Afropop Worldwide

It’s no secret we’re suckers for a good song and dance, and Lome, Togo’s own Dogo just recorded a great song and video to accompany it.

Check out this song about forgiveness, “Soké Wo,” right here.

Dogo is known for dabbling with traditional rhythms, although the story of this rhythm involves riding the wings of a pop musical form in the 20^th century.

According to Dogo, “this acoustic song is based on the Akpesse-Bobobo rhythm played by Ewe people in the Region des Plateaux in Togo. The Bobobo was developed by Francis Kojo Nuatro. He is thought to have been an ex-police officer who organized a dance group in the middle to late 1940s.”

The dance has its roots from Wusuta and in the highlife popular music across West African countries. Bobobo gained national recognition in the 1950s and 1960s because of its use at political rallies and the novelty of its dance formations and movements. It is generally performed at social occasions. This is a social dance with a great deal of room for free expression so it became popular quickly. In general, the men sing and dance in the center while the women dance in a ring around them. There are "slow" and "fast" versions of Bobobo. The slow one is called Akpesse and the fast one is termed to be Bobobo.

The song, recorded in Dogo’s studio with his guys, is available for download via Bandcamp.