By Iminza Keboge
Published March 29, 2021
Fely Tchaco, an African who originally came to United States of America in 1999, has released an 11-track music album dedicated to migrants who lose their lives while crossing vast deserts and water masses in their quest for better life in Europe.
Explored on the album that is aptly titled Yita (Deep Water in English or Eau Profonde in French) are themes ranging from migration to human trafficking and from police brutality to social justice.
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If you are like me, you are likely to join in the singing and swaying to the highly percussive Djebi Dje, the longest track on the album that also has English lines.
The drumming on Zaoul are as enticing and mesmerising as those of isukuti dance of the abaluyia of western Kenya. The loud and clear projection of vocals on Zante and Yita make the tracks stand out.Then comes the hope-inspiring It’s Never Too Late and Tile Tete that lifts you and pushes you to the dance floor; well, get up. Let’s dance with Fely Tchaco who says her album is a tribute to migrants seeking better lives all over the word.
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An immigrant who faced tremendous challenges herself, Fely Tchaco was born and raised in Ivory Coast where she released two albums to critical acclaim in 1996 and 1998 before she relocated San Francisco in 1999. Here, she continues to refine her sound and vision.
She has since 2004 released two more albums and an EP (extended play).
Though firmly rooted in tradition Yita is cosmopolitan in composition and outlook, Fely Tchaco’s unflinching lyrics being inspired by current events, and always grounded in her own life experiences. She sings in English and French as well as in the languages she grew up speaking, such as Gouro, Bete, and Dioula.
A dancer as well as a musician, she specialises in the traditional rhythms of the West African forest region, such as gbegbe, gahou, alloukou, and the zaouli – a mask dance from her own Gouro people that has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2017. The track “Zaouli” is a celebration of this very special mask dance.
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Fely Tchaco’s commitment to Ivorian music, dance, and traditions has led her to found the Pan African Arts Academy in San Francisco, with a mission to teach arts and crafts originating in Africa and the African Diaspora based on a spirit of cultural diversity, dynamic growth, and sustainability.
Yita was released on March 8, 2021 to coincide with the annual International Women’s Day whose theme was Choose to Challenge.
“I am so grateful to be able to represent my culture as a Gouro woman, because there are not many of us. It is mostly men that are known in the crafts, arts and dance. I hope that I can add to that by celebrating not only the Gouro women but to celebrate the entire women all over the world who have contributed so much in art and music,” says the artist who was born Felicite Leye Tchaco in Yamousoukouro.
Besides being a singer-songwriter, Fely Tchaco is a fashion designer and visual artist who combines her art and fashion to express her creativity in her music and on stage.
