Liberian music is a cultural force that never ceases to electrify me, thanks to artists like Solomon "Friday The Cellphone Man" Smith. This multi-faceted musician from the Grebo tribe graces the scene with his unique use of vocal harmony and song structure, to his ever-evolving style, mixing American harmonies with West African language, all the while -- honing in on roots that serve as the foundation for real Liberian sounds.
Friday’s music moves from person to person, community to community and continent to continent. There’s something so undeniably infectious that bares witness to the incredible journey of vibrant, inventive and resilient people. He carries the ancestors with him adapting musical traditions along the way to bring forth something in a word, “untrodden.” Rooted in the extreme experience of universal human condition, his music speaks passionately to people everywhere.
This Liberian musician is without a doubt making his countrymen proud by showing how their music is significantly making waves beyond the shores of Africa.
When I listen to a track and prepare to write about an artist, I seek the it factor --- that thing you can’t quite put into words. It’s almost as if you are innately tuning in -- floating on water – riding the wave, while time -- as we know it, has stopped. A transcendence moment. It was like that as I listened to The Biggest Mistake for the first time. Echoes of influence of the African Diaspora resonated around and through me. The incorporation of the complexities of the world music scene reverberated, exuding it’s own unique creation of the world in color.
I was thrilled to discover the threads that trace African culture through music could still be found today -- in musical forms across the Diaspora and beyond.
Click here to discover more about Friday D'Legend.
For bookings contact Saytue Saye @ 770-549-2305
Follow this author on Twitter @EOTMPR
コメント