In his networks, Kya Loum, born with the name of Dakar (Senegal) lavish with his music, but also shows his encounters with other compatriots in the streets of the cities for which he turns. With the guitar on the back, like that troubadour that was revealed to the public about 15 years ago, it is seen, for example, chat in Wolof With a taxi driver, in Paris, where at the end of July he has presented the songs of his latest album, at an intimate concert.
An indelible smile also exhibits when he crosses with his Senegal “sisters” who earn life by braiding the pedestrian hair on Moroccan streets. Then, it is seen stopping in the pedestrian of and talking with them. Precisely in the summer landscape of that small village of fishermen, the artist chatted with this newspaper, after her performance in the 26th edition of the mass, at the beginning of summer.
Gnawa music is part of Moroccan culture and mixes compositions of a religious nature with ancestral rhythms of different populations of the African continent. By having a ritual and healing character, this type of music can be accompanied by hypnotic trances.
Kya does not stop playing and experimenting with the music with which he grew up and with the sounds of other countries of the continent, since, in 2017, he began his collaboration with the platform, a background with headquarters in Casablanca. Your first record work, , of 2022, it began to profile it as a reference between the music of West Africa, making a afrosoul Very personal, with one of those powerful voices that do not forget, that touch the unexpected.
Ask. You are author and composer, but does your music turn more towards the blues and the international than it, which is the traditional Senegalese melody?
Answer. Senegalese traditional music also has blues influences, which comes from Africa, and the rhythms of [una región al sur de Senegal]. I do not consider limits: White rice is me, it is Africa, it is Senegal, and you can put other sauces, one from Mali or a Moroccan. This is how I like it.
P. What are your roots?
R. I did hip hop and that influenced me a lot. You also have to say that my mother wanted to be a singer, but she couldn’t, and put us a lot of Indian music and other traditional sounds. In the neighborhood where I grew up [Gueule Tapée] There was a lot of culture. It is really the center of Dakar, where they are [una comunidad pesquera senegalesa] and rituals are celebrated with some resemblance to those of music gnawabecause they are rhythms with which people enter into trance, It seems to leave. I grew up with that, at first I was afraid, I did not understand, but then I loved listening to them, because it was something exceptional.
I do not consider limits: White rice is me, it is Africa, it is Senegal, and you can put other other sauces, one from Mali or a Moroccan. This is how I like it
P. The languages in which he sings have to do with their ethnic groups?
R. I am a bit mestizo, because my parents come from different African ethnicities. First, by my father, there are beings and, by my mother, they are Mauritanos and Bambara. I sing mainly in Wolof, also a little in French and in English, and sometimes I use the Serer. I love bambara to sing.
In Senegal, there are many other obstacles, for example, artists have no retirement, they don’t have social security, they can’t enjoy vacations, there is much to do
P. He said that her mother, born in the 60s, could not devote himself to music, which do she think are the obstacles today for women in Senegal?
R. There are still many taboos that prevent some women from reaching their dreams. Because they are usually subject to the duty to stay at home and take care of the family, but we must not limit them to that. Do not limit yourself to that. You have mind, you have your part to bring to this earth. You have love and a lot of talent, so don’t stop. Let’s stop saying that women have the right to this and men, to that. Actually, the human being is just one.
As a woman-artist, it is difficult to achieve everything being a mother, and a divorced mother, as is my case. Fortunately, I have my own mother, who helps me take care of my daughter. But, in Senegal, there are many other obstacles, for example, artists have no retirement, they don’t have social security, they can’t enjoy vacations, there is much to do. We would have to start considering the artistic profession like any other, and have protection for our future.
