Profile & Background:
The boy band Da Fugitivz
(not Fugitives) are pioneers of the Gambian hip-hop
scene and are one of the country's most successful
rap groups ever. Its member's, who all come from the same Kairaba
Avenue neighbourhood are under the aliases: Mohawk, Joe Sea Breeze, Tazman, Sam George.
As opposed to their US counterparts they try to fuse their
style with their old traditional language of Wolof.
After
leaving high school, Tazman (Tijan Jabang) already had
experience singing in a little known band called 'House
Vibes'. After leaving them he hatched the idea of a four-boy
hip-hop crew who would also dip into ragga, dancehall,
R&B in US or local style. Near his house there were lived
other guys who were also well into R&B / Hip Hop
music.
Muhammed Kah (Mo-Hawk),
Joseph Senghore (Seabreeze) and Samuel George (DJ Graduate).
While Tasman stirs his exclusive raga and dancehall style,
Mo-Hawk comes original with rap in Wollof language
(Gambia's local lingual franca), Seabreeze leaves hearts
quivering with his sentimental R&B and DJ Graduate flows on
to pep up the raga and dancehall spice.
Within a
month of coming together they decided on 'Fugitivz' which means they are
avoiding society's problems by being a fugitive to it. In
May 1997 they officially launched the Gambian boy band as
'Da Fugitivz'.
After producing a number of demo tapes
they applied to compete in the Gambia's first DJ Clash
competition which they easily won and got them greater
exposure and recognition
The crew then produced their
smash debut single and titled it
'Ndongo Dara'. The song was about street children who beg
for handouts instead of being in school. This single was
swiftly followed by another two called
'Lingai Jai'
(translated means "what you are selling" and is an
anti-drugs track) and 'Indilmasa Love' ("bring me your
love"). These 3 tracks helped to bring them to nationwide
attention among music buffs around The Gambia.
Then
for a period of around 12 weeks they worked towards their
debut album at the Sunu Flavours Studio in Dakar, Senegal.
The album was finished towards the end of 1998 and released
on CD in 1999 titled 'Fu 4 Life'.
It was a six-track eye-opener of Gambia's rap scene which
had the right blend of sentimental R&B songs, the original
rap that helped shape their musical roots, and a combination
of well mixed dancehall tunes. It expanded their recognition
beyond the borders of The Gambia to the West African region
and beyond.
In August 1999 the Fugitivz got a 3 month
German touring sojourn when they took part in the Pop Com
Musical Festival which was held in Germany. Here they had
the chance to get international recognition as they had the
opportunity to gig alongside more established hip hop bands.
As a result of their participation and professional display
of great performance more offers came rolling in. For
example the band was featured in an exclusive
Africa Raps compilation produced by Jay Rudledge for a
German label called Trikon. The compilation was a selection
of best hip-hop groups from Gambia, Senegal and Mali.
Da Fugitivz performed a song called
'Kepp Kui Bang', which means
"anyone who refuses".
Back in Banjul they recorded a six-track master-tape at
Yellowgate Studios under the
guidance of the local music producer Elie Nachif.
Tasman, Joe,
Mohawk and Sam made their
second international trip to America in early 2000. It was a
nine-month rove of the universal rap, R and B, soul and
hip-hop land. Amongst many of the crew's flag flying
performances was the Atlanta show bunch of July 4 (America's
Independence celebration). They also played at other venues
in New York and North Carolina. Fugitivz returned with some good
news that they were discussing a contract
with a record label in France.
In July, 2001, they departed from the Gambia to honour their 2
year French contract with the Paris based record label Atoll
Music, an offshoot of Sony Music. They began work at the AB
Studios and produced an album given the name
'Escaped'. It
was composed of 12 tracks and featured hits such as
'Sha La La Laa',
'Express Yourself', 'See No
Evil',
'Be Mine' and
'Who
Dem'. In August they caught a plane to London to take
part in the yearly music festival there after which they
went back to Paris. Between sessions they took working trips
to Stockholm, Sweden where AB Studio has one of its
subsidiaries.
At the end of their contract with Atoll Music, Da Fugitivz
decided to delve more into Scandinavia. The quartet signed a three-year contract with
Swedish-based Double-Dog Records which committed them to
recording two albums. The boys then joined the Swedish music
house Bonnier Amigo Music Group (the largest Scandinavian
independent record label) who was now responsible for publishing,
marketing, distribution of the group's creative output. They
have an association with Fu Records.
In 2005, Da Fugitivz entered into a three year contract with
Double Dogs Records based in
Stockholm and have been opening new ground ever since.
They have performed alongside the mbalax
diva Vivian Ndour in Stockholm, Sweden.
Some of their most recent singles include "It's All Good,
It's Alright" and appeared in the Swedish chart.
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