At a period when Anglophone West Africa (Ghana and Nigeria) were still trying to find their sound, their francophone West African counterparts stepped in to keep the music scene afloat. At one point in African music history, francophone songs dominated the airwaves. Awilo Logomba, Salif Keita, and Koffi Olomide are names that easily come to mind. However, one artist who is frequently overlooked is Ivorian singer Meiway.
Meiway in 1991 dropped his second career album, “200% Zoblazo” which instantly became a massive hit. He coined the term Zoblazo which he introduced as a new music style and created a dance routine around it. Mixing different folklore from Southern Ivory Coast, the Zoblazo is a dance music based on the traditional percussion of his ethnic group “Nzema”.
Meiway continued to achieve success in music after his 1995 hit song “Appolo 95”, a title inspired by the name of his ethnicity. He received the award for the best sub-regional artist at the first African Music Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa.He wrote “Nanan” to celebrate the late 1st President of Côte d’Ivoire, his Excellency Félix Houphouët Boigny who passed away in 1993. In this tribute, he is asking the Ivorians to dry their tears because a King (Nanan) never dies.
In 1997, he released “Ma folie”, a song basically expressing how free a mad person is. He proved to still be a hitmaker when in 2001 he scored a tremendous hit with “Miss Lolo“, a track from the album “Eternel”. In this song, he makes reference to the fact that he’s after Ms Lolo (a woman who is heavily endowed). His other hit songs include Adibebe, Aloble and Dj tassouman.
Meiway’s contributions to African music in the 1990s were significant and enduring. He helped to popularise the genre of Zoblazo, introduced a new generation of African musicians to a global audience, and established himself as one of the most dynamic and innovative performers of his time. His music continues to inspire and influence African musicians today, and his legacy as a pioneer of African music remains firmly intact.
Written by Emmanuel Paapa Quaicoe
