since it must come from somewhere else that is not in your locality? Presently people are gradually digging up old things from their cultures while searching for inspiration that could help them bring out new things. This music was created from Etighi dance of the Efiks. Iyanya himself said it on an interview, that he just decided to go back to this traditional dance 'Etighi' that has been existing in his culture since time immemorial. You can even hear him mention etighi in this song if I really heard him clearly. You also need to note that the bulk of diverse African or let's just say the bulk of the diverse Nigerian traditional music can never be exhausted in the near future. Do you know the uncountable number of traditional melodic and rhythmic styles in each ethnic group that are yet to be explored and exploited for show biz? It's true that sometimes Africans and Carribeans sound similar but it's also easy to explain because your music took off from the African music. Most of the sounds I hear in the Nigerian music presently are mainly sounds I can easily relate to certain traditional music. Many of yours too I can also relate them to some traditional African music I know. I however still believe that there is some level of external influences both from Africa and outside Africa but not to the degree you guys do try to project, as if though Africans could never do anything on their own. Moreover you owe African music far more than you can claim Africans owe you."

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14. kicha cooper,2014
"Carribean music has his whole influence from africa , the slaves from africa were brought to Carribean to work for white people - carribean music is african music u fool"

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15. Khadijah Henry, 2014
"+alima ABDOULAYE Do you? Lemme guess, you think we just originate from Africa right? Lol. You clearly missed the whole 'melting pot' analogy stated in the original comment."

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16. oprah7, 2015
"+Gian Gayle lol What? Jamaicans came from Nigeria and Ghana. I'm Jamaican I know my history. Our music and dance was influenced by only africa no other countries. Our food was influenced by india with curry, but mostly African. smh what melting pot? Out of many one people was an ideology not a fact. When that statement was written the country was over 97% black, now it's slightly more mixed and people want to call us a melting pot? I only use jamaica because it has the largest influence in the Caribbean. Please take a class at your local university on Caribbean studies and learn your facts. - a Jamaican"

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17. davies99313, 2015
"Curry is also used in African dishes. I saw my Jamaican friends eating a local food and it was almost entirely prepared the way my culture does; both the ingredients and the food and also for similar nutritional reasons as in my culture"

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18. Diplomatic Worrior, 2015
"You are definitely one of the arrogant and stupidly ignorant Caribbean people with little knowledge of history. Africa was in existence before Caribbean was created.

Caribbean people are more than average the people of African descent
The few minority of Caribbean (British, French, Hispanics and native Indians)"

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19. oriolori89, 2015
"+Gian Gayle who are you again? shut up idiot our music has nothing to do with some nonentity island culture [profanity phrase abbreviations deleted]? you are an idiot"

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20. Abraham Malu, 2015
"+Khadijah Henry, why don't you point out the European, Amerindian, East Indian and Chinese influences in Caribbean music since you are a melting pot of all those cultures? Am curious."

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21. Abraham Malu, 2015
"+davies99313 , there some East Indians in Africa too. Curry is Indian."

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22. davies99313, 2015
"+Abraham Maru You don't know what you are talking about. You have curry and we have curry too. So stop talking what you don't know."
-snip-
This is the end of that sub-thread to date [March 24, 2017; 8:25 PM]. However, there were additional comments on that discussion thread that referenced the subject of that sub-thread and/or referred to one or more commenters in that discussion. Here are three of those comments to date [given without any numbers assigned.)

jenntopp1, 2014
"Caribbean music, and even a lot of South American music has its origins from African beats, that's why black music crosses the board, to argue otherwise is just plain stupid, know your TRUE history and forget what the western schools and the media is teaching you."

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ShardaeAlisha, 2014
"I swear every African song or music video has someone comparing Caribbeans to Africans. Alot of Caribbeans were slaves from West Africa hence why there are similarities in dancing and music. We need to stop dividing ourselves. Enjoy the music"

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Asedri Amin Amin, 2014
+Gian Gayle It's so sad you do not have an academic understanding to compare Caribbeans to continental Africa when it comes to culture! For you to think Caribbean culture influences Nigerian music, is the same like saying your stinky [profanity deleted] ass look like the British, Franch or Indian who were in the island before your great grandparents! The British and Frenchman did not want the slaves to be taught in anyway or other! The Indian culture was totally subliminally, How exactly did the Caribbeans archive multi racial culture? They were left ignorant until this day. Alot of Africans accepted Bab Marley musical talent because of the massage it carries, but not for geniuses in music industry! Behind doors Africa is interacting with Caribbeans, honestly we don't give a [profanity deleted] if Caribbean exist or cease to exist 😄😃😃😃😃😃😃😃"

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