Poetic X: Hip-Hop making waves

He says hip hop can bring about change in the community and serve as a job creation field for the youth.

Speaking in an interview with Entertainment and Lifestyle recently, Poetic X said that since they started as musicians they have organised charity concerts for elementary schools and all what they generate is going back to schools, adding that the songs they sing mostly centre on issues affecting the people, particularly the youth.

“We are respected because of the quality songs we produce and we have earned our strips in the Hip-Hop community as well as gaining the confidence of the music lovers,” he said.

Poetic X told Entertainment and Lifestyle that the music scene in The Gambia witnessed a turning point when their most anticipated debut album “Yon Beh Gudone” was released in June 2011.

The album, according to music critics and followers, is the most properly dealt with Hip-Hop album released in the history of The Gambia, which has compelled many people to do research and learn for themselves, he said.

According to the Gambian Hip-Hop star, the most talked-about promo songs in the album are “Sunu Dekala”, which talks about corruption, nepotism, deforestation and other issues dragging the country backward, and “Black Woman”, a popular song which reaffirms black Africans’ sense of pride buzzing the populace.

He said that all started back in 2000, when Ayo, PMS and BMG came together as brothers in Hip Hop and formed Poetic Xwith the mission statement of making the voice of the young people heard as la crème de la crème.

After some time, BMG quit rapping and they decided to join forces with another influential hardcore rap group widely known as Pepper House Crew to build a solid squad of “Rhymers” called “Da Bulldoff Army”. Sensitive and Big U later joined the Army followed by the invitation of the prolific freestyle battle rapper known as Bilal Bin Kebba who in 2004 was a solo artist after leaving “Yeteh J”.

In early 2005, they dropped a promotional song called “Wulajanjara” featuring Afro Manding sensation Sambou Susso. The video gave a vivid story about forced and arranged marriages that exist among tribes who don’t entertain their children to marry people from other tribes.

The three ‘emcees’ garnered critical acclaim as “Wulajanjara” gained tons of air-play on the local TV and radio stations in The Gambia and Senegal. From then onwards they continued to drop public-demand songs.

In late 2005, Poetic X resigned from Da Bulldoff Army but continued working with the late MJ, Bulldoff’s producer. When MJ passed away, Poetic X took a two-year break to concentrate on their individual works.

Poetic X is co-founder of Hip Hop Headz, a Hip-Hop movement which involves artiste promoters, music journalists, producers and others.

With all these brains, the movement was set to be launched and registered to embark on pushing culture to another level.