I was only a few days into my vacation in Senegal when I got talked into working as in interpreter for RnB artist Lloyd. He was scheduled for two dates at Dakars Demba Diop Stadium, Saturday dec 27th and Sunday dec 28th.
Having only managed a few hours sleep the night before, I accompanied my good friend Raissa of Guelawaar Communications to his hotel. We arrived around 9am as convened. I got the very charming receptionist of the hotel Meridien to call his room and after a few attempts she told me Lloyd was probably still asleep. After a few more attempts we got through to Ryan, Llyods DJ, who told me they would all be down in approximately an hour. I had the feeling this was going to be a long day. In good keeping Lloyd and his team came down around an hour later. I found them in an ebullient mood all looking forward to the day ahead. I got introduced to Lloyd, his manager Donald, Ryan the DJ, Korey and Steve-O his stage choreographers and last but by no means least KB, his right hand man. Presentations over with we all hopped in the limo that had been arranged for the weekend and headed for Goree Island, our first stop of the day.
Trip to Goree Island
The mood was relaxed and jubilant, and everyone seemed genuinely excited to be in Dakar. It was for all them their first time in Africa. They all laughed and joked in their distinctive southern twang, sporadically peeping through the tinted windows to catch a glimpse of the surroundings. As we approached our destination, I gave them a quick overview of Goree Island and its significance, pointing out that this tiny island off the coast of Dakar, entrenched in colonial history and symbolic of three centuries of slave trade was a focal point of that tragic era and that many slaves from across the continent departed from there en route to the Americas. There was an ominous silence. After a 15 min ferry ride we arrived on Goree where Lloyd was greeted by the mayor of the island. Formalities over with, the guided tour began with a stop at the church Saint-Charles-Boromee, a few local shops and art galleries and ended at the old slave house.
About halfway through the tour, the ever so astute Raissa spotted none other than former french head of state Valery Giscard D'estaing, presumably in Senegal on vacation, and somehow arranged for the two men to meet. This serendipitous encounter was as unlikely as it was good natured. After inviting him to attend the concert, to which Mr D'Estaing jovially replied that he was too old, Lloyd joked that he had more people following him on his guided tour than the former president. Not to be outdone Mr D'estaing smiled and calmly replied that he on the other hand had been followed by over forty million votes in the past, at which point both men burst out laughing.
Trip to the "Marche Artisanal"
The following day, Raissa and I tried to organise something a little more low key for Lloyd and his team. We wanted them to get a better idea of what Dakar had to offer. To that end we took them to the "Marche Artisanal", a small market just outside the city centre where local craftsmen sell traditional ornaments. As we made our way through, market vendors flocked to them, each of them no doubt seeing an opportunity to entice them into parting with their US dollars. Market vendors in Senegal are as resourceful as they are opportunist.
I could sense a few of them were growing increasingly irate at all the attention they were receiving from some of the overzealous vendors. At that point I explained to Ryan, Lloyds DJ, that market vendors might overprice an item by the equivalent of 20 or 30 USD when dealing with foreigners, but put into context, he on the one hand could easily spend that on a fitted hat back home, whilst for the local vendors here, that amount could be equivalent to two weeks or three weeks wages.I saw his facial expression change. He was getting an idea of the struggle and the hardship endured by many in Africa, just to survive. He could relate to it, having grown up in a underprivileged area of Atlanta himself. He told me he felt humbled. As we were leaving, he turned around and went looking for someone. It was one of the vendors. He wanted to give him something. He took off his tshirt and gave it to him and explained that he had no more money on him but still wanted to buy some of his ornaments. He invited him and a few other vendors back to the hotel, and so they came. They brought along with them small statues, masks and paintings.
As we got back to the hotel Ryan, Lloyd, Donald, KB and Korey all went back to their rooms and came back down with an assortment of tshirts and caps they had brought as gifts for some of the vendors. Lloyd, after buying two wooden masks took his timberland boots off and gave them to one of the vendors. He said smiling, 'its cool, he probably needs the shoes more than I need the masks'. A few moments later, they set the vendors on their way and all went back to their rooms, having all I'm sure been served a slice of humble pie.
The Show
Later that evening, we made our way to the stadium. The atmosphere was charged. Opening for Lloyd were local artist Nix and Montreal based Izzo, followed by Carlou D (the first day), and, Duggy Tee, Gaston and Fafadi (the following day). Backstage, Lloyd was brushing up on some of the wolof (the language of senegal) I had taught him during the day, whilst the stage choreographers Korey and Steve-O were warming up.
A few minutes later, Lloyd made his way to the stage. As he came on, the stadium erupted. It was overwhelming, considering this was his first ever concert in Africa. The performance was energetic and delivered with great gusto. The crowd got involved singing along to some of the songs, 'You' in particular.
Lloyd is a very talented young man and I have to admit I didn't know a lot about him before that weekend. I had only heard a handful of his songs that get regular airplay. After the concert though, I felt like I could listen to his whole album. That my friends is testament to man himself and to the people around him. Trust the Buzz!
