On her
own - without the muscle of a promotional or publicity campaign -
Nigerian-American singer-songwriter-poet Offiong Bassey let her captivating
self-titled debut album trickle out earlier this year.
Last
month, the Boston Globe ran a full-page color feature that helped Bassey
sellout her first concert at her hometown’s famed Scullers Jazz Club. The
Boston Strong Nigerian’s Moonlit Media Group label will give the cross-cultural
cornucopia of Afro-Peruvian, Nigerian Ekombi, R&B, jazz, gospel, funk, soul
and hip hop songs that she wrote and co-produced an official release date –
February 4th – that will be boosted by a marketing campaign.
Bassey,
whose name means “God’s moon,” shines by writing lyrical poetry of inspiration,
social commentary and empowerment set to rousing rhythms, lilting harmonies and
soulful grooves. Alternately singing or rapping in English, her native Efik or
Nigerian Pidgin English, the topical storyteller sometimes utilizes the
pageantry of festive global beats to transcend language barriers. Bassey was
joined in the studio by producer Blethy Emmanuel Tiegnon of the Ivory Coast along
with an international cast of musicians and percussionists.
As seen
in the first video from the disc, “Edidem,” a song inspired by a traditional
Efik prayer as passed down by her grandmother, Bassey not only incorporates
authentic cultural elements from her Nigerian-born parents and grandparents
into her colorfully textured aural mosaics, she also invites family into the
experience. Her brother, percussionist Eniang Bassey, performs on one track on
the album.
The
radio campaign to support “Offiong Bassey” will be spearheaded by a two-prong
attack. “Legitimate Child” is a spiritually-inspired affirmation surfing an
invigorating Calypso workout aided by Calabar-style Nigerian drumming while
bombastic Afrobeats, blaring horns and funk guitar riffs spark the celebratory
“Conclusion.”
“The
album was inspired by my varied experiences with people and the ways in which
we respond to triumph, challenge and nuance as we move through the human
experience. As such, whether utilizing African, soul or gospel undertones, I
write music that speaks to the spirit. I decided to self-title the album
because it is such a pure and holistic representation of who I am as an
individual and who I am as an artist,” said Bassey, who elaborates in detail on
the origins and meanings of each song in her EPK (http://tinyurl.com/lslmcgs).
Presently
booking a slate of first quarter 2014 concert dates to perform with her
nine-piece band, Bassey, a Yale graduate, plans to record an unplugged session
in the spring comprised of new material and cuts from “Offiong Bassey.” For
more information, please visit www.OffiongBassey.com.
The
songs contained on “Offiong Bassey” are:
“Legitimate
Child”
“Edidem”
“Weatherman”
“Full
Moon”
“Mistaking
Chivalry for Chauvinism”
“Conclusion”
“Chasing
After the Wind”
“Owo Iba
Me Ita”
“Wild
Oats”
“It
Might Be Hard”
“Efik
Praise Medley”
“Edidem
(Traditional Mix)”
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