Richard Bona won the 2012 SACEM Grand Prix!Watch Video Below

Legendary Cameroonian musician and Jazz bassist Richard Bona is considered by many to be the finest player in the world.

Billboard magazine even went so far as to suggest said that Bona is “the hottest electric bass player since Jaco Pastorius – and the first since that past master with the potential for solo stardom”, while Newsweek asked its readers to “imagine an artist with Jaco Pastorious's virtuosity, George Benson's vocal fluidity, Joao Gilberto's sense of song and harmony, all mixed up with African culture."

High praise indeed. But then when you’re born to a family of musicians, inspiration is never far away, even if the proper tools are. As a child growing up in a mud-hut village in the heart of Cameroon, Bona didn’t always have the money to buy the instruments he needed, so a little improv went a long way - one home-made guitar was even fashioned with cords strung over an old motorcycle petrol tank.

At 13 Bona assembled his first Jazz ensemble, and discovering Jaco Pastorius shortly after would move him to switch allegiance to the electric bass. Stints in Germany and France would see him rise to prominence playing in a string of Jazz clubs with such luminaries as Manu Dibango, Didier Lockwood and Salif Keita.

In ’95 Bona relocated to New York, where he lives and works to this day. Just three years later he would become Musical Director on Harry Belafonte’s European tour. High profile gigs have seen Bona work with many of the city’s finest, including Larry Coryell, Michael and Randy Brecker, Mike Stern and Steve Gadd. And as if to come full circle, Bona has featured prominently on many Jaco Pastorious’ Big Band albums and toured extensively with the Pat Metheny Group. When he’s not playing bass you’ll find Bona in his guise as professorship of music at New York University or producing his own compositions – “If Richard Bona could create the soundtrack to his dreams”, waxed the Los Angeles Times, “it would sound a lot like his latest self-produced, Grammy-nominated album, Tiki.”

BONA:“In Cameroon music has to be describing a story,” . “When I was a kid, music was not music to us unless there was a beautiful story behind it. That’s my background. That’s still where I live. Even when people don’t understand the language, they can feel what’s happening. The sounds of the words and the music tell the story. And the stories of people’s lives are the same, work and love and struggle and happiness, all over the world.”

Visit Richard's website for more......

Richard Bona wins the 2012 SACEM Grand Prix

Details: Ngwa Bertrand; 29.Aug.2014; Hits: 3773

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History is about to be made! Kibonen Nfi announces her participation at the prestigious Fall 2014 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week New York. Nfi is the brain child behind one of Africa’s most original emerging fashion labels, KibonenǀNY, and she looks forward to participating in the coveted event taking place at the Lincoln Center on Tuesday, September 9, 2014 at 8pm.
Kibonen’s participation at Mercedes Benz Fashion week comes at the heels of a rigorous audition process organized by the Art Institutes of NYC where she is currently enrolled as a fashion design student. While over 60 students auditioned, 13 students were selected, and Kibonen was one of the talented elite selected. Kibonen joins the list of the few African designers who have showcased on this platform.

Kibonen delved into fashion in 2009 when she came up with the ingenious idea to revolutionize the “Toghu,” which is the royal regalia worn by the Tikar people of the Bamileke and Bamenda regions of Cameroon, West African. She further developed her aesthetic vision by creating pieces that not only represent the Cameroonian tribes, but garments wearable and appreciated by the ultra-modern client. While Nfi constantly gains inspirations from the African prints, African tribes, nature, symbols and representing them on her textile designs, she uses this inspiration to print on luxurious and more contemporary fabrics.

As that “child of Africa” she has successfully showcased her talent at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Africa in South Africa2012 and 2013, has been featured in BBC- focus on Africa, GQ SA, the New African Woman Magazine and her work has been in exhibitions at the National Museum of African Art – Smithsonian Institution. As the African Fashion International Awards 2013 nominee for emerging designer of the year and the Cameroon Academy Awards recipient for Designer of the year 2013 Kibonen has decided to transform her natural talent to a financially viable career. Nfi reiterates the fact that “ Anyone can be very talented but will need the right channels to explore their talent. Going back to the Art Institutes of NYC for a degree in Fashion Design is the best decision I ever made. They provide me with the support system I need to leap forward in the industry and to the right direction. This to me has no price and I truly feel privileged to be a part of this entire experience. ”.
Sustainability in fashion is key to this designer who thinks of Cameroon as a country with abundant talent, unbelievable design aesthetics, and amazing and beautiful people yet over 49% of the population live below the poverty line. This was another gripping factor that urged Kibonen to further develop her skills and use the business of fashion to eventually help create employment in Cameroon, paying employees a fair wage that will not only aid survival but allow them to improve their standard of living.
Kibonen has decided to dig further into the modern fashion world in order to further develop her skills and better articulate the needs of her clients. Developing a lot of support along with knowledge and skills from her school, Nfi recently landed a phenomenal internship opportunity at Donna Karan New York in the Atelier Division. Where they design exclusive outfits for celebrities. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Kibonen Nfi during the 2014 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week!

Details: Ngwa Bertrand; 29.Aug.2014; Hits: 3599

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One of the most publicized Cameroon music group in modern history, X-Maleya has announced a musical concert on the 14^th of September 2014 to be hosted in the oldest music hall in French history-Olympia de Paris.

A series of French television channels have reported that X-Maleya is the first Cameroonian boy band to ever perform in the mystic Olympia. The young lads; Roger Samming, Auguste Rim and Hais Zaite will on the 14^th of September join the likes of legendary Cameroonian solo artists Anne Maries Ndzie, Manu Dibango, Yannich Noah, Richard Bona, Georges Seba and Elvis Kemayo who have all performed at the historic Olympia de Paris.