At TRUE Africa, one of our favourite fashion brands is—and has been—Studio 189, which was started by the American actress Rosario Dawson and her Ghanaian friend Abrima Erwiah way back in 2013.
Tomorrow in New York City, they will be launching a collaboration with Uproot Andy, a socially minded DJ/producer rooted in promoting sounds from immigrant communities based in NYC.
For the launch, Studio 189 collaborated with Ghanaian creatives, including graphic
designer Fredrick Rockson and a street artist called Muhasim Hamza Giwah. The
collaborations came through the support of Mantse of Accra Dot Alt and the
famous Chale Wote Festival.
The mixtape is more than one hour’s worth of transcultural dance music
“We were inspired by the street art in Ghana and the barbershop signs that you see,” says Erwiah.
In addition to the visuals, an entire sonic environment was created by Uproot
Andy, a Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based DJ who specializes in so-called tropical
mixes.
I wanted to emphasise the shared culture of the different genres and remix the songs so as to blur the distinctions between them
The album features 16 dance floor ready tracks and the mixtape is more
than one hour’s worth of transcultural dance music exploring “the common thread
connecting Afrobeats, Baile Funk, Dembow and the Afro Latin Caribbean through
to hip hop.”
“I’m really inspired by the way Studio 189 balances local Ghanaian cultural
traditions with a global style that speaks to everyone,” says Uproot Andy.
“With this mix I wanted to emphasise the shared culture of the different genres and remix
the songs so as to blur the distinctions between them, so that it would flow together
and feel like one style even as the language of the singing changes from song to
song.”
The “Bumper to Bumper” mix is on SoundCloud, and you can listen to it here.