Man, have you realized that more than half of 2015 has gone by in a flash. I still remember January like it was yesterday. Okay I’m exaggerating but damn! Time flies for real.
December is fast approaching and album/mixtape season in “The220” is almost here. The season usually begins late October right through November and climaxing in December with maybe a drop or two in January.
Already the clamor for attention is slowly picking up steam in Gambian social media circles but I doubt if we’ll get to witness what I call the Gee-Manding ColdWar of 2014. Forget beef, that’s demeaning to the epic stealth moves and counter-moves that were being made by both camps albeit some things being absolutely unnecessary. Personally, this was probably one of the most interesting phases of my involvement in urban Gambian music. Eventually both events did some amazing numbers and that, to me, is one indicator of how much the Gambian industry has evolved.
Well its 2015 and we are also looking forward to some major releases from a few heavyweights but I can bet my last bite of “mbuuro akara” that if there should be another Gee-Manding style rift, none would escalate to the larger-than-life proportions of the “ColdWar”.
So far, I can easily count ten albums/mixtapes to be released this season and the jostling for dates and venues has been ongoing behind the scenes for quite a while now. I have been privy to a few date-and-venue shuffles already but the good thing is they are being resolved amicably. I don’t know about you but I’m kinda dreading the littering of social media timelines with posters, flyers etc. I know its hypocritical coming from someone who does exactly that but dangaa waaru.
In the mix of venue-and-date clashes are the “other” events happening mostly in December. They include not only the “Gambian December” events like the Open Mic Festival, Blaque Magique and FashionWeekendGambia but also the “mbalax” shows like Wally Seck, Pap Diouf and other theme parties usually held in nightclubs.
All in all, The Gambia is a highly exciting place to be especially during this period. This is when the cliché ‘party till you drop’ becomes real.
December is fast approaching and album/mixtape season in “The220” is almost here. The season usually begins late October right through November and climaxing in December with maybe a drop or two in January.
Already the clamor for attention is slowly picking up steam in Gambian social media circles but I doubt if we’ll get to witness what I call the Gee-Manding ColdWar of 2014. Forget beef, that’s demeaning to the epic stealth moves and counter-moves that were being made by both camps albeit some things being absolutely unnecessary. Personally, this was probably one of the most interesting phases of my involvement in urban Gambian music. Eventually both events did some amazing numbers and that, to me, is one indicator of how much the Gambian industry has evolved.
Well its 2015 and we are also looking forward to some major releases from a few heavyweights but I can bet my last bite of “mbuuro akara” that if there should be another Gee-Manding style rift, none would escalate to the larger-than-life proportions of the “ColdWar”.
So far, I can easily count ten albums/mixtapes to be released this season and the jostling for dates and venues has been ongoing behind the scenes for quite a while now. I have been privy to a few date-and-venue shuffles already but the good thing is they are being resolved amicably. I don’t know about you but I’m kinda dreading the littering of social media timelines with posters, flyers etc. I know its hypocritical coming from someone who does exactly that but dangaa waaru.
In the mix of venue-and-date clashes are the “other” events happening mostly in December. They include not only the “Gambian December” events like the Open Mic Festival, Blaque Magique and FashionWeekendGambia but also the “mbalax” shows like Wally Seck, Pap Diouf and other theme parties usually held in nightclubs.
All in all, The Gambia is a highly exciting place to be especially during this period. This is when the cliché ‘party till you drop’ becomes real.