Jonas (Bibi) Hammond is a musician and producer of Ghanaian origin based in Berlin. His music draws upon the well-known musical genres of black music such as Blues, Soul, RnB and Jazz. Hammond’s Jamestown is a limited jubilee edition collection of 12 tracks. All reflect the musical and physical journeys Hammond has made between 1975 and 2011 and a heart that has never forgotten its origin in Ghana. Jamestown at times has you catching a glimpse of Ray Charles as on Track 1, ‘You can’t put a good man down’ or a breeze of New Orleans magic mixed with Ghanaian feel-goodness as on Track 3, ‘Jamestown’.

Curious about the man behind the voice? Good thing Maischna Magazine has put together some facts and trivia for you.

Starting out in Germany

A German-based band called Roots Anabo heard my music and came out to meet me in Ghana in the 80s. They told me they were looking for a bass player to join them in Berlin. I agreed to do 6 months and now I’ve been here 26 years.

Growing up

I grew up in a very sheltered upbringing. My father was a first minister in Ghana right after independence. So I went to private schools and all that. So you’re a bit removed from the real foundation of the African culture, because of a pseudo European upbringing.

A turning point for me …

… was meeting one of the last greats of Nubian folk music in the 80s, Ali Hassan Kuban whom I would eventually produce.

The experience started a new, conscience me. Back in Berlin, I did some research on African folk music. I was upset to discover that there was African history in Western archives which we ourselves did not have. I felt that we had not always protected our history and culture as we should have.

Message of my music

I am a romantic at heart so I sing a lot of love songs. But it is also important for me to sing about black consciousness like I did for 1884.

1884 … is one of the most wonderful things I have done in my life. The Werkstatt der Kulturen in Berlin put together a music-history-project on occasion of the 125^th anniversary of the ‘Berlin Africa Conference’. This conference laid the foundation for the partition of Africa. The Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung has now licensed the project and it is going to be shared nation-wide.

It irks me

That African women do not seem aware of their special beauty at times. ‘Let it go’ is a track I have on one of my albums. I write, for example, “I can’t even find a sister with a ‘fro no more because they are all trying to look like Marilyn Monroe”.

That African leaders talk and talk about changing things but never do.

That Black music on MTV, or some forms of Afro-pop, sometimes reduce women to their ‘booty’. I am not saying it is all bad, but that we need to think about what we communicate and keep our pride and dignity.

Just a thought

One of my favourite German sayings is von nichts kommt nichts. I feel the black diaspora needs to cultivate a certain pride in who we are for younger generations – teach them that it is something you do for yourself within you, it is not about where you are. I am 52 now and I discovered my true consciousness when I was maybe 40. It’s always a process.

Don’t miss out: Jamestown available for download on ITUNES!

Listen to Hammond’s sound on Reverbnation or watch him perform ‘You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down’ 

Comments

comments