M3nsa’s Ten Essential
African Love Songs
+ ‘Fanti Love Song’ Remix
feat Terri Walker
(Exclusive First Listen)
For international love day we asked Ghanaian MC and producer M3nsa (also one half of FOKN Bois) to curate a list of ten essential African love songs. He dug deep, reaching across the decades to indulge our collective nostalgia. Look out for the never heard before remix of his Fanti Love Song featuring Terri Walker right up top!
Alhaji K Frimpong – Obi Agye Mi Dofo (They Took My Lover From Me)
One of the funkiest heartbreak songs I’ve ever heard. I clearly remember as a kid watching the older folk jam to this song at EVERY party! Just imagine a 35-year-old lady in her kaba and slit, nursing the same bottle of star beer for over an hour, moving gracefully on the dance floor to Alhaji lament about how he’s turned to the bottle to help him cope with life. Hahaa! The emotion is a combination of facial expressions and the gentle sway of hips and insertion of her personal situation (usually mentioning her lover’s name in discord over the song ending with ”ooh ooh”) and repeatedly giving shout outs to ‘uncle’ behind the sound system. This song is nothing but good memories chale!
CK Mann – Fa W’akuma Mami (Give me your heart)
Where do I start? CK Mann is by far one of my favourite song writers. I’ve always wished I could write like him in Fanti. The song is very poetic and he displays a vulnerable yet honest trait that most (African) men are not popular for, and does it with such skill. And you don’t have to understand what he’s saying to appreciate it either. This may be lost in translation but he says some shit like ”Life would be fucked up without a love like yours to balance it all out” Haha! Obviously, more sensually but you get the gist! I love this guy as an all-round musician chale!
Dr Paa Bobo – Comfort
OK I won’t say much, this song is purely for ‘representin” purposes! Anyone around my age growing up in Ghana around the time I was there should know this. I mean the few English words he speaks in the beginning should sum it up!
Kojo Antwi – Dadie Anoma (Iron Bird or Airplane)
”Let this Iron Bird take this love letter to my love”. I’m not a big Kojo Antwi fan but this is the ultimate 80′s love song! I asked a couple of mates of mine about their favorite African love songs and this song came up every time. I actually remember hearing this song with my dad in his car as a kid. He asked me how I knew the words to it and rest is a whole nother story. Basically ended with ”You need to focus on your books and read more your on spare time.” (hater!) Mind you, I was only about 9 or 10 years old.
Yvonne Chaka – From Me To You
This song was a smash hit! Period! I don’t even know if it was a ”love song” per se but I can call out a few people who jacked lyrics from this song to woo some poor naive secondary school girl. Never mind all of that, Yvonne Chaka is gorgeous! And I’ve been crushing on her since day one.
Nayanka Bell – Maria
One more song from the 80′s and this is essential! I have no idea what this song is about but I was deeply in love with her and that’s what matters. So to me it’s a love song. Now allow this song to bring back memories you didn’t know still existed in your brain somewhere!
VIP – Obaa Sweetie
This for me is one of VIP’s greatest songs to date, I was actually around when this song was made in Nana King’s Studio in DC. And this is why I might be biased, but then again I was privy to the production of another album of theirs at DKB studios back in the early 2000′s. Amazing album also but this one does it for me. Obaa Sweetie beautifully merges annoying midi sounds and a snare that sends dogs howling with such an earthy and heartfelt performance by the boys! I’m yet to meet anyone who didn’t like this song when it first came out!! Absolute dance-floor filler, highlife or hip-life… Bring it!
Reggie Rockstone – Sweetie Sweetie
My list would be incomplete without one of Ghana’s most prolific MCs, never mind him being the godfather of hip-life music. This song had the whole young nation at a stand still! New sound, new movement, super cool, braggadocios and just FUNKY! From the sample to the delivery and the timing of its release! I mean this guy is saying things you only hear the elders in the Ashanti region say in Akan in the funniest most contemporary way. Every girl wanted to be Reggie’s Sweetie Sweetie!
This is the remix by MA, who produced the album title track for No.1 Mango street
Nothing beats the original though.
Asa – Eye Adaba
I don’t ever want to find out what this song is about. Just in case she’s talking about guppies washing aprons by the Nile river after fighting for British troops in the first world war. I’d be VERY disappointed. All I ask is that you listen to this song by Asa and go fall in love with something, anything. But you will fall in love…with the song also.
M3nsa – Fanti Love song Remix featuring Terri Walker
I’ve always been a fan of Miss Walker’s work, I think I probably even had a crush on her back in the day, We’d bumped into each other on a few random occasions (once she actually gave me directions to a video shoot in the middle of nowhere)
Then when we met again in preparation for the Africa Express Sound System for Standon Festival last year and we just hit it off. We actually wrote a couple of songs together for that event and I knew there had to be another opportunity for us to work in the studio.
When I eventually invited her to my studio for Fanti Love Song’s remix I had no idea how it was going to pan out. I just lured her with the promise of Jollof rice and she caught the bait! Twenty minutes into the session and it was already magical! I love working with (talented) professionals.Download the brand new FOKN Bois album Fokn Wit Ewe here.
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