On May 19, MansA welcomes the Roots to Rhythm collective for an exploration of makossa, a genre that originated in Douala within a particularly diverse urban and linguistic landscape. A musical journey through Cameroon, from the earliest recordings to its spread throughout the diaspora, uncovering a repertoire that blends French, English, and local languages.
Makossa is the soundtrack of Douala, a Cameroonian port city that serves as a true crossroads of exchange and is one of the most linguistically diverse urban areas in Africa. Born in a country with over 250 languages—including English and French, inherited from the colonial period, and an English-based Creole pidgin—this musical genre has never belonged to a single voice.
From its earliest recordings through the productions made in France during the “Paris years,” and later with the incorporation of Cameroonian Pidgin in the 1980s, makossa has always embodied more than one language—and with it, more than one conception of what it means to be Cameroonian. To listen closely to the lyrics of makossa is to hear a country questioning its own identity—at the intersection of borders, generations, and languages.
Event organized with Dare Balogun of the Roots to Rhythm collective. Founded by Grace Shelley and Dare Balogun, the Roots to Rhythm collective is a research and performance project dedicated to African music and its contemporary circulation. Through workshops, lectures, and DJ sets, the collective explores how the sounds of the continent are shaping today’s electronic music scenes and diaspora dance cultures.
