FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)
Musa Barrow
1 July 2009
interview
In this interview with Foroyaa Art and Music Column, Bala Ranks, another talented young Gambian artist, talks about his soon to be released debut album.
Foroyaa: Could you, first of all, introduce yourself to the readers?
Bala Ranks: Well, my names are Musa Kuyateh. I was born in Manneh Kunda, Basse. I currently live at Old Jeshwang. I am also known as 'Balla Ranks, the evil hunter'.
How did this artistic name 'Bala Ranks' come about?
Well, by virtue of the fact that my name is Musa, many people, including my mother, call me Bala. It was my friends who first started to calling me 'Bala Ranks' and I truly appreciate the name. Basically this was how my artistic name came about.
How did you get the inspiration to become a musician?
As my surname Kuyateh indicates, I am from a family traditional musicians. My father was a good Kora player and my mother was also a good singer. I remember when I was young, my father used to call me to sit beside him when he was playing the Kora. Given this family atmosphere of musicians, my life became inextricably linked to music.
You just said your father used to call you to come and sit beside him when he was playing the Kora. Was it that you learned the skills of Kora playing from your father?
Unfortunately, I have not learned the art successfully due to the fact that I left home early to study Arabic when I was a little boy. When I returned, my father was already an old man and was no longer the active man he used to be.
What is your educational background?
I spent four years at Arabic School, but I have never been to a school where English is the language of instruction. Having left Arabic school, I went to learn carpentry for seven years. After being trained as a carpentry I then moved to Serrekunda and with the help of one English friend of mine, David Molly, I established my own carpentry workshop. He helped by purchasing tools and materials.
So far how many singles have you released?
I have released nine to ten singles so far.
What is the title of your debut single?
The title of my first single was 'Work Hard', which I recorded at the late M.J's studio. 'Am not a fool' was the title of the second single and that this is the song that is frequently played on GRTS. This was followed by 'Allamuta' and 'Voice of the children'. After the release of these singles, another four followed.
How long did it take you to release these said singles?
It took me four years to release them. I first went to the studio in 2004 at M.J's 'Buldoff'studio.
Did you record all your singles at 'Buldoff' Studio?
No, I did not recorded all of them at 'Buldorff'. My other singles were recorded at T.J's Studio, located in Bakoteh and another one belonging to one Karamo Susso.
What was the response of music lovers like towards your nine singles?
Well, if my observation is anything to go by, the nine singles that I released were well received by music enthusiasts. People do tell me that they listen to my music and they liked it. They often encourage me to keep on working hard.
What were some of the constraints, if any, you faced when recording these singles?
As a beginner, my main constrains was finance. When I was starting I did have enough money to record at the studio. I had to depend on my carpentry skills to generate some money which I used to pay studio operators to record my music.
Another tactic I used was to consult one Mr. Khan who helped me organised a concert at Tobacco Road, Banjul. Mr. Khan put all the necessary things together and the concert turned out to be quite successful. The concert was my first ever and it gave me the opportunity to showcase my talents in front of a solid-out crowd.
How was it like to face a crowd of such magnitude for the first time? How did you feel?
Well, it was a total new experience. But, I must say I was surprised by my own performance on the stage and so were many other people who could not believe what they saw on the stage.
Tell me, when you first climbed the stage in front of that huge crowd in your premier public performance, did you feel intimidated overcome by stage fright?
Certainly not. I showed no sign of trembling, because I was quite confident and comfortable when I picked up the mike.
Having released nine singles, don't you think it is high time for you to come up with a debut album? Is there any plan to that effect?
Plans are at an advanced stage for me to release an album. In fact, I should have been in Senegal to start putting up things together for my forthcoming album. I did not go because the man I should have met for this purpose is presently on his way to The Gambia and I'm waiting for him here.
Who are behind this project as sponsors of the debut album?
Gamcel is the sole force behind this project.
What sort of album are we expecting? What would it entail?
The album is going to contain seven tracks. Five of the tracks are in Mandinka, while the remaining two are in English.
What is going to be the title of the album?
Well, I wish not to disclose that now. Anyway, it will be made known in due course.
Having participated in the Gamcel 'Chart Buster' how was it like to take part in such a competition?
This Gamcel 'Chart Buster' was very interesting. At the beginning, it was very exciting, but having gone midway it turned out to be tough and challenging. However, in the end it became so fascinating.
The competition was good for Gambian musicians, as it helped us learn new things about the art. One important lesson of the competition was that it helped artists to work under pressure and effectively so. During the competition, participants had to work under intense pressure in order to qualify to higher stages.
Can you imagine being pressurized to work on two or three new songs on a weekly basis? Such was the nature of the competition. Clearly, anyone who wanted to survive in such a competition has to be sharp, hard working and steadfast.
Another good thing that the exercise brought was to enable Gambian musicians to mingle and interact. In my honest opinion, the competition was a success and I am calling on Gamcel to come up with a similar competition again.
How did you fare in the competition?
I did very well as I emerged the second best participant behind 'Magnificent Joe'.
What were some of the things that you learnt from the competition?
The role of an artist is to preach, educate as well as entertain. So naturally, one has to learn something when one mingles with other such preachers.
Through my observation of the behavior of the participants in the Gamcel 'Chart Buster' competition, I managed to compile some two to three songs.
What sort of an artist would you say you are?
I am known as the 'Evil hunter'. So, as the attribute implies, I feel it is my duty to sing against wrong things in society. I sing about the issues affecting the ordinary people on a daily basis.
To be continued in the next edition.
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