It is with weighted hearts that we at Bossa mourn the loss of our friend, Sierra Leonean artist Janka Nabay. Janka was a familiar face at Bossa, performing with his tribe of bubu music-makers, both as a headliner as well as a surprise guest – he was apt to pop-up appearances during Cheick Hamala Diabaté’s Tuesday night sets as well as the occasional reggae show.

Janka was known for his frenetic energy and lust for life, which carried over into his performances like the golden spiraling bursts of a Catherine wheel. As stated in his obituary, written by his friends and colleagues at Luaka Bop, his American record label, “Janka was a pioneering popularizer and modernizer of traditional Sierra Leonean bubu music: … an ancient and celebratory style of music that has been used to accompany a variety of holidays across Sierra Leonean history. … Janka’s modernization of bubu music made him into an icon of Sierra Leonean culture.”

Janka was easily an icon stateside as well. With nods from the press and world music taste-makers alike, his band, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, made a party of every show. For the few years he called DC his home away from home, Janka made magic on our main stage with Bossa regulars such as Rob Coltun, Mikey Coltun, Kweku Owusu, and the ever effervescent “beat fairy” Sunny, always to the joy of a devoted and spellbound audience.

We will miss Janka and his delirious creativity. Thank you for the music, the culture, and the memories, friend. Rest in serenity.

More:
The New York Times: “Janka Nabay, 54, Dies; Carried an African Dance Music Worldwide”
NPR: “My Friendship with Janka Nabay, Genius of Bubu”
The Guardian: “Janka Nabay: musical evangelist who took bubu to the world”
OkayAfrica: “Janka Nabay, Pioneer Sierra Leonean Musician, Has Passed Away”

story © yillah 2018