TIKEN JAH FAKOLY’S AFRICAN REVOLUTION SET FOR U.S. RELEASE AUGUST 16

HEADLINES CENTRAL PARK SUMMERSTAGE AND SOB’S

“The message is as simple as the realities are hard and the suffering is deep. And Tiken Jah has the courage to say it out loud.” —The Independent

Ivorian reggae artist Tiken Jah Fakoly’s tenth album, African Revolution, receives its U.S. release digitally on August 16 and on CD August 23. In celebration, Fakoly is set to play two rare U.S. shows in New York: SOB’s on August 19, and Central Park SummerStage on August 20.

Known for his politically charged lyrics and his outspoken criticism of injustice, oppression and disinformation, African Revolution draws on Fakoly’s experience of more than five years’ exile in Mali. The Ivory Coast native creates a sound that merges elements of traditional Jamaican reggae with “mandingue blues,” a style drawn from Malian tradition.

Produced with Jonathan Quarmby and Kevin Bacon in Kingston, Jamaica (at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong studio) and Bamako, Mali, African Revolution is built upon a typically Jamaican “riddim” provided by reggae masters Glen Browne (bass), Marc Dawson (drums) and Mickey Chung (guitar) coupled with the guitar work of French musician Thomas Naïm. Instruments of the “new tradition” of Malian griots (storytelling musicians), the ngoni, kora, soukou and balafon, provide a subtle, off-centered shift in the traditional Jamaican rhythms.

All of the music on African Revolution is composed by Fakoly with the notable exception of “Je Dis Non” (I Say No), which is written by French-Nigerian rapper Féfé. Other noteworthy collaborations on the album include “Il Faut Se Lever” (You Have to Rise Up) and “Sors De Ma Télé” (Get Out of My TV) with lyrics by Magyd Cherfi of the French political super-group Zebda and “Je Ne Veux Pas Ton Pouvoir” (I Don’t Want Your Power) with lyrics by French singer-songwriter Jeanne Cherhal. The single “Political War” features the vocals of French-Nigerian singer Asa.

Fakoly is an artist who has always taken risks, musical and otherwise. His 1996 album, Mangercratie, incorporated the language of the streets of Abidjan, immediately establishing him as the voice of millions of young Africans. His challenging the “official history” of Ivory Coast and other African nations has led to tensions at home and abroad. As a spokesman for the repressed and disenfranchised, Fakoly has joined the ranks of Peter Tosh and Bob Marley before him, all while pushing the boundaries of reggae and creating a sound that transcends genres and borders.

For more information, please contact Chris Schimpf, Joe Cohen or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.