A Quick Ting On's Christian Adofo speaks with Metro on Afrobeats
Author Christian Adofo has given an exclusive feature to Metro ahead of the release of his debut book, A Quick Ting On Afrobeats, the first book from Magdalene Abraha's groundbreaking book series.
Speaking with Natalie Morris, Christian discussed his personal relationship with the eponymous genre and the memories of joy it evokes, as well as the ambitions he holds for his debut book.
"My love of African music has developed from the Ghanaian hall-party culture around London in the early 90s and at home in North-East London," Christian said. "These were environments in which my parents and their peers were always playing classic Highlife, Gospel and Hiplife. There are a generation of us who share that dual heritage in the UK from that base."
"As I’ve grown up, I started to realise the messages behind the music. Whether it was based around Ghanaian proverbs and passing down life advice, or struggles of living in another country but your family back home think the streets are paved with gold here. The instrumentation of the music always provides a inviting call to the dancefloor but when you’re at a festival and everyone is singing along in tandem that’s the spiritual element at it’s core which is indescribable as a feeling. It’s joy."
A Quick Ting On Afrobeats is the first of its kind: a ground-breaking debut that chronicles the social and cultural development of a music genre now sweeping across the globe. Addressing such a scope, Christian told Metro: "I want the book to unify narratives from past to present and be the complete antithesis to the pressure of being the "first" as a Black author."
"The one thing I want people to take away when reading this book is to learn about the context of music, and to reflect on the personal journeys across Africa and the wider diaspora from past to present weaved in throughout."
A Quick Ting On Afrobeats is out February 24th. You can order your copy here or through your local bookshop. Also available in eBook.