Kzee Bigname on mission to popularize Liberian Gbema music

Liberian music artist, Kolando Baby Zulu better known in the African music circles as Kzee Bigname is on the mission to make Liberian cultural music known as Gbema a world phenomenon like Afrobeats, Afro-pop, Amapiano and others that have travelled beyond the African shores.

Kzee Bigname has stuck to his traditional music much like his mentor and predecessor, Morris Dorley, the Liberian music legend, who was credited for the renaissance of cultural music.

“Instead of trying to mimic or Africanise western music, Kzee modernized Gbema’s sound to make it modern-day acceptable with the introduction of soul-touching melody,” said Weego Zico, a veteran Liberian disc jockey, who works with HOTT FM.

Kzee Bigname change the orientation of his people, turning their minds away from Western genres as the bulk of music dominating the nightclubs and airwaves before Kzee came into the picture was foreign.

He followed in the footsteps of the great Morris Dorley. While Dorley created the awareness and the revolution, Kzee engineered the popularization of the genre in Liberia’s post-war music history. Dorley, a native of Bomi County and a Gola by tribe, fought against all odds and became the first Liberian musician to break away from the influence of American songs and recorded Liberia’s first ‘Afro-music.

Dorley, who is widely regarded as the father of Liberian music, is popular for the songs, Grand Gedeh Oh and Who Are You Baby.

As a musical genius, Dorley led the movement that popularized local songs and inspired a lot of musicians who came after him, whether male or female with his soulful and touching lyrics and Kzee has taken on the mission of the legend.

“Gbema music has a big seat in the Liberian music industry because it is our traditional and cultural arts music from our ancestors and it belongs to a particular tribe in Liberia called Bassa. It cuts across every age, with more story-telling through the expression of Liberian art, culture and dancing. Gbema is Liberian, the reason I say so is because we Liberians express ourselves through dancing,” says Kzee Bigname who is currently on top of his game.

His debut hit was titled “Kakalaka” and it was an instant hit that had Gbema written all over it.

As DJ Weego Zico noted: “Kakalaka was an immediate success because it incorporated a number of lyrical changes, particularly, pidgin and dialect, as well as a rhythm that makes the tunes extremely danceable. This was what people were looking for—a cheerful, mid-tempo, and bass-filled local music, free of politics. “

Two years later in 2010, after the success of Kakalaka, Kzee released another banger titled “Kountry Chicken”, which went on to dominate the Liberian airwaves for more than three months. Again in 2012, Kzee returned with another hit single “Chicken Saloma” featuring David Mell, and two years later, with another banger “Da Who Say” featuring JB of Soul Fresh.

These songs like Kakalaka became instant hits because of their potent lyrics, which are soulful to the ear and still relevant today.

His people have labelled him the postwar Morris Dorley of Liberian music. Through Kakalaka, he redefined and increased the popularity of Gbema music in the post-war Liberia music setting. Not just that, he inspired a new generation of artists to avoid Africanizing western genres.

“He didn’t only increase Gbema popularity, he redefined its sounds to meet the taste and desire of today’s music lovers,” added DJ Blue, a Liberian media mogul, and owner of Bluelink record, one of the country’s top record labels.

“It is not easy for an artist to maintain such a constant level but with Kzee, the situation is different. He is a genius and legend who continues to drop hit after hit since his debut a decade ago. Frankly speaking, KzeeBigname started the second renaissance of Liberian music,” added DJ J-mark, of Joy FM.

Born in 1988, as Kolando Baby Zulu, Kzee made his music debut as the co-founder and Vice President of the Liberian Refugees rap group in Ghana. Fast forward to the end of 2019, Kzee end the year with two hits singles “Frisky Tata” and “Yor Pastor Know” after taking a sabbatical from music.

Since his debut more than a decade ago, Kzee had so far released over 6 hits songs and collaborated on several hit tracks as well and won numerous awards including the MTN Liberia Music Award four times.