ROCKY DAWUNI
Rocky Dawuni burst on to the African
reggae scene in 1996 with the release of his debut recording, The Movement.
The artists' introspective journey into social and spiritual consciousness garnered rave reviews in the Ghanaian press and
spawned two hit singles, with both "Sugar" and "What Goes Around" obtaining massive Ghanaian airplay. The intense media exposure
led to a full page write up in New Nation, one of Englands most influential weeklies, where Rocky was touted as Ghanas Bob Marley. In the U.S., The Movement received critical acclaim and glowing praise. The
Beat described Dawuni's freshman effort as a "thoughtful, spiritual and involved debut recording." Urb Magazine,
one of the most popular underground publications in the U.S., named Rocky Dawuni
one of the "Next 100 People to Watch in the Entertainment Industry."
Mesa/Bluemoon Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Recordslicensed "What
Goes Around" and its' video for release throughout the U.S. on Strictly Underground: Reggae's Next Generation, propelling
the video to climb to #3 on the Reggae Video Charts in January 1997 and introducing Rocky's
music to U.S. reggae radio. In spring 1998, AQUARIAN Records / Who Dun It Records released Rocky's sophomore effort, Crusade, written, arranged and produced
by Rocky Dawuni. The album is a sprawling philosophical journey into rhythm and
soul with songs of pain, spirituality, love, revolution and redemption. From
the nyabinghi tinged tropical jam, "Sweet Bright Day," which Dawuni describes as "an
invocation of the perfect day when all elements fall into place in our lives,"
to a hauntingly powerful piece entitled, "Conqueror," which highlights a traditional African kora player, Crusade is Dawuni's musical and spiritual war promoting love, justice and righteousness. "It's about hope in the human spirit and allowing God to empower us to attain the unattainable."
Crusades first single, In Ghana, achieved international
hit status on both radio and TV with the tunes arresting video. Inspired by Ghanas 40th Anniversary Celebrations, Dawuni describes the song "as a celebration of 40 years of independence...as
the first black African country to attain independence, it's a personal ode to the individual's continuing search for freedom." Putumayo World Music subsequently
licensed In Ghana for their Reggae Around the World compilation CD that also includes tracks from Lucky Dube, Burning
Spear and Majek Fashek. "In Ghana" was voted Reggae Song of the Year at the Ghana Music Awards 2000. In the U.S., Crusade received rave reviews from all corners including a four-and-a-half-star
review from Reggae Report. Influential Dub Missive touts from beginning
to end, it scores a direct hit. Dawuni received intense radio support for
the album in the U.S. and Jamaica, as well as on the BBC, National Public Radio (The World) and Voice of America.
In the spring of 1999, Rocky
began a summer festival tour of the U.S., which culminated with a knockout live performance at the Vermont Reggae Festival
to a capacity crowd of 35,000. Rocky also put in extraordinary performances at
the UCLA Jazz/Reggae Festival and Sierra Nevada World Music Festival. Rocky then
embarked on the Africa Roots 2000 Tour alongside Ismael Isaac from Ivory Coast and Positive Black Soul from Senegal. This
tour included stops at SOBs in New York City, House of Blues in Boston, WOMAD USA in Seattle and the prestigious Reggae on
the River in Northern California establishing Rocky as one of the premier live African artists.
Rocky released his third album Awakening
in Ghana in 2001. Awakening continues Rockys
quest for political and spiritual enlightenment. Rocky sees Awakening as an urgent medium to initiate the consciousness of African unity in the spirit of the first
President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Awakening received rave reviews from West Africa Magazine, Billboard,
Voice of America and the BBC. "I'll Try," the first single from the album recently won "Best Reggae Song" at the third annual
Ghana Music Awards 2002. "I'll Try" has a stunning 35mm music video, the first ever on this format in Ghana, which was shot
in the California desert.
Summer / Fall 2001 and 2002 saw Rocky
in the United States doing a series of dates including the prominent Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle, WA and Reggae in
the Park in San Francisco, the 1 million person strong Detroit World Music Festival and the first annual Fairfax
World Music Festival in Northern California.
Rocky spent the spring of 2003 in his homeland
of Ghana for the third annual "Rocky Dawuni Independence Splash" held in
honor of Ghana's Independence Day, March 6th. This highly anticipated event was held at Accras Labadi Beach
on March 6th attracting over 30,000 Rocky Dawuni fans!! Last year's "Independence Splash"
took place at the National Theatre in Accra on March 5, 2002 which went live nationally on Ghana TV to an estimated audience
of 10 million viewers. Rocky foresees this event as becoming "the
premier live music event in Ghana, the Sunsplash of Africa."
Rocky is currently putting finishing
touches on his fourth studio album entitled "Book of Changes" which
features the song "Wake The Town" showcasing his new signature "Afro Roots" sound blending elements of Afro
Beat, Dub, Reggae, and traditional African music. "Wake the Town" is currently receiving tremendous
support on KCRW, BBC and Radio Nova!!
Rocky was recently
nominated for "Best World Music Artist 2003" by the influential LA Weekly,
which lauds Dawuni as a "rising young star" with "engaging stage presence" and notes Dawuni is "primed
to conquer America!"
