21/10/2023
Gambian music 🎶
We are on Mags now, I had a chat with riddim Mag in Germany during the . Here is an extract/translation in to English.
The team decided that we would do the show in the stadium. A lot changed after that. Every concert was in a mini stadium, I got love everywhere. It was like a test for me to see if I was ready for the next step."
It's a battle of David against Goliath. The all-powerful Nigeria against the small Gambia with its almost two million inhabitants. Nigeria not only has a population of 200 million, but also an entertainment industry that has been growing for decades and is behind the Afrobeats hype. But there are also up-and-coming talents in Gambia who want to get a piece of the Afro pie. One of the most interesting is Jerreh Jallow aka Jizzle. The singer, born in Bakau in 1994, impresses with a gentle flow and tracks between Afrobeats, Amapiano, Dancehall, Rap and R&B.
This led him straight to the presidential palace, where Gambia's head of state Adama Barrow personally congratulated him on his successful stadium show. Otherwise it is more foreign stars like Morgan Heritage who fill the Independence Stadium. Jizzle also received a document there that was intended to greatly simplify his trips abroad:
a diplomatic passport! This was followed by a distribution deal with Universal Music Nigeria, which also made "Finally" known in the motherland of Afrobeats. In 2021, another big player in the global Afro scene, Mr. Eazi, helped him: After Universal, I had a distribution deal with his company Empawa. With him I recorded 'Be My Lover' for my mixtape 'Scorpion Vol. 2', which not only gave me a lot more streams in Nigeria, but suddenly also fans in countries like Tanzania. Mr Eazi supported me a lot and his network with me shared. He invited me to Ghana so we could spend time together. We even did sports together on his balcony. And I got to know other artists from Ghana."
In Gambia, however, it was initially influenced by the local Mbalax sound, but also by reggae and dancehall, which are omnipresent in Gambia. Gambian Rebellion The Recaller, who lives in Berlin, is a role model for Jizzle: I used to look up to him and enjoyed watching his music videos. In Gambia we love the vibes from Jamaica. Many of us speak patois. I can hardly speak English without using patois words, it was like that even as a child. Every boy in Gambia loves to talk like a Jamaican: Wah gwaan. Mi deyah. Everthing good? (laughs)"
So it's no surprise that for Jizzle, an appearance in the opening act for a star from Jamaica was a highlight of his career: At the Popcaan show in Gambia, I was the last artist to play before he went on stage. That was epic!" Important for Jizzle's career is also the worldwide networking of Gambian reggae and dancehall fans in the diaspora. For example, he owes his Summerjam appearance this year to his good relationship with DJ Bigg G, who comes from Gambia , the man behind the Catch A Fire events in Stuttgart, who made contact with the organizers of the Cologne festival.
This is how, among other things, the remix for "Broke Again" was created with Ghana's dancehall star Stonebwoy, also an important step towards opening up new markets. And the workaholic would like to see more international collaborations in the future, because Jizzle sees itself not only as a representative of Gambia, but also as a global one Afrobeats Ambassador: For me, Afrobeats is not a Nigerian thing, but an African genre. It's not like hip-hop, which is clearly American. When you make Afrobeats, it's not just for one territory, but for the whole of Africa. You represent them Culture." *
Another milestone in 2019 was the release party for his debut album "Finally" at the Independence Stadium in front of thousands of spectators: That was a shock for me, I didn't expect it. I just released the album and suddenly everyone was talking about it spoke. Then my
Jizzle's album "Me Vs. Me" has currently been released by Plus TwoTwo Zero.