Black Thunder, a Swiss based Gambian reggae dancehall artist, has called on his fellow Gambian artists to be disciplined and humble in their lyrics.
He also stressed the need for artistes to show humility and respect to their fans and followers.
Black Thunder who spoke to this reporter in an exclusive interview recently, said as artists, they should always be smiling to people; that being an artist is not a license for one to wear earrings and be bragging around; that instead they should show humility to people.
Black Thunder said Jamaica and the Gambia do not have similar cultures and beliefs. “Jamaican culture socially is not seen in the Gambia,” he said.
Black Thunder in his mood of conveying humility and respect, urges all artistes to avoid the use of explicit lyrics towards women; that as Gambian artists, they should stop what he calls ‘copy and paste’.
About Thunder
Born on 5 December 1987, in Njaba Kunda, The Gambia, Saikou Kanteh, popularly known as Black Thunder, is a songwriter, reggae and dancehall artist based in Bern, Switzerland. His passion for music began when he was seven years old.
At that age, he had already played for a band. He later decided to consider music as a career of choice. Shortly afterwards, he met a popular local producer called Papis who took him to a studio. This saw him recording his maiden single called ‘Liberate From Action’ at TJ records in 2002.
In 2004, he relocated to Milan, Italy to pursue music studies for two years. After completing his studies, he went into the studio to record more tracks and later founded a band. His musical journey began taking shape and saw him touring Europe with his band.
In 2009, he left Italy for Bern, Switzerland where he launched a solo career and signed contract with Likkle Lion Record in Geneva. While in Bern, he attended music school for 20 months, doing both theory and practical and was regarded as one of Switzerland’s best 12 artistes of distinction. In 2014, he signed another contract with Atomic Dog Record in Bern.
In 2015, he toured The Gambia where he had eight concerts. All the proceeds were donated to Schools, hospitals and youth development projects.
In 2016, he made his debut performance at Flag Flowing Senegambia high, a musical platform meant to showcase Senegambia artists in Europe where he was awarded as the best stage performer. In 2018, he started working with Movementality band as his performing band across the world.
Here are some of his hit songs :‘100 millions’, ‘Yes I Pray’, ‘Gambia be wise,’ ‘Love again’, ‘Can’t stop the fire’, Never Chat’, ‘Nation girls’ ‘Jawuya’ and ‘Sugar baby’.
