Changing The Image Of African People

Members of the band Soulfege DERRICK ASHONG, a Ph.D. student at Harvard University, proclaims himself a man on a mission. His quest, a journey he has just begun, is to change the image of African people in the media, both in the motherland and in the diaspora.

He visited the island recently to push his project the 'Sweet Mother Tour'. The first leg of the project is the production of the album 'Heavy Structured' by the band Soulfege, in which Ashong plays. The album is currently seeking a path on the airwaves, starting in Ghana and Jamaica. This will then culminate in the Sweet Mother Tour.

The name comes from Nico Mbarga's 1976 song which is re-mixed on the album but the mother in this case puns on 'motherhood' and 'mother Africa'. A film looking on the influence of hip hop on the youth in Ghana is also a part of the project. Though slated for release next summer, the film has not yet been named.

SIMPLE ENOUGH

The sweet mother plan is a simple enough one if it can be pulled off. As he is doing in Jamaica, Ashong hopes to get the interest of the media as well as propel the album forward through a network of groups interested in projecting the same ideals. He noted that he was not looking for shiny happy people with eyes filled with stars but rather was seeking the "dirty grimy"
people who had been down in the trenches trying to effect change. "We don't do this because we think we're gonna succeed," he says, "we do this because it must be done."

Ashong states that the images one gets of Africa in the media today surround death, destruction and HIV/AIDS. He wishes to change these pictures of "hopeless" images to ones that are "hopeful". His cross continental take is a reflection of his upbringing. A Ghanaian by birth, he moved to Brooklyn, New York, in his early childhood and then to Saudia Arabia at age eight. At age 12, he moved to Qatar, Africa, and then finally back to the United States at age 16.

It was while in his native Accra, Ghana, in 2002 that Ashong felt strongly motivated to work on the Sweet Mother Tour. He noted that at the time while native Ghanaian music was playing on the airwaves, "nigger" was also a part of greetings on the street. His project is an attempt to effect change in this kind of behaviour.

LIAISONS

Ashong notes that liaisons have already been created with groups such as Pioneers of Change (Johannesburg) and Taking It Global in Canada. The album hopes to work around the recording industry behemoth by starting at the grass roots level. Ashong says that by establishing a network, which other artistes can also utilise later, the album can be successfully marketed and distributed without great corporate sponsorship. The success of the project also hinges on the Free Access Music (FAM) licensing taking on. FAM would allow music to be redistributed without royalties being paid.

Interestingly, the project also reflects Ashong's Ph.D. studies. He noted that though it is only partly related to his study of the influence of music on the youth, it is a way of putting some of his theories into practice. "In academia, we theorise a lot about things but we don't really care about doing things," he said. So, he is putting his labour where his ideals are.