The man from Bongo
The name, Bongo Soe is not one that may sound familiar to many people but the small village from the Upper East region has produced well known musicians such as King Ayisoba and the new Kologo player to come from that part of the country is Shake Bongo.
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The artiste, who has been playing with King Ayisoba as a backing vocalist for many years describes himself as a protégé of the latter who wants to project the culture, traditions, customs and image of the people of Bongo Soe in his music.
He is out with his debut album, Speak the Truth, which was launched at the Articulator Station, Circle, in Accra on December 27.
The seven track album which has songs such as, Bad People, No Vote For You, Sika Fa Asem Ba, Bayhnonyataba, They Can’t Rule Me, Speak the Truth and John Chapter 5 talks about the misdeeds in the society that have hindered its growth.
For Shake Bongo, whose time as a backing vocalist for King Ayisoba has seen him travel to many countries to perform and to interact with people from varied backgrounds, warns people to be wary of the evil machinations of those they call friends.
He warns that, there are many bad people scattered all over the world ready to pounce on others for their selfish gains and as such, it is important that we mark out such bad people.
He takes a different path on Speak the Truth when he addresses the need for people to uphold the virtue of truth speaking since it is the “greatest weapon to tame the enemy”.
On Bayhnonyataba, which was rendered in his native frafra language, Shake Bongo calls on people to love each other. All the songs were composed by Shake Bongo and arranged by Bongo Livity Music production.
In an interview with Showbiz last week Tuesday, Shake decried the lack of attention given to the traditional style of music like Kologo and said that, he wouldn’t be discouraged by that since his genre of music had mass appeal outside the country.
“Many people do not know that Kologo players are in high demand in the big countries in the world. The people there want to hear something traditional, African and quite different from what they hear every day. And that is why I am hopeful for a huge market outside,” he said.
Shake Bongo, who lauded the efforts of other Kologo players such as Ayuume, Suley, Agongo and Stevoo, took a swipe at the Musicians Union Of Ghana for their improper administrative structures which he said have been a bane on efforts of some hardworking musicians.
