Movaizhaleine joins One8 music group

Gabonese hip hop duo, Movaizhaleine has been announced as the latest addition to the new and buzzing African music supergroup, ONE8. Combining different genres, sounds, voices and audiences, ONE8 is touted as Africa’s first music supergroup and is already rumoured to be causing waves on the international scene, with a top Chicago based US artist ready to jump on board as well as many other top African artists.

Movaizhaleine will soon join forces with Ugandan hip-hop artist Navio, Zambia’s biggest super star JK, Tanzanian heartthrob Alikiba, and Ghanaian trio 4×4 to start recording a single and an album. However before they get down to the final recording and shooting of the video, rumours are flying from Nigeria to Kenya as to who will be next to join them in the ONE8 group. The hit track is being produced by an undisclosed top international producer and will drop in November with a hot video.

As one of the Africa’s most successful rap stories, ex-pats Movaizhaleine, now residing in Paris, France, have taken the African rap flag and are flying it high across the world for Gabon, and indeed the rest of the continent. Consisting of two young conscientious rappers, Lord Ekomy Ndong and Maat Seigneur Lion, the group, also affectionately known as MH, began rapping together when still at high school – highly influenced by the activism on the continent at the time.

Musically the boys were sucked in by the sounds of reggae bands such as Burning Spear as well as the iconic hip-hop acts like NWA, Public Enemy and KRS One. Living in the heart of Gabon they were also shaped by listening to African bands such as Griot Mvett, Sacred Harp and Bwiti.

Strong believers in the rehabilitation of Black history, the duo started rapping about their views and in a short space of time became favourites on radio stations in Libreville, They formed their own independent record label Zorbam productions and released their first single – a track called Nyabinghi. In 1998 their first solo album Mission came out and was a ground breaking release for the African rap market, proving to the rappers they could achieve success through music.

In 2001 they released the follow up album Mission Akomplie which boasted collaborations with acts such as Patrick Nguema Ndong, Anthony Gussie and Annie Flore Batchiellilys. In 2003 the members took a short break to both release solo albums to great success, but this was by no means the end of MH. They came back hard and fast in 2005 with the album On Détient La Harpe Sacrée (Tome 1), again resulting in a best seller for the group.

Movaizhaleine also organizes events that reaffirm the fundamental values of African conscious hip-hop in Gabon. Their annual concert ‘Le Show Du Pays’ (the show of the country) is an important event on the local hip-hop scene.

In January 2007, MH assembled their own studio and recorded La Foret Des Abeilles (the Drill of the Bees). In late 2007, they released their 4th album ‘TOME 2?. MH won the 2008 Video of the Year at the inaugural MTV MAMA Music Awards for their single “Nous”, despite the obvious political message in the track.

A pioneer of the Gabonese Hip Hop scene, MH is the longest-standing group in the rap community. With 4 top selling albums under their belt and more than a hundred spectacular showcases in Africa and France, the group is still growing from strength to strength. Joining the ONE8 team is a natural move for these pan-African cultural leaders.