Fuse ODG out to infuse a new African spirit

DETERMINED: Nana Richard Abiona says he wants people to learn about the positive things coming out of Africa.By Geoffrey RowlandsNana Richard Abiona has set himself a difficult task. The Ghanaian/ British rapper, better known as Fuse ODG, wants to change the way Africa is regarded by the rest of the world.“Everything in the news is always so negative,” sighed 25-year-old Fuse. “Civil wars, atrocities, draught, famine and abject poverty. These are the only kind of things you ever hear about.“I want people to learn about the positive things coming out of Africa. I’m not a politician so I can only point people in the right direction through my music. I can make a start just by presenting my Afrobeats musical style. By sharing this with the world, I can show the bubbly and vibrant side of Africa.”The “dark continent” has long since been described as “the white man’s burden.” Although such a remark is now regarded as politically incorrect, the ever increasing billions of dollars donated by the western world in government and charitable aid bears testament to that reality.“I’m hoping to change some of that through my This Is New Africa movement, T.I.N.A. for short. The idea was born in Britain. Along with my friend Andre Hackett, we created a mobile studio which provided the facilities for young Africans living in England to realise their musical aspirations.“This was part of our Escape Youth Project, a programme employing young adults who are former offenders to teach the performing arts to kids and teenagers. That’s how I get the ODG in my name. The people involved in this project become members of my Off Da Ground crew.“We expanded the concept in England and back in Africa to encourage young Africans to take pride in their heritage and use their skills in whatever field to rebuild their communities and show the more beautiful side of Africa to the world.”Born in London but growing up in both Ghana and England, Fuse was exposed to a wide variety of musical influences.“I listened to everything from my parents’ Ghanaian highlife to hip hop, dancehall and even rock. I actually started my career fronting a rock band called Ampersand. We played on the London pub circuit.“I eventually got into hip hop production and emceeing before I decided to focus on my Ghanaian heritage. I wanted to make authentic Ghanaian pop music and present this to the world.”The result was two smash hit singles, Antenna and Azonto. The latter brought the Ghanaian azonto dance craze to international attention via millions of views on YouTube.“I’d contacted the Ghanaian producer Killbeatz through Facebook to ask about working with him. I travelled to Ghana for our collaboration and found everyone doing the azonto dance.“It’s actually based on traditional Ghanaian dance forms such as kpanlogo and gawu. Each time we started to develop a song, everyone in the studio wanted it to be an azonto track. I decided to create a song about the dance so that’s how ‘Azonto’ came about. We brought in Ghana’s top female rapper, Itz Tiffany, as a guest MC and got ourselves a big hit.”Antenna was promoted through an azonto dance competition. People throughout the world submitted videos of themselves performing the dance all hoping to be featured in the official song promo.“I couldn’t believe how many videos were uploaded. They came from all over the planet. It made me realise how powerful music can be. I felt so privileged to have connected with such a large number of people.”Antenna became an even bigger hit than Azonto. It earned Fuse the Urban Music Awards for Best Single, Best Music Video and Best Collaboration, the latter being with guest vocalist Wyclef Jean. He was also named Artist of the Year and collected a Music Of Black Origin award for Best African Act.“It seemed strange to be categorised as an African artist because I live in Britain. But my songs are Afrobeats and my message is all about changing the perception of Africa so it’s fine by me if I’m seen as African.”Fuse now has another azonto style UK hit with Million Pound Girl (Badder Than Bad).“This is a big year for me. My album will be out soon so it’s great to know Afrobeats music is still as popular as it was in 2013. I can hopefully take my music to more parts of the world and spread the message encouraging people to see Africa in a new light.”