I had the pleasure of watching Gokhi-Bi System (GBS, pronounced Go-Bee) perform at Prospect Park, Brooklyn, a couple of summers ago. Their performance which was a mixture of urban sounds with traditional west African roots was so impressive that I never forgot them. Their words, their movement and their performance showed them to be a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, the world is recognizing this, as they get heavy play on TV Stations like BETJ and VH1-Soul.

Meet the Senegalese hip hop princes Gokhi-Bi System

Pammy: Why Hip hop?

GBS: Hip hop is closer to our realities as youths from Africa. Hip hop represents the voiceless in our society. Hip hop is about our life. In fact, we are hip hop.

Pammy: As we all know, hip hop originated from the U.S.A? What is the difference between your brand of hip hop and those performed in Africa, in the United States and other places?

GBS: I believe we are taking it to the next level by incorporating the old and the new. We have Sana using the ekonting which is one of the ancient instruments from Africa which symbolizes peace. We are trying to bring the old and the new together. The major difference between our hip hop and others is that: we are principled hip hop artists. We are here to spread a message about love, peace, justice and unity just like the griots from Africa.

Pammy: On that note, what do you consider your musical mission as being?

GBS: Our mission is to share our knowledge, to bring peace and to spread love and to talk about justice.

Pammy: Do you have any plans to collaborate with any artist in the near future?

GBS: We will be collaborating with dead prez. We are excited about that. To us, hip hop artists like Dead prez and Talib Kweli represents real hip hop. These are people who only care about the message. We will also love to work with Daara J from Senegal. They are a phenomenal group and I am proud of how far they have gone.

Pammy: We have many artists going to Africa to perform on social issue platforms. Do you believe music can create changes?

GBS: Music is an expressive explosion of reality. Being able to understand the core center of music within the emotional space can create a change. I remember growing up in the slums of Dakar, Senegal, we used to listen to Bob Marley and cry without understanding his words, and we just knew he was talking about our reality. We could understand his words at a subconscious level. Music is a universal language and can change one’s philosophy of the world. Music is a weapon.

Pammy: Some say that hip hop is dead – what do you think of that statement?

GBS: Some would say that: if they only look at commercialized hip hop music that talks about girls, money, cars, jewelry and the rivalry that exists between several hip hop factions. When one looks at that they might believe hip hop is dead but you have underground hip hop artists who are real and their message is about social issues. So, no, hip hop is not COMPLETELY dead.

Pammy: Aha, you mentioned girls – how do you deal with the groupies that flock over after shows?

GBS: All members of GBS are spiritually grounded – we are all Muslims. We understand that these girls do not love us rather they love the music that we play. For some, they love the idea of being associated with a musician. Keeping those thoughts in mind, we make sure that we do NOT get involved with groupies.

Pammy: How do your significant others deal with your career?

GBS: We have been blessed to have people in our lives who understand that music is our first love. As such, they do not view our careers as an enemy to the relationship rather they do all they can to help us realize our dreams. When we chose our women, we chose people who we knew Loved what we do and loved music.

Pammy: Do you listen to other kinds of music outside of hip hop?

GBS: Yes, we do. We listen to primarily West African traditional music because that is our back ground. Before, we discovered hip hop, our message was being spread through griots (traditional story tellers), who performed for money. Our roots are still in West Africa.

Pammy: Do you have any new cds coming out soon?

GBS: Yes, we have Rap Tassu and that should be out before the end of the year.

EXTRAS:

A sample of GBS:

Senegal, West Africa is one of the greatest exporters of hip hop music in Africa. Ekonting is an instrument played by only very few people in the world and Sana ( a member of GBS) is considered as one of the best players in the world. Playing the Ekonting as well as being a griot is part of one’s heritage, that is, it passes on within the same family from generation to generation.

Video:

More information about GBS is available at www.myspace.com/gokhbi

Related posts:

1. Kaysha on AfricanLoft
2. Up Close and Personal With Kelly Khumalo
3. Bamboo – Kenyan Hip-Hop Artist on AfricanLoft
4. Wrap It Up With Uru
5. Nayo: The Next Sade Adu?
6. Cynthia Mare: Sexy, Sultry and Sassy
7. Audius Mtawarira on a Mission of Love