Blick Bassy: Keeping Cameroon Tradition Alive
In a tiny village in central Cameroon, musician Blick Bassy discovered his sound. Bassy now lives in Paris, but he continues to sing in his native language, Bassa. Bassa is one of the 250 or so languages spoken in Cameroon, and Bassy fears it is dying out.
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In order for Blick Bassy to be a musician, he moved to Paris. But he hopes his music will encourage young Cameroonians to pick up on their traditions. Youri Lenquette hide caption
In an interview with Guy Raz, Bassy worries that Africa is losing not only its own languages and traditions but also its own history. He lays it all out on the first track of his debut album, Leman, called "Africa."
"I am calling [the young people] to go back to the land of history and to learn oral traditions we have there," Bassy says. "We write our history by ourself."
Click on the audio link above to hear the full interview with Blick Bassy.