Soul Makossa: Difference between revisions
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"Soul Makossa" was originally recorded as a B-side for "Mouvement Ewondo," a song about Cameroon's [[association football]] team.<ref name='world'>{{cite book | last = Broughton | first = Simon | authorlink = | coauthors = Mark Ellingham | title = World Music: The Rough Guide | publisher = Rough Guides | date = 2000 | location = | pages = 441 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> |
"Soul Makossa" was originally recorded as a B-side for "Mouvement Ewondo," a song about Cameroon's [[association football]] team.<ref name='world'>{{cite book | last = Broughton | first = Simon | authorlink = | coauthors = Mark Ellingham | title = World Music: The Rough Guide | publisher = Rough Guides | date = 2000 | location = | pages = 441 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = }}</ref> |
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It is probably best remembered for the chanted vocal [[refrain]] "Mama-ko, mama-sa, mama-ma-ko- |
It is probably best remembered for the chanted vocal [[refrain]] "Mama-ko, mama-sa, mama-ma-ko-ssa", which was also used in [[Michael Jackson]]'s 1983 "[[Wanna Be Startin' Somethin']]" (albeit in a different key and time signature) during the song's final [[Bridge (music)|bridge]]. Dibango's lawyers obtained compensation in an out-of-court settlement claiming Jackson had stolen the chorus from Dibango. |
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It is also sampled in the hip hop song "Face Off" by artist [[Jay-Z]] on his album ''[[In My Lifetime, Vol. 1]]'' as well as the single "[[Don't Stop the Music (Rihanna song)|Don't Stop the Music]]" by [[Rihanna]]. |
It is also sampled in the hip hop song "Face Off" by artist [[Jay-Z]] on his album ''[[In My Lifetime, Vol. 1]]'' as well as the single "[[Don't Stop the Music (Rihanna song)|Don't Stop the Music]]" by [[Rihanna]]. |
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"Makossa" means "I dance" in Duala, |
"Makossa" means "(I) dance" in [[Duala]], a [[Cameroon]]ian language.<ref>[http://www.inst.at/trans/13Nr/echu13.htm TRANS Nr. 13: George Echu (Yaounde): Multilingualism as a Resource: the Lexical Appropriation of Cameroon Indigenous Languages by English and French<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 18:26, 13 March 2008
"Soul Makossa" is a 1972 single by Cameroonian makossa saxophonist Manu Dibango. It is often cited as one of the first disco records.[1] In 1972 David Mancuso found a copy in a Brooklyn West Indian record store and often played it at his Loft parties.[2] The response was so positive that the few copies of "Soul Makossa" in New York City were quickly bought up.[2] The song was subsequently played heavily by Frankie Crocker, who DJed at WBLS, then New York's most popular Black radio station.[2] Since the original was now unfindable, 23 or more groups quickly released cover versions to capitalize on the demand for the record.[2] Atlantic eventually licensed the song from the French record label Fiesta.[2] Their release of it peaked at #35 on the Billboard chart in 1973; in 1999 Dave Marsh wrote that it was "the only African record by an African" to crack the top 40.[3] At one point there were nine different versions of the song in the Billboard chart.[4] It became "a massive hit" internationally as well.[4]
"Soul Makossa" was originally recorded as a B-side for "Mouvement Ewondo," a song about Cameroon's association football team.[4]
It is probably best remembered for the chanted vocal refrain "Mama-ko, mama-sa, mama-ma-ko-ssa", which was also used in Michael Jackson's 1983 "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (albeit in a different key and time signature) during the song's final bridge. Dibango's lawyers obtained compensation in an out-of-court settlement claiming Jackson had stolen the chorus from Dibango. It is also sampled in the hip hop song "Face Off" by artist Jay-Z on his album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 as well as the single "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna. "Makossa" means "(I) dance" in Duala, a Cameroonian language.[5]
References
- ^ The History of Rock Music - The Seventies
- ^ a b c d e Shapiro, Peter. Turn the Beat Around: the Secret History of Disco. New York: Faber and Faber, Inc., 2005., 35.
- ^ Marsh, Dave. "The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made". Da Capo Press, 1999., 548
- ^ a b c Broughton, Simon (2000). World Music: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides. p. 441.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ TRANS Nr. 13: George Echu (Yaounde): Multilingualism as a Resource: the Lexical Appropriation of Cameroon Indigenous Languages by English and French