By Betty Ceesay
In a talk with Cihu Yaffa, possibly the coolest, calmest and one of the gentleman in the Gambian music industry tells the voice about his journey in the music industry.
HOW MUSIC STARTED FOR CIHU YAFFA.
As a kid, he used to be alone in his room a lot because his dad would travel abroad for a long time and his mom used to be very busy with her business thus often times after school, he would spend so much time by himself, read books and listen to music. This was how he realized his love for music. According to Cihu Yaffa, music is the strongest form of magic: It gives relief from pain, depression, and a mind refresher for new beginnings in one’s life. Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to imagination and life to everything. Music is the beauty that never fades and has been his friend that is always there when he needed uplifting.
CIHU’S FIRST HAND MOTIVATORS.
At the start of Cihu’s music career, his friend Sirandu Njie and Alasan Jallow were always the first people to hear his songs and they motivated him a lot, he said.
Also, I used to listen to Lil Wayne, Youssou Ndour and Akon. He concluded.
KNOWING CIHU YAFFA.
The singer’s original name is Sheikh Omar Yaffa a Gambian by Nationality and a serahule by tribe. He lives in Bijilo. Cihu graduated from high school in 2013 at SOS Hermann Gmeiner and attended the Business British College from 2015/2017.
WHY THE NAME CIHU YAFFA?
The name Cihu Yaffa was given to him by his late sister Isatou Yaffa who passed away when Cihu was still very young. The name Cihu Yaffa is very unique and important to the singer because it reminds him of his beloved sister who is no more.
WHAT CIHU’S MUSIC STANDS FOR
‘’My music is an expression of my thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires, but it is even more personal than that. It’s about sharing the way I experience the world, which for many is an extension of personality. My music is the communication of intimate concepts that cannot be faithfully portrayed by words alone but also with great chords, melodies, and some sort of reaction. Most of the time I craft my music from specific events or experiences that I have had, making it very relatable to others’’ Said Cihu Yaffa.
CIHU EXRESSES HIS MUSICAL JOURNEY.
The journey of life as an artist is just like passing away on the battlefield in all aspects, Cihu explained. As an inhabitant of a Serahule and muslim family, he had no way to get bits of help or get any suggestions from anyone as he wished he did, he always did what he thought was right and kept on following his dreams. ‘’At some point, my neighbour Abdoulie Dem got me into his studio and told me to record, this was my first time in a studio’’ he told. Currently, the internet is Cihu’s best friend and continues to provide him with suggestions, inspiration, ideas and more.
It’s a life of a lonely island on the endless ocean of human life, Cihu told the Voice.
BEING AN ARTIST IN THE GAMBIA. BY CIHU YAFFA.
According to Cihu, One of those unavoidable realities of the music business in the Gambia is that pursuing a career will mean paying your dues.
Paying your dues essentially means paying the price for your lack of professional experience. That price is your time and hard work, which may yield little or no compensation (in other words, you work for free most of the time). While on the topic of paying your dues, he said The “kotos” (Artists) bravely tolerated this abuse.
Should we feel that we are being treated unfairly? Cihu Yaffa leaves the question hanging.
SO FAR
The singer did 2 projects so far and his curtains compilation was the most streamed album. In that project, he compiled some of his best songs in the year 2017 and 2018 which were produced by J live Music, Stylzz Records, Sirru Beatz and Uche Made It.
On a final note the singer tells that his ultimate wishes are to run his own Gambian based label, hunt for fresh talents and work with them.