Sierra Leone's Janka Nabay performs live in the Soundcheck studio.

Janka Nabay: Bubu Music With An Indie Rock Twist (Archives)

Soundcheck | May 28, 2020

The songs of singer Janka Nabay (aka "the Bubu King") mix a regional folk music from his native Sierra Leone called bubu with the high-octane sounds of Brooklyn's vibrant Afropop scene. Bubu music has found new fans in the indie rock community thanks to its driving rhythms and psychedelic guitar riffs. Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang's record En Yay Sah is both political and highly danceable, while revamping some of the classic bubu sounds. In this in-studio visit from 2012, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang play songs from the 2012 record in-studio, and explain some of the sociopolitical messages within. (Note: Nabay passed on in 2018.) 

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