Music of Cameroon in 1950s and 1960s

The mid-20^th century saw the promotion of a native folk music which is known as bikusti. The Bikutsi is based on a war rhythm that is played with different bands and percuss and xylophone. The song by the women bikutsi features sexually clear lyrics and music about the everyday issues. The promotion form of bikutsi gained mainstream success in the 1950’s; Anne Marie Nzie was perhaps the main significant of the early creators. The next bikutsi performers of legendary build were Messi Me Nkonda Martin and his band, Los Cameroes, who added the electric guitars and other recent elements.

The balafon groups had remained famous throughout the 50s in Yaounde bar scene, but the audience demanded modernity and the famous pattern at that time was unable to cope. Messi Martin was a Cameroonian guitarist who had been stirred to learn the instrument by listening to Spanish language broadcasts from the neighbouring Equatorial Guinea as well as Cuban and Zairean rumba. Messi changed the electric guitar by combining the cords together with piece of paper, giving the musical instrument a damper tone that produced a thudding sound similar to the balafon.

Messi’s pattern was immediately adopted and it became famous and his hits such as Mengalla Maurice and Bekono Nga N’Konda became radio favourites throughout the country starting in the early 60s. Further inventions followed as Messi changed the handclaps and sanza with a synthesizer and the foot imprinting 6/8 rhythm to percuss.