He thought he was a quiet and unpopular guy — until one day he attended the same show as the president. When Madame President entered the hall the crowd went wild and started screaming. But when he entered, there was even more noise.
Click to view galleryHe is Takun-J, Liberia’s leading hip-co artist. Hip-co (“co” as in colloquial), is a style of music that is unique to Liberia, because it is the way that people freely speak and relate to one another. It sounds like a mix of rap and singing. Takun-J uses the hip-co style of music to send out his touching social message. He’s inspired a lot of youth with new kinds of slang like “A na right” and “What’s cracking? Dog barking.”
His first album, “Police Man,” was a hit among the youth for talking about issues with the police. For that, he said, he was arrested and whipped. But he didn’t give up, and has done more to improve the hip-co style of music.
Financially, he says he doesn’t have a dime; his fans have little to pay for his music. But has received a number of awards and is known as the hip-co king in Liberia. His target now is to reach the global market, and he is working on a new album.
Visit TakunJ’s wesbite at takunj.com
