My name is Raymond Rhoden, I am a young articulator of feeling as well as hope by way of music! Born to the allegiance of the soon to be Republic Jamaica my pride and mannerisms are easily identified as a cultural tie and are often mentioned as some of my strong suits. Surprisingly to many, music wasn't my first passion it was writing. As a growing boy with quite a bit of stage fright I often watched my mom Dr. Stephanie Cato who was then a "Roots Play write" and actress, with the utmost admiration. This lead me to writing, first about what I loved about the shows then that lead to me pointing out what I didn't like about the shows which naturally lead me to constructing what I believed as a bright eyed seven year old to be great add onto to the show. Needless to say, I wasn't taken seriously by anyone but my mom who encouraged what ever I dared to try and a few members of my family of course. That didn't at all stop me. I started gaining momentum with writing and priming my vocabulary in hopes to strengthen my facets and it did; then the strangest thing started to happen. Unplanned, unrehearsed, and unexpectedly I just found myself making small little rhythms; rhythms being what they called songs in Jamaica at the time while washing dishes. I would be constructing a rhythm taking a bath, after home work, before video games, all day. I soon with my family migrated to the States (U.S) where music was a bit more accessible than it was back home, I could go to the barber shop and by a bootleg of the hottest songs out with my lunch money here and that was luxury for my growing desire to understand what it took to make "MUSIC' on a sonic level! Shortly after my arrival, however, music had to make room for what would take the most of my time over the next six years, Basketball. Having the drive,  a desire to be good at whatever I attempted to do kept me persistent with the sport because truth be told I was horrible at it. I was over weight, slow but I had coordination so I started running, then I started attending different inner city basketball clinics to improve my skill sets. Before you knew I was in love the game bringing trophies home some just for being on the team but some I earned for play significant roles. I don't know if this truth reveres threw out all of New York but round here you slang **** or had a wicked jump shot like Biggie said and you can ask about mine lol. Attaining acclaim in High School due to my wit and prowess in basketball I attempted to join the team but circumstances that would lead me to missing more school than the average 17 year old. I went right back to the music because it was in my blood. I was clocking 60 hours per work week and writing raps instead of shooting jump shots for hours and was still not doing any recording. I was in the occasional cypher these days and I started to gain respect from my piers for the way I arranged cadences and slowly but surly the love for this art form started to fill my sights again, impromptu, unprepared, and unforeseen. I never turned back from that point even though I didn't always publicly proclaim to be an artist. I started recording some five years later with more rhyme books under my belt. At that time, I was not sure what to do with all the that work I had accomplished . My first recording session was in the Subbasement of BxRecords and that was the start of this journey that I embarked on. Personally, I am thanking you all for taking the time out to catch up with me and hopefully I will see you along the journey if I have yet to do so. PEACE!!!


Guitar legend Oghene Kologbo was born in Warri, Nigeria in 1957. His father was the well known highlife musician Joe King Kologbo. When Kologbo was a teenager, he began performing with the revolutionary Afrobeat master Fela Kuti. Kologbo went on to record more than 50 sides with Africa 70. He played the hypnotic tenor guitar lines, but often recorded bass and rhythm guitar too. Kologbo was Fela's personal assistant and "tape recorder". That is, it was his job to remember the melodies Fela would sing to him late at night, then teach them to the band at rehearsal the next day. In 1978, after a show at the Berlin Jazz Festival, Kologbo left the band (along with Tony Allen and a few others) and stayed in Berlin.

 

In the 1980s and 1990s, Kologbo worked with the legendary but short-lived Roots Anabo. He also toured and recorded with King Sunny Ade, Tony Allen, and Brenda Fassie, among others. In 2005, Kologbo began working with the Afrobeat Academy, Berlin's heaviest afrobeat ensemble — which later on morphed into Ghanean guitarist Ebo Taylor's and then Ghanean singer Pat Thomas' backing bands — and released together in 2007 the album "Remember Fela Kuti". In 2008 he moved to France to join Tony Allen's on tenor guitar. After nearly a year playing and teaching Afrobeat in Brazil, Kologbo came back to France to work on his new record, "Africa is the Future", produced by Loik Dury and Grant Phabao from the Paris DJs collective/label/media/store.

 

"Africa Is The Future" is a true collective effort, with many guests gathering forces on the project: Tony Allen, playing drums on 5 tracks (Nigeria/France), singer Pat Thomas (Ghana), deejay Joseph Cotton (Jamaica), singer Ayo (Nigeria/Germany), horn players from the Afrobeat Academy (Germany) or from Les Frères Smith (France), members of Antibalas (USA), Newen Afrobeat (Chile), etc. This is afrobeat from the 21st century at its purest, blending the originators and the descendants together !

palenquerecords45@gmail.com
PALENQUE RECORDS is an AFRO-COLOMBIAN MUSIC LABEL founded by Lucas Silva Dj Champeta-man, in 1996 .&#13;
WE ARE THE PIONEERS OF AFRO-COLOMBIAN MUSIC&#13;
our artists:: Colombiafrica The Mystic Orchestra, Sexteto Tabala, Alegres Ambulancias de Palenque, Son Palenque, Faraon Bantu el Pico Mistico, Alfonso Cordoba el Brujo, Batata y su Rumba Palenquera y mas...&#13;
Our productions are available EVERYWHERE&#13;
for all infos, write to&#13;
<a href="mailto:palenquerecords@yahoo.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">palenquerecords@yahoo.com</a>&#13;
<a href="http://palenquerecords.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">palenquerecords.blogspot.com</a>

KAFAYA_X is following