Art forms like theater, painting, stories, and dance help people express real-life situations. The music world stayed somewhat active during hard times, but Gambian musicians mostly played it safe. They created tunes the APRC government found acceptable. Dictators fear music because it can inspire people to take brave actions. These rulers often paid popular artists with no backbone to sing their praises and spread their messages.
Haiti saw this happen when Jean-Claude Duvalier funded the Bossa Combo as his presidential orchestra. The group later changed its name to Big Band Bossa after the dictator lost power. They wanted nothing to do with him once he fell. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein controlled all media through his son Uday. They mainly played patriotic songs that honored Saddam because, according to them, loving Saddam meant loving Iraq.
The same thing happened under Jammeh—anyone who claimed to love The Gambia had to love him. Any music critical of Jammeh or his party was banned completely. He paid musicians to write songs about him, yet some greedy artists voluntarily created music praising the tyrant. Several female Gambian musicians received honors at the State House and enjoyed his generosity. One reportedly married him secretly.
Jammeh organized music contests, and winners received huge cash prizes. Competition became fierce at these events. Many artists dreamed of performing for Jammeh and earning good money. Some received large sums to record albums or buy instruments. Famous artists from Canada, the UK, the USA, and Jamaica performed at various Gambian parties. None left without thanking Jammeh for his generosity.
Big names from neighboring countries also visited the State House to entertain Jammeh. He rewarded them generously for their performances. Notable among these were Senegalese singers who had no problem supporting a dictator who murdered Gambians. People often say Gambians and Senegalese share the same heritage. Despite this connection, artists like Fafadi, Thione Seck, Wally Seck, Youssou Ndour, Coumba Gawlo Seck, Ouza Diallo, and Adji Ouza embraced the next-door dictator.
Youssou Ndour once signed a D3 million contract with Gambian Social Security to perform a three-day concert. When activists wrote asking him to reconsider due to human rights violations, he claimed he wanted cultural exchanges with Gambian brothers and sisters. This seemed hypocritical since Youssou had previously boycotted a US concert to protest the Iraq invasion. Ouza Diallo called himself a friend of Jammeh and defended the killing of two Senegalese nationals.
The UCAS Band from Casamance followed Jammeh everywhere until he was tired of them. Fafadi presented himself as a conscious artist yet praised Jammeh at every chance. Jamaican performers Sizzla and Luciano became regular guests despite their supposed righteousness. Luciano called The Gambia his second home. Jammeh had taken over the Roots Homecoming Festival and turned it into an event celebrating himself instead of its original purpose.
Jermaine Jackson attended one birthday party and declared Jammeh wonderful and genuine. He blamed people abroad for damaging the country's image. Government institutions like Social Security invited artists with Jammeh's blessing. He served as chief patron for these events. The Point newspaper reported how Sheikh Tijan Jobe organized concerts to raise money for agriculture, the university, and rural hospitals, plus launched a fan club for Senegalese singer Viviane.
Pa Bobo Jobarteh and Killa Ace stand out as the only famous artists who criticized the dictatorship through music. Both had to flee the country. The unwritten rule forced musicians to either avoid political topics or praise Jammeh. Singing anything he disliked could result in exile. Even Gambian artists living abroad avoided saying anything that might prevent them from visiting home or performing there. Artists considered it risky to address the suffering of Gambians through their work. People heard mostly positive things about Jammeh. His control over free speech became almost complete.
Haiti saw this happen when Jean-Claude Duvalier funded the Bossa Combo as his presidential orchestra. The group later changed its name to Big Band Bossa after the dictator lost power. They wanted nothing to do with him once he fell. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein controlled all media through his son Uday. They mainly played patriotic songs that honored Saddam because, according to them, loving Saddam meant loving Iraq.
The same thing happened under Jammeh—anyone who claimed to love The Gambia had to love him. Any music critical of Jammeh or his party was banned completely. He paid musicians to write songs about him, yet some greedy artists voluntarily created music praising the tyrant. Several female Gambian musicians received honors at the State House and enjoyed his generosity. One reportedly married him secretly.
Jammeh organized music contests, and winners received huge cash prizes. Competition became fierce at these events. Many artists dreamed of performing for Jammeh and earning good money. Some received large sums to record albums or buy instruments. Famous artists from Canada, the UK, the USA, and Jamaica performed at various Gambian parties. None left without thanking Jammeh for his generosity.
Big names from neighboring countries also visited the State House to entertain Jammeh. He rewarded them generously for their performances. Notable among these were Senegalese singers who had no problem supporting a dictator who murdered Gambians. People often say Gambians and Senegalese share the same heritage. Despite this connection, artists like Fafadi, Thione Seck, Wally Seck, Youssou Ndour, Coumba Gawlo Seck, Ouza Diallo, and Adji Ouza embraced the next-door dictator.
Youssou Ndour once signed a D3 million contract with Gambian Social Security to perform a three-day concert. When activists wrote asking him to reconsider due to human rights violations, he claimed he wanted cultural exchanges with Gambian brothers and sisters. This seemed hypocritical since Youssou had previously boycotted a US concert to protest the Iraq invasion. Ouza Diallo called himself a friend of Jammeh and defended the killing of two Senegalese nationals.
The UCAS Band from Casamance followed Jammeh everywhere until he was tired of them. Fafadi presented himself as a conscious artist yet praised Jammeh at every chance. Jamaican performers Sizzla and Luciano became regular guests despite their supposed righteousness. Luciano called The Gambia his second home. Jammeh had taken over the Roots Homecoming Festival and turned it into an event celebrating himself instead of its original purpose.
Jermaine Jackson attended one birthday party and declared Jammeh wonderful and genuine. He blamed people abroad for damaging the country's image. Government institutions like Social Security invited artists with Jammeh's blessing. He served as chief patron for these events. The Point newspaper reported how Sheikh Tijan Jobe organized concerts to raise money for agriculture, the university, and rural hospitals, plus launched a fan club for Senegalese singer Viviane.
Pa Bobo Jobarteh and Killa Ace stand out as the only famous artists who criticized the dictatorship through music. Both had to flee the country. The unwritten rule forced musicians to either avoid political topics or praise Jammeh. Singing anything he disliked could result in exile. Even Gambian artists living abroad avoided saying anything that might prevent them from visiting home or performing there. Artists considered it risky to address the suffering of Gambians through their work. People heard mostly positive things about Jammeh. His control over free speech became almost complete.
