I Heart Hamilton is excited to premiere the brand new single by Kojo Easy Damptey!
Today marks the release of Kojo Easy Damptey‘s acoustic single “Giants.” Written and recorded in Ghana in 2016 when Kojo returned home to complete his graduate studies, the song also features Ghanaian spoken word artist Mutombo Da Poet with Flynt Agyei-Boateng on piano and Canadian vocalist Emily Kemp.
Kojo says of the track: The song is dedicated to Paul Robeson, an African-America bass baritone singer, actor, and social justice advocate. As an actor he was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Robeson is also know to have participated in the Civil Rights Movement and even working with Pan-Africanist W.E.B. Du Bois.
“Giants” will appear on Kojo’s sophomore album Giants: Stories of Existence, Resistance & Resilience. We can look forward to more collaborations on the record including Canadian Winter (Canada & UK), Mother Tareka (Canada & Syria), Kimmortal (Canada & Philippines), WanLov the Kublor (Ghana), and Lady Jay (Ghana).
The album is described as “a decolonizing creative process aimed at using music to capture the myriad experiences of people of colour. The album builds on the tradition of resistance and resilience that people of colour around the world have shown in the struggle against the ill effects of colonization.”
Last April I was excited to be among the audience at Sofar Sounds’ first Hamilton show. The intimate live music series popped up at Collective Arts Brewing featuring Kojo, Haolin Munk, and The Redhill Valleys. Today Sofar Sounds releases a new video of Kojo’s performance of “Giants” – as you can see, we in the audience were feeling it!
Upcoming local shows for Kojo Easy Damptey include May 5th at Mills Hardware and June 8th as part of the free Raise the Roof concert series at Dr. Disc.
Thank you Aya Arts ALC for the exclusive!
