Ghanaian media and music star, Trigmatic has noted how his new ‘Ghana Yo’ song was heavy for him.
The Highlife/Amapiano record features Ghanaian Highlife icon of worldwide repute Ebo Taylor, 88, and South African star, Epic Minds.
Trigmatic revealed that he approached ‘Ghana Yoo’ with such sensitivity he designed two verses and settled on the last one for the final cut. He explained it was because of the weight of his collaborator Ebo Taylor’s legacy.
“The first time, I felt like I rushed it. I felt like, ‘It’s Ebo Taylor [and I need to do better]’. You have no idea how I eulogize Ebo Taylor. Ebo Taylor is a master of the art.”
Trigmatic
To underline Ebo Taylor’s significance to music, especially in West Africa, he noted his influence on Afrobeat icon Fela Kuti of Nigeria.
“Seun Kuti has said quite several times that Ebo Taylor is the grandfather of Afrobeat,” Trigmatic added. “And I know it’s because Fela worked with Uncle Ebo at a point.”
Trigmatic revealed when he first met Ebo Taylor at Felabration in Nigeria, “some five or six years ago,” he was being followed by “Aljazeera and a few international people”.
“I hadn’t seen him before,” he confessed, explaining it was his drummer who identified Ebo Taylor to him.
Trigmatic said once “I started getting into his songs,” he was amazed by the depth of talent and significance Ebo Taylor had especially internationally. Among other things, he noted music superstars like Usher, Ludacris, Kelly Rowland, and others had sampled Ebo Taylor’s music.
“He’s had so many wins that I’d want to be able to achieve, so I wanted to tap into his blessing. I followed him for a while and at the last but one Osagyefo Night, we decided to honor him because he deserves it. He also called and asked me to come to his hometown, Saltpond, so I perform at a festival he was trying to create. Which I did willingly.”
Trigmatic
The entrepreneur said he assured Ebo Taylor he was not looking forward to receiving any money, saying: “Anything for you.”
“I was humbled to share the same stage with Ebo Taylor for Felabration, Nigeria, and another in Ghana, also, the curator of the Osagyefo Night, meant to celebrate Pan-Africanist and Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah.”
Trigmatic
Trigmatic showed immense gratitude for how “mind-blowing” it had been to work with some of the greats in music from around the world during “this part of my career”.
“These are people, I’m sure, my dad was listening to or I never would have thought I’d meet,” the multiple award-winning singer-songwriter and rapper said.
Singer on Curation of ‘My Life’ Remix After Disappointment
Trigmatic revealed that “We didn’t get a lot of good feedback,” when ‘My Life’ was sent out to artistes for a remix collaboration.
He indicated the invitation went out to “new” artists like Kuami Eugene, KiDi, King Promise, and others, however, only “King Promise responded”.
The multiple award-winning rapper, singer-songwriter, and media personality stated that originally, he had been led by his desire for the remix’s commercial success “as a business person”. Eventually, however, he added, he had to mind the “spiritual” nature of the song and settled for conscious artists: Worlasi, Ayisi, and M.anifest.
“Ultimately, I wanted someone who could connect with the song and not someone who would be forced to do a verse. So I left it open. Thus, recognizing when it comes to artistry, vocally, and whatever, I respect Worlasi and Ayisi. I gave them the song to see their reaction.”
Trigmatic
“With M.anifest, we had always said we needed to work on something together,” the entrepreneur and founder of the African Music Business Dialogue explained.
Noting Worlasi’s excitement to be on the song, Trigmatic, also, revealed, “M.anifest gave his verse in a few days.”
He said apart from the vocal performers, as a matter of serendipity, a Danish saxophonist and Ghanaian flutist joined the song.
“The day we were actually mixing the song, my friends from Denmark were in town [including] Katrine Suwalski, so the saxophone was played live, the guitars were played live, and also the legendary Dela Botri, did flutes live. They were in the studio so when they heard it, they instantly wanted to jump on it. It’s the reason I say that the song is quite spiritual and it’s very loaded.”
Trigmatic
The final cut for ‘My Life’ Remix, he emphasized was a product of “divine” orchestration and “intentional” decision-making.
The original My Life (2010) won Trigmatic his first Ghana Music Award for Best Rapper in 2011.
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