Welcome to another edition of the Arts and Culture Column. This column seeks to promote Gambian music and culture.
Today we brought you Ebrima Cham alias Barhama who is a Gambian musician and activist.
By Makutu Manneh
Ebrima Cham, commonly known as Barhama, is a Gambian based singer, song writer, an instrumentalist and an activist.
He is to launch an album dubbed ‘I am Barhama’. The launching will be held tomorrow 23rd October 2021, with the aim of promoting peace in the country as the presidential election is nearer.
The title of the album ‘I am Barhama’ is said to represent peace as the young artist is known to be humble and peaceful.
“I want to use music as a tool this night to change the mindset of so many young people on how important it is for us to stand by the peace of this country, to be peaceful to our fellow brothers and sisters for them to understand elections do come and go, but the country remains and we should maintain peace before, during and after election,” he said during a press briefing about the album launching.
He said: “This night we will feed you with peace, inspiration, education and with the vibes.”
He believes as musicians it is their responsibility to make sure they feed their listeners with the right messages.
The young artist said music is a powerful tool that can make positive and negative changes and that he has chosen it to make a positive change.
Gibril M. Saidy, production manager for the album launching, also reiterated that the album launching is meant to advocate for peace and that the concert comes at the right time as it will be held a month to the country’s presidential election.
“This year 2021 is an election year and we want to promote peace. The album has already spoken for itself ‘I am Barham’,” he said.
“We will continue to construct the defense of peace and when you look at Barhama, he is your best defense for peace.”
Bakary Sonko, National Program Coordinator for Peace Hub the Gambia and a member of the Technical Support team of the album launching, informed the public that after the album launching, they are going to every region of the country to ensure that they spread the message of peace.
“Peace is paramount, it is a shared responsibility. Everyone has a responsibility to take part in promoting it,” he said.
“Baraham has been at the forefront of peace promotion ever since.”
