Zekuhl

Atna Jean Emmanuel (Manu) Njock,[1] aka Zekuhl, is a singer, guitarist, percussionist and a songwriter of world music. He presents a Bolbo-Jazz style. He sings in Bàsàa (a Cameroon language), French and English.

Zekuhl
Birth nameAtna Jean Emmanuel Njock
BornMontreal, Quebec, Canada
GenresWorld music
Years active1991–present
Websitezekuhl.com

Early life

Njock was born in Quebec City and raised in Cameroon. His initiation to Cameroonian and Bantu musical traditions, as well as those of the Baka Pygmies who lived near his village of Kaya, began at age four. He studied many Cameroonian musical styles, including the Assiko, the Bolbo, the Bikutsi, the Ndin, the Mangambeu, the Bol, the Makossa, the Mbalè, the Mpeya of the Baka Pygmies. He also learned to play the Nkuu (a wooden, cylinder-shaped drum with hollowed-out slits) also known as the African telephone, since it reproduces the sound of spoken language.[2]

Career

Njock arrived in Montreal (Quebec, Canada) in 1991. Joining the Quebec music scene as Zekuhl, he at first played the guitar,[3] and later developed a style which included his diverse African influences.[2] In 1992 he released a self-titled album. He performed at a number of cultural and music festivals in Quebec.[4]

Zekuhl's third album, I Bolo, released in 2011, combined jazz funk guitar and bantu rhythms;[5][6] eight years later he released Tòòdana ("Awake"), with lyrics in the Baasa language.[7]

Discography
  • 1992: Zekuhl
  • 1997: Amon
  • 2011: I Bolo

Awards

References
  1. Broughton, Simon; Ellingham, Mark; Trillo, Richard (2000). World Music: Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific (2nd ed.). Rough Guides. p. 361. ISBN 9781858286365.
  2. "Francofolies de Montréal - Zekuhl : décoder l’ancestral, recréer le présent ". Le Devoir, Yves Bernard, 11 June 2012
  3. "Disque - I Bolo, Zekuhl". Le Devoir, Yves Bernard, 19 July 2013
  4. "UN QUART DE SIÈCLE DE MUSIQUES AFRICAINES À MONTRÉAL". Le Carrefour des opinions, Yves Alavo . 09-02-2011
  5. "Atna Njock I Bòlo". Voir, Ralph Boncy, 2 June 2011
  6. "Manu Atna Njock aurait pu être électrotechnicien". Journal de Cameroun. Aug 19, 2011
  7. "TÒÒDANA, Zekuhl". Le Devoir, Philippe Renaud, 20 December 2019
  8. "Results 2011". The Canadian Folk Music Awards
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