http://www.gambia.dk/jalibaku.html
He plays a traditional Gambian instrument called the Kora (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kora_(instrument))
and sings crazy lyrics, mostly in Mandinka and Wolof. He is SO famous that he even had a concert in Seattle a few weeks back, though I hear most people in attendance were Gambians. He lives in a “mansion” around the corner from my place (about 2.5 blocks away to be exact). The Mother of one of his several wives lives next door to me, and she likes to remind me of this connection frequently. I, on the other hand, like to smile and laugh and sound surprised every time she tells me.
I walk by his house every day to go to work. Lots of people hang out there, and sometimes there are strange promotional events (I actually won a bucket once). I also hear that sometimes he even puts on free concerts in his backyard. I will let you know if this is strictly rumor or if one of these free shows happens. This is an example of what his house looks like versus a normal Brikama house.
Approaching the back of the mansion on my way to work
Side view of house with woman sweeping the dirt road
Getting closer…three stories! WTF is going on!
Three stories AND nice paint
The gate to his yard/garage
Continuing on my way, but if you look closely you can see two cars in the yard. One of which is an SUV. Good lord.
His house is attached Bitik... of course
Some of his neighbors…
And their fence/yard…
For a long time this whole thing did not mean very much to me because I had no idea who this guy was or what his music sounded like. However, now I can officially say that I know who Jaliba is AND…. Blog post part II… that his was the first concert I attended in the country (Not free in his yard, but a paid for Aids charity concert and Jokers in Brikama which was partially organized by Lucia, a PC health volunteer and fellow Brikama sorority sister). Although living next to him still does not mean much to me, I do feel more culturally well rounded for being able to say all of this.
The actual concert itself was a pretty great time. Gambians were dressed to the nines and some hilarious dancing and singing ensued. If there is one thing Gambians are not shy about it is the quality of their singing voice. I have yet to meet somebody in country who is shy to sing in public. Although I support self confidence to the fullest this particular trait can sometimes be very painful. There were several ladies who decided to dance their way onto the stage and sing a few versus into the microphone, and let me tell you, they made the Collette voice sound similar to that of angels. Good lord. I, and a few others, literally had to plug our ears it was so bad. If anything it made me appreciate Jaliba’s music even more than I obviously already had.
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