Tiken Jah Fakoly (1968) is a reggae singer from Odienné, Côte d’Ivoire (a.k… Read Full Bio ↴Tiken Jah Fakoly (1968) is a reggae singer from Odienné, Côte d’Ivoire (a.k.a Ivory Coast).

Tiken Jah was born into a family of griots and christened Doumbia Moussa Fakoly on June 23, 1968 in Odienne, north-western Côte d'Ivoire. He discovered reggae at an early age, assembling his first group, Djelys, in 1987. He became well-known at a regional level, but would soon ascend to national recognition.

Concerned by the social and political evolution of his country, it was not long before Tiken Jah was writing incisive works on the political environment in Côte d'Ivoire. One such work was on the death of Felix Houphouet-Boigny in 1993, which resulted in a surge of popularity amongst the nation's youth. In 1998, Fakoly made his first international appearance in Paris.

Tiken Jah Fakoly plays music "to wake up the consciences". His music speaks about many injustices done to the people of his country, and those over Africa. As such, African listeners feel a deep affinity with his lyrics as Fakoly speaks for people whom are under oppression. This connection has helped make Tiken Jah Fakoly a much-listened artist throughout both Europe and Africa.

Discography

1. 1993: Les Djelys (cassette only - discontinued)
2. 1994: Missiri (cassette only - discontinued)
3. 1996: Mangercratie
4. 1999: Cours d'histoire
5. 2000: Le Cameleon (exclusive to West Africa)
6. 2002: Françafrique (a term coined by Francois Xavier-Verschave)
7. 2004: Coup de gueule
8. 2005: Africa wants to be free, compilation to support fr:Survie (association)

NOTE: Mangercratie was released in France in 1999 and in Canada in 2000. Cours d'histoire was released in France in 2000 and in Canada in 2001. The first two albums were only released in Côte d'Ivoire.

Outside Projects

Tiken Jah Fakoly has recorded various tracks with other artists. He is featured on Steel Pulse: African Holocaust, on Rike: Airt Frais, on Bernard Laviliers: Carnet De Bord, on Amadou & Marima: Dimanche A Bamaco, on Dub Incorporation: Life, and on Tata Pound: Cikan. He also appears on the compilation African Consiences with Mebgane N'Dour. He will be featured in the upcoming movie Les Oiseaux Du Ciel, directed by Eliane De Latour.

Awards:

2003: Victoires de la Musique 2003, in the category of Reggae Album/Ragga/World with the album Françafrique.

L'Africain
Tiken Jah Fakoly Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ils m'ont dit que je suis Malinké
Ils t'ont dit que tu es un Bété
Mon papa était un Dioula
Mais nous là nous sommes Ivoiriens

Nous sommes des Malinkés
Nous sommes des Akans
Nous sommes des Krous

Nous sommes des Sénoufous
Nous sommes tous Ivoiriens

Ils ont dit que je suis musulman
Ils t'ont dit que tu es un chrétien
Nos ancêtres étaient animistes
Mais nous là nous sommes Africains

On n'oubliera pas l'empire du Ghana
Nos parents parlent encore des cavaliers Mossi
Sans oublier le royaume Ashanti
Les griots chanteront toujours l'épopée mandingue
On respecte encore les boucliers Zoulous
Le roi forgeron du Kongo
Tout le monde connaît le royaume de Nubie
Sans oublier l'empire d'Ethiopia Rastafari !

Oko néma koné Malien
Oko kilé Ivoirien
Né fatché tounié Ivoirien
Anouyé Africains
Anouyé Burkinabé
Anouyé Sénégalais
Anouyé Camerounais
Anouyé Ethiopiens
Anouyé Congolais

Tous ces pays ont des richesses culturelles
Qui nous appartiennent
La mosquée de Djénné
Le lac Victoria
Les dunes du Sahara
Les gorilles du Congo
Les baobabs du Sénégal
La réserve de la Comoé
Le mont Kilimandjaro

Je suis black Américain
Je suis Brésilien
Madinina
Guadeloupa
Havana
Colombia
Haïtia
Dominica
Trinida
Guyanna
Sainte Lucia
Jamaïca
Africain !

We are African
We are proud to be African !

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "L'Africain" by Tiken Jah Fakoly are focused on African identity and unity. The song speaks about how people in Africa are divided by ethnicity and religion, but ultimately, they are united by their African identity. The lines "Ils m'ont dit que je suis Malinké / Ils t'ont dit que tu es un Bété" talks about how people are categorized based on their ethnicity. However, the next line "Mais nous là nous sommes Ivoiriens" speaks about how at the end of the day, they all belong to the same country of Ivory Coast.

The song goes on to mention how people in Africa are divided by religion, with some being Muslim, some being Christian, and some still following their traditional animist beliefs. The lyrics emphasise that despite these differences, they are all African at the core. The song also mentions the different African empires and kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Ghana, the Ashanti Empire, and the Kingdom of Nubia. These lines serve as a reminder of the rich historical and cultural heritage of Africa.

Overall, "L'Africain" is a powerful call for unity among Africans. The song encourages people to embrace their African identity and to recognise the shared cultural heritage that they all possess.

Line by Line Meaning

Ils m'ont dit que je suis Malinké
They told me that I am Malinké

Ils t'ont dit que tu es un Bété
They told you that you are Bété

Mon papa était un Dioula
My father was a Dioula

Mais nous là nous sommes Ivoiriens
But here we are Ivorians

Nous sommes des Malinkés
We are Malinké

Nous sommes des Akans
We are Akan

Nous sommes des Krous
We are Krou

Nous sommes des Sénoufous
We are Sénoufo

Nous sommes tous Ivoiriens
We are all Ivorians

Ils ont dit que je suis musulman
They said I am Muslim

Ils t'ont dit que tu es un chrétien
They said you are Christian

Nos ancêtres étaient animistes
Our ancestors were animist

Mais nous là nous sommes Africains
But here we are Africans

On n'oubliera pas l'empire du Ghana
We will not forget the Empire of Ghana

Nos parents parlent encore des cavaliers Mossi
Our parents still talk about the Mossi horsemen

Sans oublier le royaume Ashanti
Not forgetting the Ashanti Kingdom

Les griots chanteront toujours l'épopée mandingue
Griots will always sing the Manding epic

On respecte encore les boucliers Zoulous
We still respect the Zulu shields

Le roi forgeron du Kongo
The blacksmith king of Kongo

Tout le monde connaît le royaume de Nubie
Everyone knows the Nubian kingdom

Sans oublier l'empire d'Ethiopia Rastafari !
Not forgetting the Rastafari Empire of Ethiopia!

Oko néma koné Malien
His name is Koné, he is Malian

Oko kilé Ivoirien
His name is Kilé, he is Ivorian

Né fatché tounié Ivoirien
His name is Fatché, he is Ivorian

Anouyé Africains
We are African

Anouyé Burkinabé
We are Burkinabé

Anouyé Sénégalais
We are Senegalese

Anouyé Camerounais
We are Cameroonian

Anouyé Ethiopiens
We are Ethiopians

Anouyé Congolais
We are Congolese

Tous ces pays ont des richesses culturelles
All these countries have cultural riches

Qui nous appartiennent
That belong to us

La mosquée de Djénné
The mosque of Djenné

Le lac Victoria
Lake Victoria

Les dunes du Sahara
The Sahara dunes

Les gorilles du Congo
The Congo gorillas

Les baobabs du Sénégal
The Senegalese baobabs

La réserve de la Comoé
The Comoé reserve

Le mont Kilimandjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro

Je suis black Américain
I am a Black American

Je suis Brésilien
I am Brazilian

Madinina
Martinique

Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe

Havana
Havana

Colombia
Colombia

Haïtia
Haiti

Dominica
Dominica

Trinida
Trinidad

Guyanna
Guyana

Sainte Lucia
Saint Lucia

Jamaïca
Jamaica

Africain !
African!

We are African
We are African

We are proud to be African !
We are proud to be African!

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, SONY ATV MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE
Written by: DAVID BAPTISTE, MOUSSA DOUMBIA, AVELINO QUILEZ, JEAN-LUC REMY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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