Childhood friends from the Dakar, Senegal hood of
Pikine Guinaw Rail-literally "the other side of the
tracks"- Gokh-Bi System (pronounced Go Bee) reunite
rap with its ancient West African ancestors in a style
dubbed "ancient meets urban.

"Formed in 1993 by three childhood friends: Mamadou
Ndiaye (Emcee), Diasse Pouye (Emcee), and Pape
Bathie Pouye (Music Director/Manager). The three
boys were transfixed by the conscious lyrics and powerful
messages found in hip hop and began creating
their own lyrics against the beat. They started out imitating
what they heard on the cassettes, combining
English, French, Arabic, and several other Senegalese
dialects including Wolof (the official language of
Senegal), Serer, and Jola into their own flow. Soon
freestyle turned into original compositions and the boys
from the other side of the tracks added Backa Niang
(percussionist/vocals) and Sana Ndiaye
(ekonting/vocals) and christened themselves Gokh-Bi
System which means neighborhood system.

A distinctive component of GBS's authentic sound is the
ekonting, an ancient instrument once used to calm social
unrest played by Sana. Gokh-Bi's positive message,
inspired by rap greats from The Last Poets to Chuck D,
transform the group's sound into an uplifting yet hardhitting
African homecoming for hip hop that has been
described as The Roots hanging with Baaba Maal.
Drummer Matt Garstka, bassist/keyboardist Joe
Sallins and Guitarist Greg Garstka add modern instrumentation
while an African dancer adds energy and
movement to the stage performance.


After producing a number of recordings in Senegal and
reaching #1 on the charts, in 1999, the group was discovered
by U.S. producers visiting Senegal who recruited
them for the Senegal-America Project, a non-profit
organization that exposes American school children to
African music, dance and culture. In 2000, they were
selected by CNN to represent the African hip-hop scene
in a documentary on music around the world.
Their 2001 release Message From Home united GBS
with The Last Poets. The lovely and mournful "Xaesel"
which laments the use of skin bleaching agents made its
way on Africa Raps, the first compilation of songs by
African rappers. In a review of the compilation, The
New York Times reported, "Gokh-Bi System sets positive
thinking rap (in English as well as Senegalese languages)
to handmade music, percussion, singing and
riffs plucked on the ekonting, a Senegalese lute. Hip-
Hop takes a joyful, respectful place alongside traditionalism."

Between 2002 and 2004, the band solidified their
musical presence in Senegal with the release of “411”
and “Pour Mouy Leer,” which produced a number of hits
for the band and a permanent home on the radio and
cassette players of their fellow countrymen. In 2005,
the band's North American release Mission Of Music
climbed to #4 on the Global Rhythm Top 10 Charts.
They filmed two videos, "Mission Of Music" and
"Mama Afrika", both directed by Joshua Atesh Litle.
The video for "Mission of Music", an official selection of
The National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, made
its world premiere in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles,
CA and aired on BET J, VH1 Soul and The African
Channel.

In early 2008, "In God We Trust" was featured on
Germany's Piranha Muzik compilation Many Lessons. In
December 2008, GBS released Voice of the Jeli a live
studio recording which includes crowd favorites from
their North America tours. Voice of the Jeli is distinctively
different from its predecessor Mission of Music
with a decidedly more traditional feel, highlighting the
percussion of Backa and Sana's ekonting. On Jeli,
radio-friendly "Musica Del Mundo" (Music of the
World) boasts that music is a universal language uniting
people around the world. Jeli is available on CD Baby
as well as digital distributors including itunes, Rhapsody,
eMusic, etc.

In March 2009, GBS will release the single "Rap
Tassu" which will enlighten people about the origins of
rap music. While it is well known that Hip Hop is an
American creation, its origins are rooted deeper than
the Boogie Down, Bronx. Historically in Senegal, the
drum and rapping have been part of tassu, a system of
communication used by jeli to spread news amongst villagers.
“Tassu survived the Middle Passage, crossed
over oceans and time and found its rhythm reincarnated
in the microphones of emcees who continue to ride
the beat, send a message about what's going down in
the streets and tell their stories like the jeli of Senegal,"
explains Mamadou, the emcee of GBS.

The band's third music video "Rap Tassu" was shot in hidef,
directed by Ilse "Boogie" Rumes and produced by
AMU Music/Hybrid Lounge Productions. "Rap Tassu"
proceeds will be donated to the band's village Pikine
Guinaw Rails which suffers annually from major flooding
resulting in malaria, death and extremely poor living
conditions. The band will perform a number of benefit
shows in 2009 to support this noble cause.

In addition to raising funds for this relief effort and
touring North America, GBS's will continue to expose
more African-Americans to their African heritage using
the art of music and dance.

Since their arrival in America, GBS has opened for and shared the stage
with: Kanye West, Last Poets, Damian Marley, Dead
Prez, Tribe Called Quest, Youssou N'Dour, Angelique
Kidjo, Femi Kuti, Culture, Toots and The Maytals,
Michael Franti (Spearhead), Africando, Erykah Badu,
and Grammy Award winning artist, Patti LaBelle, who
hosted a special tribute concert in honor of legendary
singer and songwriter, John Whitehead at the Kimmel
Center in Philadelphia, PA. Joining GBS at this momentous
evening were Gerald LeVert, Jaguar Wright,
Floetry, Angela Bofill, and many more friends of John
Whitehead. They have completed 11 North American
tours through 35 states and Canada including major
festival performances Bumbershoot (Seattle WA),
Montreal Jazz Fest, Floydfest (Virginia), National
Geographic's All Roads Film Festival (Washington, DC
and Los Angeles), Festival International de Louisiane,
Concert of Colors (Detroit), World Music Festival
(Chicago), Lotus, Festival Nuits d'Afrique (Montreal) and
Celebrate Brooklyn African Festival (New York).

GBS continues to perform at high schools, universities,
and community groups as part of cross-cultural workshops/
initiatives. Additionally, GBS's label, AMU Music,
is making plans for the Rap Tassu - Hip Hop Returns
Home Tour. The vision, in collaboration with the "right"
sponsors, is to initially launch the tour in the top African-
American cities in the U.S. as a celebration of "the global
black experience. The Hip Hop Returns Home Tour
is the first music tour where African Hip Hop artists join
American Hip Hop artists to connect with youth in the
U.S. strengthening the link between Africa and America
musicians.

While the world waits for rap's next big thing to come
from New York, Atlanta or the Midwest it may well be
Rap Tassu straight from Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.

Until they reach your city, you can visit them online at
www.gokhbisystem.com, www.ancientmeetsurban.com,
and www.aroundworld.net. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.