Nneka and other African Divas set to thrill Ghana at ‘Decibels’

One of the biggest African breakthrough acts in recent times, Nneka will join forces with three of Africa’s finest Divas live in concert in Accra this month. The power of sound would reverberate throughout the National Theatre on August 20, as Bibie Brew, Nneka, Gena West and Efya set the stage alive with a night of delightful musical performances dubbed, ‘Decibels’.

Nneka’s music has strong hiphop elements and mixes a lot of soul and reggae to tell her often political messages. But together with the styles of Gena West, Bibie Brew and Efya, ‘Decibels’ is expected to be a fusion of genres and styles in soul, afro-beat, afro-pop, jazz, blues and more.

Nneka was born a Nigerian father and a German mother and grew up in Warri, in the Delta region of Nigeria. She relished the experience of singing from an early age in her school and in the church choir and soon after relocating to Hamburg, Germany, at the age of 18, she pursued a career in singing alongside a degree in Anthropology.

As a young singer she first gained public attention in 2004 while performing as an opening act for dancehall reggae star Sean Paul at Hamburg Stadtpark. After much acclaim, Nneka was given a green light to record her first album. She finished recording her first album in the autumn of 2005, entitled ‘Victim of Truth’, and was released not only in Germany but also in England, France, Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan. Garnering rave reviews from the media, the UK’s Sunday Times later declared it “the year’s most criminally overlooked album”, comparing it favourably to ‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

However, her biggest achievement as music came in February 2008 when she released her critically and commercially acclaimed second album, ‘No Longer at Ease’. Most of the songs are political, talking about the plight of the Niger Delta and the corruption in Nneka’s homeland delivered in a mix of soul, hip-hop and reggae. The lead single, ‘Heartbeat’, became her first song to break into the German Top 50. In September 2009, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number twenty.

Nneka has been nominated for several awards including Channel O Music Video Awards, MTV Africa Music Award, and won an award for Best African Act at the 2009 MOBO Awards. Her track ‘Kangpe’ is also featured as a soundtrack on the EA Sports FIFA 2010 video game. She has toured major cities across the globe and performed with music greats such as Femi Kuti, Bilal, Seeed, Gnarls Barkley, Lenny Kravitz and others. According to reports, she has done a remix of her highly rated track, ‘heartbeat’ with Nas which is expected to be made public soon.

CANOE entertainment, organizers of the concert have promised to treat audiences to stellar and electric performances from these world class African Divas. Tickets are on sale for 30 GhC, 50 GhC (VIP), and 70GhC (VVIP). Contact 0243 454860 / 0244 208216 /0277 758216 or visit www.canoeafrica.com for more information.