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Angélique Kidjo — Akwaba
Album: Fifa
Avg rating:
6.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1165









Released: 1996
Length: 4:08
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Akwaba Adaba
Akwaba Adaba Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba
Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba Yénon zé min do atcha nan min
Bolè zé min do dayi houn nan loooo
Yénon zé min do mon holonon
Do mindéssou wè nan yé ali énin on Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba
Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba Min so gbèmin ton djo nou yé lo
Do min gbè gbémin ton nin non lokpo
Yédo kouè minton nan djè vo lo
Do mindéssou wè djro bo gbèmin ton gblé Akwaba Adaba
Akwaba Adaba Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba
Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba Yénon zé min do atcha nan min
Bolè zé min do dayi houn nan loooo
Yénon zé min do mon holonon
Do mindéssou wè nan yé ali énin on Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba
Akwaba akwaba akwaba kwaba kwaba Hon gbé wa fi tchiré nin
N'tori ènou wa ko kpakpo
Hon gbé wa fi tchiré nin
N'tori ènou wa ko kpakpo
Comments (66)add comment
 sjccroquet wrote:

Bill just dropped into this from Beastie Boys' In 3's - and I did not even notice the segue until it had already happened. That was some smooth DJing right there.



He did, that was pretty slick. There’s another transition from, maybe , a Bach song into an ELO song, or something like that. It’s just as cool. I’ve heard it twice over the years… decade… eons…
Bill just dropped into this from Beastie Boys' In 3's - and I did not even notice the segue until it had already happened. That was some smooth DJing right there.
This was the first CD I ever bought. I could actually...(wait for it)...load it DIRECTLY into my laptop and...wow...play music at work. Imagine.
 timmus wrote:

It's kinda crazy there was a racist comment downthread in 2008 and people were still arguing about it in 2021.  That must set some kind of trolling record.




YEP.   ...Unfortunately!      
It's kinda crazy there was a racist comment downthread in 2008 and people were still arguing about it in 2021.  That must set some kind of trolling record.
Holy crap! that translon from "In 3s" to this was magical.
More Angelique Kidjo, please! 
Such a strong voice.  Awesome.
 MassivRuss wrote:

Hot Guava!




Haaaaa, love it!
Love the harmonies in this song!
Angelique!!! ♥♥♥♥♥♥
Hot Guava!
 linden wrote:

Once again, Google translate strikes out on these lyrics:

Acoaba
Automotive Awareness Month Awareness Month
<snip>


Automotive Awareness Month. I'm cryin' I'm laughing so hard!
Beautiful and Dynamic sound!
What an outstanding singing Voice!
 fredriley wrote:

<shrug> Ok, maybe you've a point, though you can lay off the identity politics guilt-tripping, please. Maybe the original poster was being racist, maybe not - I can't tell from the posts on this board, and text posts/emails are notoriously open to interpretation. What I can say is that there's enough racism around to worry about, usually of a far more deadly sort than an off-the-cuff remark on a web forum as I'm sure you, as a black person, are only too well aware of, without seeing more where it may not exist.

RP plays an awful lot of music, from various genres, from people of colour, and I'm sure that you're not alone as a listener of colour even though (unsurprisingly) most posters wouldn't mention their colour. Plenty of reason to hang about here :)



Overt racism is for the police to deal with. The real problem today, is the systemic racism - you know, "he didn't mean anything by it." These people must be called out whenever you get a chance. Ignorance is not bliss.
Virtue signaling is strong in this thread. Stick and stones peeps. Music's good.
Kwabba kwabba, kitty kitty
So much like Brenda Fassie May she RIP.
THANK YOU!!!!

Awesome album - listen on a decent system and hear some great music... Don't get the low rating on here, but Bob Dylan does well so, who knows
Oremi was her best CD, play Babalao or Yaki Yaki
 starfishNcoffee wrote:
Perhaps a little education is needed here for people who honestly don't know. Saying "Ooga booga" to an African or a person of African decent is like saying "Ching-chong-ching" to an Asian person. It is a very old insult. It has been used by racists for longer than I've been around. It is a reference to the way African languages sound to foreign ears. It is a racial slur pure and simple, especially in this context. The message came through loud and clear. There may be some who truly don't understand this slur so I merely wish to clarify.


 
I was going to let this pass but I'm getting really tired of so many people running around claiming, or in this case educating about, victimhood because they or someone else got called a name. 
I like the amazing harmonies on this tune!
 starfishNcoffee wrote:
kalkin84 wrote:
ooga booga!
hello? What H*LL is this? If you want to be a racist this is not the station for you.
 
How about you just put down the pitchfork and be the tolerance you preach. Lead by example.
anything from Africa is minimum  a 6, seriously.
we are almost there.
 linden wrote:
Once again, Google translate strikes out on these lyrics:

Acoaba
Automotive Awareness Month Awareness Month
My favorite place is to give me a few cents
Why don't you come here today?
They put me in a holonon
Do not forget to use the checkboxes
I have always thought that I need a good day
Do not waste a ton of time
Do not miss this minton
Do mindéssou come in and spend the Dove
Automotive Awareness Month Awareness Month
My favorite place is to give me a few cents
Why don't you come here today?
They put me in a holonon
Do not forget to use the checkboxes
Cocktails Cheap Cock Cock Hon
We are not invincible
Hon picked us up
We are not invincible
 

Clearly Google's Translation Department is sleeping with its Sales Department.
Once again, Google translate strikes out on these lyrics:

Acoaba
Automotive Awareness Month Awareness Month
My favorite place is to give me a few cents
Why don't you come here today?
They put me in a holonon
Do not forget to use the checkboxes
I have always thought that I need a good day
Do not waste a ton of time
Do not miss this minton
Do mindéssou come in and spend the Dove
Automotive Awareness Month Awareness Month
My favorite place is to give me a few cents
Why don't you come here today?
They put me in a holonon
Do not forget to use the checkboxes
Cocktails Cheap Cock Cock Hon
We are not invincible
Hon picked us up
We are not invincible
I spent a year in Ghana as a US Fulbright Scholar so I was also confused by the spelling of 'Akwaba' in this song. It appears the artist is from Benin. A quick search shows up several references to "Akwaba" in Bening (a hotel, street name, etc...) so it may in fact be a reference to a different word and dialect altogether from the Twi word "akwaaba" that you and I are used to.

In an case, I love to see West Africa artists being represented on Radio Paradise. There is a lot of hidden music in the region that passes by without the world ever knowing. It is a shame.

 
bachbeet wrote:
I spent 2 years in Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer and I'm pretty sure Kidjo misspelled Akwaba.  Ashanti for "welcome" is "akwaaba."  Unless it's another totally different word from a different African language.
 

Iguana Guava Momma  Kwanzaa .
There!  That should offend EVERYONE !
ESPECIALLY people who keep iguanas.
I was fortunate to see Kidjo live at the 2013 Kate Wolf Music Festival. Wow. The woman is a vocal superhero. She's playing again at the 2019 Kate Wolf Music Festival in Laytonville, CA. Go see her if you can.
I don't understand what the lyrics are saying, but I find this quite fun listening.
 
Love this whole album. This was the first CD that I played in a laptop, and it seemed the most magical thing to do in the world at the time. The ability to play the music I LIKED, at work!
 fredriley wrote:

... lay off the identity politics guilt-tripping ...
 
Can you define this phrase, please?  Because it sounds an awful lot like "please stop applying your personal experiences".
I spent 2 years in Ghana as a Peace Corps volunteer and I'm pretty sure Kidjo misspelled Akwaba.  Ashanti for "welcome" is "akwaaba."  Unless it's another totally different word from a different African language.
Oooh walked in just in time to catch this, from work! I Love it!
Perhaps a little education is needed here for people who honestly don't know. Saying "Ooga booga" to an African or a person of African decent is like saying "Ching-chong-ching" to an Asian person. It is a very old insult. It has been used by racists for longer than I've been around. It is a reference to the way African languages sound to foreign ears. It is a racial slur pure and simple, especially in this context. The message came through loud and clear. There may be some who truly don't understand this slur so I merely wish to clarify.


 starfishNcoffee wrote:
I see it because it's there. You don't because you don't have to. The comment "ooga booga!" is not "race free" when it is said in relation to a African song. And if it had no meaning why was it said.
 
<shrug> Ok, maybe you've a point, though you can lay off the identity politics guilt-tripping, please. Maybe the original poster was being racist, maybe not - I can't tell from the posts on this board, and text posts/emails are notoriously open to interpretation. What I can say is that there's enough racism around to worry about, usually of a far more deadly sort than an off-the-cuff remark on a web forum as I'm sure you, as a black person, are only too well aware of, without seeing more where it may not exist.

RP plays an awful lot of music, from various genres, from people of colour, and I'm sure that you're not alone as a listener of colour even though (unsurprisingly) most posters wouldn't mention their colour. Plenty of reason to hang about here :)

My two cents on the thread here - there's a post like kalkin84's on just about every song featuring significant non-English lyrics. I don't think other commenters call those people out for being racist in those cases. I do not think "ooga booga" is racist in this context, although it is definitely linguistically hegemoniacal. Our English words for babble, gibberish, etc. are onomatopoetically invoking the idea that a language you can't understand is a meaningless sequence of nonsense sounds. Anglocentric? Yes. Racist? No.
{#Puke}
Nice to hear some Angelique Kidjo on RP! {#Bounce}
Is there some reason RP doesn't play Zap Mama? Seems a senseless shame.
Hot Guava!! Yeah!!
fredriley wrote:
Er, are you sure you're not adding a mountain of interpretation to a pretty small molehill here? All yer man posted was "ooga booga!", which was exactly what my 14yo nephew said to me the other day in a context that was absolutely race-free.
I see it because it's there. You don't because you don't have to. The comment "ooga booga!" is not "race free" when it is said in relation to a African song. And if it had no meaning why was it said. I am black and can see where racism begins and finally horribly ends. I begins with a remark that people find funny and laugh at though they know they shouldn't and it continues from there. Black people actually do understand, and are not fooled by, coded speech. I pointed this out because I love RP and want it to continue to be a place of comfort in a world that is immensely hostile. The fact that Bill will play African music warms my heart to the n-th degree. But comments like these make me feel unwelcome. And maybe I am unwelcome. I check back here every so often hoping to find a member of the RP community willing to stand up and say that what was said here was uncool and should not be tolerated. Sadly it seems cool with every. Very sad. Think about what you say. Just because this is the Internet does not relieve you from the responsibility of your words. BTW, comments from the young man has been edited because he went on to say some pretty nasty things.
starfishNcoffee wrote:
This response has been sitting on my heart for long time. Not just because it is so ugly, but because this person is so young, too young, to be saying it. You are right that "ooga booga" has no meaning, yet you choose to attribute the phase to a beautiful African song and, in turn, attempt to make the song and the language it was sung in have no meaning. Learn from history, a lot of meaningless words have been used to disparage, denigrate, and destroy others. This was a racist thing you did. You may not even realize it. The response was also a furtherance of initial racist response. There may be a lot of growing up that you need to do. My few words here can't help you to do that. But what I can do is let you know that people are watching and listening and reading what you say. This was not funny and it was not cool.
Er, are you sure you're not adding a mountain of interpretation to a pretty small molehill here? All yer man posted was "ooga booga!", which was exactly what my 14yo nephew said to me the other day in a context that was absolutely race-free. It's just a fun expression, not a racial slur, explicit or implied. Quite how you can read between the lines of a 2-word phrase is beyond me. Nice song, BTW - worth a 7, even if it is a little over-poppy IMO.
pannaramma wrote:
Am I a racist if I really dislike this song?
am I a racist for finding the racist accusations hilarious? and liking the song?
Am I a racist if I really dislike this song?
kalkin84 wrote:
lol, this has to be the stupidist thing i've heard all day! congratulations! you are an idiot! you can now take pride in the fact that you contribute nothing of intellectual value to the world! Since "ooga booga" is not a phrase in any language i'm aware of or a characterization fair or not of any language, you can take your controversy seeking and shove it up your ass. Calling me a racist is like calling the the rocky mountains flat.
This response has been sitting on my heart for long time. Not just because it is so ugly, but because this person is so young, too young, to be saying it. You are right that "ooga booga" has no meaning, yet you choose to attribute the phase to a beautiful African song and, in turn, attempt to make the song and the language it was sung in have no meaning. Learn from history, a lot of meaningless words have been used to disparage, denigrate, and destroy others. This was a racist thing you did. You may not even realize it. The response was also a furtherance of initial racist response. There may be a lot of growing up that you need to do. My few words here can't help you to do that. But what I can do is let you know that people are watching and listening and reading what you say. This was not funny and it was not cool.
starfishNcoffee wrote:
hello? What H*LL is this? If you want to be a racist this is not the station for you.
lol, this has to be the stupidist thing i've heard all day! congratulations! you are an idiot! you can now take pride in the fact that you contribute nothing of intellectual value to the world! Since "ooga booga" is not a phrase in any language i'm aware of or a characterization fair or not of any language, you can take your controversy seeking and shove it up your ass. Calling me a racist is like calling the the rocky mountains flat.
kalkin84 wrote:
ooga booga!
hello? What H*LL is this? If you want to be a racist this is not the station for you.
Just right for a rainy Tuesday! Thanks RP!
ooga booga!
If you like this, you would also like Zap Mama (click here)
YIKES!
This is terrible.
Love the artist (what a set of pipes she\'s got!), but this number is not one of her best. Check out her version of \"Summertime\" from Porgy and Bess...that\'s an amazing cover.
You should check out the track Shango from the album Fifa; nice heavy afro-funk. Not as smooth as later stuff (a good thing to my mind).
Originally Posted by mr.selfdestruct: What about guavas?
They're not your mamma!
what is this!!!! I think I like it :D
Great upbeat tune!
Bill - This is an amazing rythmic beat - thanks for the introduction.
I have only heard one of her other songs before, \"Oremi\", from a sample disc I got from the Lilith Fair concert here in NM a few years ago. I am glad to hear this one from her, play more if you can.
I have a habit of only cmmenting on good music and this is one that I like. Keep playing World Beat RP! :p
Now THIS keeps me awake when working late. Very much so. Now stop typing comments, ce! :D