Otentikk Street Brothers
| Otentikk Street Brothers | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Reggae , Seggae & World Music |
| founding | 1992 |
Otentikk Street Brothers are a musical group from Mauritius .
The group is assigned to the styles Sega , Seggae , Reggae Kreol .
history
In 1992 the brothers Bruno and Koeny Raya from Plaisance , a suburb of Rose Hill , first stepped onto the stage at an event for young people. The appearances at that time were pure sound system shows, and Bruno Raya was the only constant in terms of personnel after his brother Koeny had retired from the stage into the field of management and organization. This had become necessary, because at that time there were no structures for CD releases or concerts in Mauritius; these had to be organized by the groups themselves. It started with smaller, self-organized concerts, to which musician friends were invited.
Today Koeny Raya is head of the event agency Live n Direk Entertainment , which is the first company to bring international acts such as Alpha Blondy or Steel Pulse to Mauritius.
The social situation and the death of the reggae musician and folk hero Kaya , who died under unexplained circumstances in police custody, were primarily responsible for the Otentik Street Brothers' departure from hip-hop . In addition to having fun with the music and the performances, it was important for the Street Brothers from the beginning to be able to draw attention to political grievances and social problems and thereby reach a large audience.
After some staff changes, the group released their first album Ragga Kreol in 1994 under the name Otentikk Street Brothers. Between 1994 and 1998 the other members of the formation that existed today gradually came together. First Blakkayo (Jean Clario Gateaux), with whom the second album Expressyon Libere was recorded in 1997 , then Tikkenzo (Kensley Lafolle), who brought back some hip-hop influences with his rap- oriented style, and finally the Singjay Dagger Kkila (Pascal Ferdinand), who is mainly responsible for the hooklines . With this line-up, the group was finally able to establish itself in Mauritius in the years after 1998 and later on La Réunion and the Seychelles , so that it soon became one of the most sought-after acts in the entire Indian Ocean region.
2001 the third album Noukkilla was released. This album represents a milestone in the band's history in several respects: On the one hand, the perfectly complementary compositional talents of the four Street Brothers could be heard on one sound carrier for the first time. Second, the four MCs teamed up for this album with the reggae group Natir Chamarel , which was already fully established at that time and which still provides a reliable musical foundation both live and in the studio. There were also the two backing vocal singers Sista Marie and Sista Joelle.
In 2004 the fourth and so far last album Revey Twa was recorded, on which the band finally found their style. All songs can be clearly assigned to the reggae or dancehall area , but this album is not only different in language from typical Jamaican or European productions. This is not least due to the unobtrusively incorporated influence of traditional Mauritian styles such as the Sega. With this album the Otentikk Street Brothers went on tour, also outside of the Indian Ocean. The band played at the Popkomm in Berlin in 2006 and at the Africa Festival in Würzburg in 2007 .
Discography
- Ragga Kreol (1994; only published in Mauritius)
- Expressyon Libere (1997; only published in Mauritius)
- Noukkilla (2001; only published in Mauritius)
- Revey Twa (2004; DHF Records )