Cheerier Look at Dark Continent

Tomorrow’s Life What recession? Lapping up the Northern exposure – How the iPhone luxury at French Alps resort C7 director Peter Chan on is joining the fight his ‘move’ to Beijing Screen against acne Beauty ARTS TRAVEL DIVERSIONS ON AIR www.scmp.com SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010 C Cheerier look at dark continent ...................................................... which she began writing when she Evelyne Aka Hip pop, hooray was 17, on a time before the fighting. Marguerite Abouet’s hugely popular Born from these memories, Aya series of books, centred on the life of and her friends Bintou, Adjoua and a young woman in a cheerful Ivory Moussa tell stories of Ivorian Coast suburb, show an Africa far families and culture. While the from stereotypes of war and disease. heroine aims to become a doctor, After splitting in 2003, LMF (left) are The characters in Aya of Bintou and Adjoua want to be spreading the word again. Their Yopougon grapple with everyday hairdressers, seamstresses or expletive-filled songs were shunned issues such as love, family, growing “husband hunters”, and daddy’s boy by radio, TV and the government but up, pregnancy and marriage. The Moussa only wants to have fun. paved the way for commercial acts comic is set mostly in a Abidjan “The bit that’s real is Yopougon, such as the duo Fama (below) suburb that is colourfully illustrated the joie de vivre that is everywhere,” by Abouet’s partner, Frenchman the writer says. “Me, I’m Akissi, Aya’s Clement Oubrerie. little sister.” “We call it ‘Yop City’, like in an The first book was published in American film,” says young Aya in 2005 to acclaim. The following year one of the five comic-book novels. it took the prize for best first book at “With Aya, the aim is that after the International Comics Festival in four pages you no longer think Angouleme in western France. you’re in Africa but in a story which “My life has changed,” Abouet could be anywhere in the world,” says. “I stopped my job as a legal says Abouet, 38, who lives in Paris assistant. I’m lucky enough to be but often returns to Ivory Coast. chased after by publishers.” With more than 300,000 copies She says that in her country most sold, translations into 12 languages, children can’t afford to buy the an array of prizes and a film on the novels she has set in their midst. way, the adventures of young Aya This has led her to create a and her friends and family are a hit. foundation named Books for All that Abouet was born in Abidjan’s opens libraries in Africa and Yopougon district, where she has set encourages reading: the first has the books that feature brightly opened in Adjame, a poor district of dressed characters, dusty roads and Abidjan, and she hopes to open one community living. When she was 12, in her native Yopougon. she was sent to live in France with an “A house, a bar and a church – uncle who was worried she would that’s how things are right now. So end up “hanging out in the street adding a library to the mix will make barefoot and playing football”, the children realise there’s more to she says. life than the church or the bar,” The colder climes of Paris were a Abouet says. wrench for a young girl from her part An animated film based on of sunny Africa. Aya’s adventures is due for release “At 12 years old, you’re already next year. grown up, you know plenty of ...................................................... things. I just needed to close my Agence France-Presse eyes and I’d be back in Yopougon,” she says. In Europe Abouet discovered, through television, an Africa that was different to that of her peaceful 1970s childhood. “It’s always the same subjects – Aids, immigration, war,” she says. “If there’s a reason why Aya is popular, it’s probably because her story is universal, dealing with everyday life in modern Africa, that’s all.” She does not, however, idealise Seminal rappers LMF are returning to the scene of their rhymes as the continent. “In parts of Africa things are all right and in others they’re not,” she says. the city’s urban music sound goes mainstream, writes Ben Sin War came to Ivory Coast with a coup in 1999, an armed rebellion splitting the country in two in 2002, and a deadly civil war. any thought the local places to play because the one album, and then disbanded Rapper Brandon Ho, aka says Mak. “We started complaining. But Abouet has based her stories, Marguerite Abouet. Photo: AFP hip hop scene would government wouldn’t let us rent shortly after. Calvin Wong, executive GhostStyle of the 24 Herbs crew, One thing led to another and just fade with the break-up public venues,” recalls LMF guitarist vice-president of Warner Music says hip hop doesn’t have to like that we decided to get back of homegrown rap- Jimmy Mak Man-wai. Asia Pacific, says the company conform to set criteria although the together and perform.” rock outfit LMF in Today’s rappers face no such signed LMF despite their genre grew out of African-American The crew insist they aren’t out to M2003. After all, Hong Kong’s first troubles. Jin and Fama – comprising controversial lyrics because they communities as a way to express ride the current wave of hip hop rappers were also its only rappers SixWing (Luk Wing-kun) and were fresh. “We wanted something views on politics, society and popularity. “We’re just going to tour. at the time. C-Kwan (Cheng Sze-kwan) – new and interesting and they were personal issues. “Hip hop could be We’re not looking to release albums Instead, hip hop has enjoyed a have become part of the local it at the time.” anything, it could be two guys or work with record labels,” says surge in popularity in the city. Rap entertainment scene and regularly With their honest and raw standing in a park doing freestyle,” Chan, dismissing the music industry duo Fama infiltrated mainstream appear on radio and television. lyrics, LMF resonated with he says. “Or a guy nodding his head as a lost cause. Still, not everyone in music; American-born rapper Jin, who came to fame in the 90s youngsters in ways other artists to a beat, that’s hip hop. It doesn’t LMF is as bitter and cynical as Chan; MC Jin (Auyeung Jin) made Hong as the first Chinese-American rapper did not, Wong says. have to be angry and negative. ” others say they just want to make Kong his new home; two former signed to a major label in the US, But by the time LMF left the The appeal of 24 Herbs, for music. “It’s a good feeling to get out LMF members formed a fresh crew, relocated to Hong Kong last year label, their chief lyricist MC Yan instance, lies in their “playful party there and perform,” says LMF 24 Herbs, and independent when Universal agreed to distribute (Chan Kwong-yan) was increasingly music”, Ho says. guitarist Leung Wai-ting, aka Prodip. beatmakers have been tapped to his Cantonese album here. He has disillusioned by the music business. However, language studies “I’ve been bored the past few years.” inject new rhythms into Canto-pop. since become a poster child for hip “Everyone in the industry only specialist Angel Lin Mei-yi says While LMF’s return will be a fillip Now, LMF have reunited for a series hop in the city, appearing on wants to make money, it’s all to local hip hop, music executives of shows, including two sellout dates billboards and in films. manufactured commercialised crap reckon the growth of the genre last weekend following a gig in At Universal Music, vice- out there,” Chan says. “The stuff out [LMF’s music] may depends on whether artists can Singapore last month. president of international marketing today isn’t real hip hop; they’re pop. come up with material that “The crowd was one of the Yvonne Yuen says the company They’re selling out.” be full of foul audiences relate to. wildest I’ve seen in Hong Kong yet,” decided to distribute Jin’s albums in At Warner, Wong rejects the language, but it’s all “Hong Kong has always accepted says concert-goer Cyrus Lo Sai-man. Hong Kong after learning of his fan notion that recording companies are rap,” says Cheng. “The Softhard Kids It’s a far cry from the late 1990s base. But she concedes that material pushing artists to deliver bland, socially conscious. were rapping in their songs in the when LMF, a 10-man collective created by the current crop of homogenised music to have the early 90s and they were very formed in 1992 by rockers from rappers is a lightweight form of hip greatest commercial appeal. They’re standing up popular. The key is to have material groups such as Anodize and Martyr, hop sometimes dubbed “hip pop”. “The belief that record labels that resonates with listeners.” had to act as their own distributors, Still, Cheng credits LMF for only want to sell commercialised for the oppressed Nat, a former DJ and hip hop driving around town in a beat-up helping shape the scene. “The music pop is a myth,” Wong says. “The ...................................................... enthusiast, doesn’t see it that way. “I van to hand discs to record shops.

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