Jazz Cafe
Wednesday 19 April 2017
Ata kak
ESA
One of the many gems unearthed by Brian Shimkovitz aka Awesome Tapes From Africa, the Ghanaian highlife singer Yaw Atta-Owusu aka Ata Kak has emerged to arguably be the jewel in ATFA’s crown.
The story tells itself; since picking up Ata Kak’s mid-90s cassette Obaa Sima in a street market in Cape Coast, Ghana back in 2002, Shimkovitz embarked on a global search to discover the man responsible for it.
He eventually got a tip off on Atta-Owusu’s whereabouts, and since then he’s been touring the world as Ata Kak and wowing audiences with his infectious hybrid of reggae and dancehall, including a show stopping performance at this year’s Sonar Festival. It needs to be seen in the flesh to be believed.