rap with its ancient West African ancestors in a style

dubbed "ancient meets urban.

"Formed in 1993 by three childhood friends: Mamadou

Ndiaye (Emcee), Diasse Pouye (Emcee), and Pape

Bathie Pouye (Music Director/Manager). The three

boys were transfixed by the conscious lyrics and powerful

messages found in hip hop and began creating

their own lyrics against the beat. They started out imitating

what they heard on the cassettes, combining

English, French, Arabic, and several other Senegalese

dialects including Wolof (the official language of

Senegal), Serer, and Jola into their own flow. Soon

freestyle turned into original compositions and the boys

from the other side of the tracks added Backa Niang

(percussionist/vocals) and Sana Ndiaye

(ekonting/vocals) and christened themselves Gokh-Bi

System which means neighborhood system.

A distinctive component of GBS's authentic sound is the

ekonting, an ancient instrument once used to calm social

unrest played by Sana. Gokh-Bi's positive message,

inspired by rap greats from The Last Poets to Chuck D,

transform the group's sound into an uplifting yet hardhitting

African homecoming for hip hop that has been

described as The Roots hanging with Baaba Maal.

Drummer Matt Garstka, bassist/keyboardist Joe

Sallins and Guitarist Greg Garstka add modern instrumentation

while an African dancer adds energy and

movement to the stage performance.

After producing a number of recordings in Senegal and

reaching #1 on the charts, in 1999, the group was discovered

by U.S. producers visiting Senegal who recruited

them for the Senegal-America Project, a non-profit

organization that exposes American school children to

African music, dance and culture. In 2000, they were

selected by CNN to represent the African hip-hop scene

in a documentary on music around the world.

Their 2001 release Message From Home united GBS

with The Last Poets. The lovely and mournful "Xaesel"

which laments the use of skin bleaching agents made its

way on Africa Raps, the first compilation of songs by

African rappers. In a review of the compilation, The

New York Times reported, "Gokh-Bi System sets positive

thinking rap (in English as well as Senegalese languages)

to handmade music, percussion, singing and

riffs plucked on the ekonting, a Senegalese lute. Hip-

Hop takes a joyful, respectful place alongside traditionalism."

Between 2002 and 2004, the band solidified their

musical presence in Senegal with the release of ?411?

and ?Pour Mouy Leer,? which produced a number of hits

for the band and a permanent home on the radio and

cassette players of their fellow countrymen. In 2005,

the band's North American release Mission Of Music

climbed to #4 on the Global Rhythm Top 10 Charts.

They filmed two videos, "Mission Of Music" and

"Mama Afrika", both directed by Joshua Atesh Litle.

The video for "Mission of Music", an official selection of

The National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, made

its world premiere in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles,

CA and aired on BET J, VH1 Soul and The African

Channel.

In early 2008, "In God We Trust" was featured on

Germany's Piranha Muzik compilation Many Lessons. In

December 2008, GBS released Voice of the Jeli a live

studio recording which includes crowd favorites from

their North America tours. Voice of the Jeli is distinctively

different from its predecessor Mission of Music

with a decidedly more traditional feel, highlighting the

percussion of Backa and Sana's ekonting. On Jeli,

radio-friendly "Musica Del Mundo" (Music of the

World) boasts that music is a universal language uniting

people around the world. Jeli is available on CD Baby

as well as digital distributors including itunes, Rhapsody,

eMusic, etc.

In March 2009, GBS will release the single "Rap

Tassu" which will enlighten people about the origins of

rap music. While it is well known that Hip Hop is an

American creation, its origins are rooted deeper than

the Boogie Down, Bronx. Historically in Senegal, the

drum and rapping have been part of tassu, a system of

communication used by jeli to spread news amongst villagers.

?Tassu survived the Middle Passage, crossed

over oceans and time and found its rhythm reincarnated

in the microphones of emcees who continue to ride

the beat, send a message about what's going down in

the streets and tell their stories like the jeli of Senegal,"

explains Mamadou, the emcee of GBS.

The band's third music video "Rap Tassu" was shot in hidef,

directed by Ilse "Boogie" Rumes and produced by

AMU Music/Hybrid Lounge Productions. "Rap Tassu"

proceeds will be donated to the band's village Pikine

Guinaw Rails which suffers annually from major flooding

resulting in malaria, death and extremely poor living

conditions. The band will perform a number of benefit

shows in 2009 to support this noble cause.

In addition to raising funds for this relief effort and

touring North America, GBS's will continue to expose

more African-Americans to their African heritage using

the art of music and dance.

Since their arrival in America, GBS has opened for and shared the stage

with: Kanye West, Last Poets, Damian Marley, Dead

Prez, Tribe Called Quest, Youssou N'Dour, Angelique

Kidjo, Femi Kuti, Culture, Toots and The Maytals,

Michael Franti (Spearhead), Africando, Erykah Badu,

and Grammy Award winning artist, Patti LaBelle, who

hosted a special tribute concert in honor of legendary

singer and songwriter, John Whitehead at the Kimmel

Center in Philadelphia, PA. Joining GBS at this momentous

evening were Gerald LeVert, Jaguar Wright,

Floetry, Angela Bofill, and many more friends of John

Whitehead. They have completed 11 North American

tours through 35 states and Canada including major

festival performances Bumbershoot (Seattle WA),

Montreal Jazz Fest, Floydfest (Virginia), National

Geographic's All Roads Film Festival (Washington, DC

and Los Angeles), Festival International de Louisiane,

Concert of Colors (Detroit), World Music Festival

(Chicago), Lotus, Festival Nuits d'Afrique (Montreal) and

Celebrate Brooklyn African Festival (New York).

GBS continues to perform at high schools, universities,

and community groups as part of cross-cultural workshops/

initiatives. Additionally, GBS's label, AMU Music,

is making plans for the Rap Tassu - Hip Hop Returns

Home Tour. The vision, in collaboration with the "right"

sponsors, is to initially launch the tour in the top African-

American cities in the U.S. as a celebration of "the global

black experience. The Hip Hop Returns Home Tour

is the first music tour where African Hip Hop artists join

American Hip Hop artists to connect with youth in the

U.S. strengthening the link between Africa and America

musicians.

While the world waits for rap's next big thing to come

from New York, Atlanta or the Midwest it may well be

Rap Tassu straight from Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.

Until they reach your city, you can visit them online at

www.gokhbisystem.com, www.ancientmeetsurban.com,

and www.aroundworld.net.