AFRIMA plans night of tribute for Sunny Ade, Papa Wemba, Dibango

AFRIMA has lined up African
music stars for pulsating and emotive tribute
performances in honour of Manu Dibango, King
Sunny Ade and late Papa Wemba, three of Africa’s
renowned music legends.
The night of tribute on 4 November will precede
the award ceremony on Sunday, November 6 at
Eko Hotels & Suites, Lagos in Nigeria.
In partnership with the African Union Commission,
AUC, and the support of the Official Host City,
Lagos State, AFRIMA 2016 grand awards ceremony
is preceded by The AFRIMA Music Village on
Friday November 4, 2016, a non-stop music
concert with over 40 African artistes performing
live at the Waterfront, Bar Beach, Victoria Island,
Lagos in Nigeria. Thousands of guests are
expected in Lagos for the various events.
82-year-old Cameroonian saxophonist and
vibraphone player Manu Dibango, is hailed for
making an enormous contribution to African music
as a whole. Nicknamed ‘The Lion of Cameroon’,
Manu Dibango is recognised for developing a
music style fusing jazz, funk and traditional
Cameroonian music. His song “Soul Makossa” has
influenced several popular music hits, including
Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”,
as well as his recording of that song with Akon,
the Fugees’ “Cowboys”, and Rihanna’s “Don’t
Stop the Music” and Comedian Eddie Murphy in
his 1982 parody song “Boogie in your butt”.
Artiste-in-Residence at the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Nigeria, King Sunny Ade is classified
as one of the most influential musicians of his
time. The Nigerian singer-songwriter and multi-
instrumentalist and two-time Grammy award
nominee is known for his pioneering of modern
world music. His stage performance is
characterised by dexterous dancing steps and use
of the guitar.
Papa Wemba, the late iconic musician from the
Democratic Republic of Congo, who died at the
age of 67 on April 24, 2016 during a stage
performance in Cote d’Ívoire, also pioneered a
blend of African, Cuban and Western sounds
which became one of Africa’s most popular music
styles. Dubbed the ‘King of Rhumba Rock’, Papa
Wemba was also a fashion icon who popularised
the La Sape look and style through his musical
group Viva la Musica, with whom he performed on
stages throughout the world.
Speaking about the purpose of the tribute,
President and Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mr.
Mike Dada said: “Contemporary African stars will
be pledging their loyalty to these grassroot
legends of African music to show the beauty of
their music through outstanding performances on
stage during the AFRIMA awards. It is also a
means of showing the younger generation that
they can connect to music made by older
generations of artistes and use this to unite the
world through music.”
Mr. Dada described these three music icons as the
‘voices of African music and the epitome of
Africanness’.
Some of the top African artistes billed to honour
the legacy of the three African legends include:
Kiss Daniel (Nigeria); Diamond Platnumz
(Tanzania); Brymo (Nigeria); Wax Dey (Cameroon);
Seyi Shay (Nigeria); Fally Ipupa (DRC), Yemi Alade
(Nigeria); Victoria Kimani (Kenya); Tiwa Savage
(Nigeria); Aramide (Nigeria); Niniola (Nigeria);
YCee (Nigeria); TJAN (Nigeria) and Flavour
(Nigeria) among others.
Meanwhile, public voting continues on AFRIMA
website via the platform.