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WestWest Africa

by Mausiki Scales

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1.
The Solution 07:32
I’m gonna put it in a letter Imma sign my name Imma send it downriver Imma gonna set it to a flame I’ve shouted’ from the rooftops Screamed into my hands No time for ya cheap-tricks Oh I’m making plans Born in the forest Fettered in the tangled chains Feeling my way along Through the mud & rain 100% cotton, 200% pain “Talk to your brother” Thats what our mother say The old man will beat it in ya, Well, if he have his way Get me a switch they say That cycle ends today I’m taking aim and I won’t miss Cause the solution to all of this Is none of this The Solution to all of this, is None of this...whoa (4x) It was agreed in heaven For me to learn these lessons Slim tall fella bout 6’1 Imma talk some leave some Collards for me, Pour out the rum Yeah give the spirits some We workin' up in this thang Crossing our feet and er’thang Swimming in the waters [Of] fear, fear and more fear You can’t spend that here [though] You hit me with the one-two You tried ta clip my wings Bled two pints of blood Dem dere is broken wings Now hear my hammer ring Cause it don't even mean a thing Without the ring Now I'm aiming and I won’t miss. I said I'm aiming and I won’t miss I’m the kingfish(er) And the solution to all of this, is none of this The solution to all of this, Is none of this...whoa (4x)
2.
Welcome to the Big Game The Kaleidoscopic Universe This is the Big Game In this mansion made of mirrors Bend but don’t break When the storm winds blow Bend but don’t break Always stretch and flow
3.
First Nanas 05:16
In the beginning was woman, and she was African 1st Nanas, from the very 1st breath So ancient, they’ve died a 2nd death Separated the water from the land Raised giants on her command Nananom Edekindfo (1st Nanas [in Twi language]) 2x Women they gather Shaping clay into pots Yam pounding mortars Pricing market crops Nananom Edekindfo Grandmama Sewin’ On her Singer sewin’ machine She Singin' with soul While she stitchin’ seams Nananom Edekindfo Sister’s, in the room, braidin’ sisters hair Quality time, going on in there Three whole hours, since they set out Tellin’ each other what its all about The Descendants, Nananom Edekindfo Mid-widwives and doulas Openers of the way Guanrantees the future You come to earth one way Nananom Edekindfo Touchin’ every river Touchin’ every sea When you talking to them You talking to me Nananom Edekindfo Wings of an angel the mermaids fins Hearth of the village Mama’s prayin hands Nananom Edekindfo Malinké chant
4.
The light of the Lamp & The place where the sun comes up - ooh It’s lightning on the mountains & hilltops The place where the sun comes up Through the Rainy season, The dry season Dusty Harmattan winds We stand reaching for the sun Like the ocean waves, Trees, mountains Even blades of grass Reborn each morning, As it moves through the sky Making way for the night Sparks leads to fire Blacksmith fans the flames Bellows blowing, and bellowin’ Heating up from The Big Game
5.
Amplify 04:56
This story we write Love’s never denied It’s our war cry It is the bottom line Knew from the start That we’ll amplify Amplify, amplify We walk in this life It’s so profound Where to put the silence? Where to put the sound? Life is movement We’re on the move.. Ayoluwa, 5:59am, This is the part where I ask you to brunch You said yes! So quick-step to sweet potato hash Alas, hand in hand We navigate the smooth waters together We navigate the rough waters together Working around the roots of the mangrove trees Always knew we could be Now here from a dugout canoe We get to see what we can do And your hat, it looks great on you Yeah it looks great on you
6.
Keep love in your heart Put a drum in your home Keep playing your part Life, rhythm and tone Let the drum remind you. Let ya heart remind you I will find you Oh I’ll find you
7.
Do like our ancestors did It’s not that far to get to yesterday, This is how you Pass tradition, pass tradition Gather the family Under the shade of tree
8.
Serenity 04:57
Oooh, Serenity
9.
Bantu Beetle 07:41
10.
Mesmerized 04:17
Mesmerized, Like heaven for the time being Realized, Like heaven for the time being
11.
Ethiopia is Stretching Her hands out to God, Hands out to God. [Amharic] Ethiopia is Stretching Her hands out to God, Hands out to God.
12.
Oh my Brother Oh My Sister (4x) What ya gon do for me? (4x) Oooh ooh, Oooh, ooh yeah
13.
Upon our arrival Paramount to our survival We return to the musings of this river To the music of this river It always delivers You aint never seen no Funk Like This, Til This (4x) It’s the train that aint never late And those that know what it is Know what it is, cause it is what it is done Hollered in the Fields It’s bigger than the Big Pill It never fails… Bamana [Bambara] chant You aint never seen no Funk Like This, Til This (4x) Them Gandy dancers And the works songs And the field songs And them field hollers Children slappin’ hands Like them HBCU Marching Bands Them Golden Tigers & them Marching Crimson Pipers Checking in under the shed Funk aint dead… Ragtime to the Second Lines We supply the rhythm Work songs are hidden war cries Survive the day, Laying dem railroad ties It’s the antidote found in them Blue Notes Them griots know, The river is found in Westwest Africa The river is found in Westwest Africa Cause aint no funk like this Aint been no funk Like this until this You Aint Never Seen No Funk Like This, Til This (4x) Now it’s your turn, Organize the world! Upon our arrival Paramount to our survival We return to the musings of this river To the music of this river Cause It always delivers It’s the train that aint never late If we know what it is, you know what it is You can hear what it is done Hollered in the fields It’s bigger than the Big Pill It never fails It’s like them works songs Them gandy dancers Field Hollers The field songs Children slappin’ hands Like them HBCU marching bands Them Golden Tigers & them Marching Crimson Pipers Checking in under the shed Funk aint dead… Ragtime to the second lines We supply the rhythm Work songs are hidden war cries Survive the day, Lay dem railroad ties It’s the antidote found in them Blue Notes Bamana [Bambara] chant

about

Mausiki Scales’ creative and fearlessly explorative work tills new soil in the vast gardens of 21st-century jazz. Delivering a fresh project that seeks to give voice to those who have historically been voiceless, Scales draws inspiration from legendary musician and anti-apartheid activist Hugh Masekela. The renowned South African trumpeter addressed a crowd during Atlanta’s 2008 National Black Arts Festival using the term West-West Africa (WWA) to describe the concert atmosphere as it transformed into an artist/audience co-created “ritual space.” Masekela’s usage of the phrase signified a shared cultural zone functioning as a bridge connecting Africa and the Diaspora. According to Scales, the WWA concept eloquently captured the mood at that moment and seeded itself within him.

The seed implanted in Scales has since flowered into WESTWEST AFRICA, a Diasporic creation story told through music. This album is an ode to the inventive spirit of America’s early West African forebearers who endured the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Those ancestors who survived the harrowing middle passage and landed on the Atlantic Ocean’s western shores managed to forge spaces that their progeny have used to navigate life in a strange land, that enabled them to endure, and that fundamentally shaped the Black Ethos. According to African American studies scholar and arts critic Michael Simanga, Scales’ music deeply connects to the “African spirit and the centuries-old exchange of experiences between African people in the Diaspora.” Simanga’s commentary reflects the underlying reality that Scales infuses his work with a lifelong devotion to the study of Black history and culture.

Scales’ engagement with scholarly literature heavily influences his music. He guides listeners on excursions through Malian musical modes. He pays lyrical tribute to primordial African mother deities and offers songs that recognize the sanctity of what activist-artist Amiri Baraka termed “Blues People.” In “Ethiopia Manifest,” Scales references the Biblical passage that supporters of back-to-Africa advocate Marcus Garvey frequently quoted because they believed it prophesied their resurgence and return to their ancestral homeland. WWA beautifully renders the scripture, Psalms 68:31, “Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth her hand unto God,” in both English and Amharic.

WESTWEST AFRICA is also a praise song for the late historian, Sterling Stuckey. Stuckey’s philosophies on the influence of African culture in identity formation among enslaved people of African descent inform Scales’ musical expression. Stuckey’s legacy bears fruit in WWA as the compositions travel a circular path through various musical genres and global regions. Via Afrobeat, Funk, jazz-fusion, spoken word, and New Orleans Blues from Guinea to Atlanta and back, Scales takes listeners on a virtual “ring shout.” Like Stuckey’s work, Scales’ musical tour circuits the Atlantic World. In essence, Scales’ expeditions allow him to deliver listeners a musical harvest in the form of an African/Diasporic sonic history.

Kenja McCray, PhD
Associate Professor of History
Atlanta Metropolitan State College

credits

released July 21, 2020

WestWest Africa
All Music, Arrangements & Lyrics* by Mausiki Scales© 2020.
Tippin’ da Scales Music / ASCAP ©2020.
*Funk Like This, chorus credit: Edgar Clark Jr.

Personnel listed per track.

Recorded by Steve Waide at Itchy Brain Recording Studio
Mixed & Mastered by Daz-I-Kue (4 I-Kue Production, Atlanta/Nashville)

CD Art: Daniel Minter
Photography: Brandi Pettijohn
Layout and Design: Larmarrous Shirley
Additional Design: Kai Porter

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Mausiki Scales Atlanta, Georgia

Mausiki Scales & his band Common Ground Collective have been a staple on the Atlanta scene since the late 90s. With their influence of African sounds like Afrobeat and Hi-Life mixed in with Funk, Blues, Jazz and other Black musical traditions brings an unique irresistible dance filled soundscape.
"WestWest Africa" (July 2020)
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