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RECORDS: BLACK SYSTEM
1966 -
COTE D'IVOIRE
Alias: | Issiaka Diakité |
| Language: | Mandinka Bambara Malenké Dioula French |
| Genre: | Reggae |
| Instrument: | Male vocals |
On the Internet Discography
The polio-stricken Issiaka Diakite was 15 when Bob Marley died in 1981. This was a decisive moment for the young man. He decided, there and then, that reggae was African music.
Issiaka Diakite grew up in the poor part of town in Treichville, in Abidjan. Musically speaking, he was strongly influenced by another boy, Seydou Kone, better known as reggae artist Alpha Blondy, who sang in the local Dioula tongue. Young Issiaka became a member of the Les Freres Keita singing group and made a cassette with them. In 1990 he recorded his first sole album, "Rahman", under the artistic name of Ismael Isaac. The album was produced by none other than Ibrahim Sylla. In 1993 came "Taxi Jump" and later, in 1997, "Treich Feeling".
Ismael Isaac sings in five languages: Mandinka, Bambara, Malenke, Dioula and French.
Relevant artists: Alpha Blondy Lucky Dube
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Last Modified:
22 nov 2009
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BLACK SYSTEM 
Sterns Africa/2000
This is Ismael Isaac's fourth disk. Like his first it's produced by Ibrahim Sylla. It's a solid piece of work that's being presented here, but nothing more. Ismael Isaac sings in the ordinary and slightly screeching West African tradition, not unlike his mentor, Alpha Blondy, and his melodies are easy and catchy.
West African reggae is more airy and melodious than the original Jamaican reggae. The arrangements are big, backed up as he is by a 15 piece band. Yet there is something flat and one dimensional about the music, probably due to the too slick production, though this is by no means poor. The lyrics are also impossible to judge because there is no translation available. To sum up, "Black System" is a sympathetic effort.
KJØP PLATE Editor: Bjørn-Erik Hanssen
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