As the good old book, The Bible says, anything that has a beginning surely has an end. That assertion by the Bible is true in the life stage of the dance craze that was, Azonto! The term Azonto which originally was a rude reference to wayward girls, has been adopted as the handle for a Ghanaian fast-beat dance music genre and the accompanying dance that goes with it. It originates from the word Azontoa (pronounced in some dialects as Abontoa) which means an ugly street girl. Originally used in the early 1990s in songs that were intended to offend female student schools that were not much liked, the word seems to have become an acceptable word since then. The dance involves a set of hand movements that either mimic everyday activities or are meant to signal an often amusing intention. It begun with one or two step movements but has been advanced to more complex and almost acrobatic movements. Regards the actual region, tribe, town or individual or groups of people who originated Azonto, the arguments has been back and forth. Azonto is believed to have originated from a traditional dance called Kpanlogo from the coastal areas like Chorkor, James Town, La, Teshie, Nungua and in the port town of Tema. Some Ashantis in the Ashanti Region of Ghana claimed Azonto is actually a derivative dance from their age old dance called Adowa. Some Voltarians in the Volta Region of Ghana also professed that Azonto is coined out of their traditional dance called Bobobo. Fans of some artistes and some artistes have personally conferred on themselves as the originators, promoters, King, and Queen of Azonto. Names of such artistes include; Asamoah Djan (originator), Bukom Banku (originator), Gasmilla (King of Azonto), Sarkodie and Fuse ODG – promoters respectively, and finally, Itz. Tiffany (Queen of Azonto). For instance, on King of Comedy Kwaku Sintim Misas (aka KSM) award winning television show TGIF on Metro TV, Gasmilla said “the fans say I am the King of Azonto so I have accepted their verdict.” Sarkodie also had an interview on BBC Africas Paul Bakibinga about the birth of Azonto and his experimentation with the Azonto dance. Sarkodie said “I gave birth to it but now people are taking it to the next level. Azonto was meant to be but I was lucky to be the first person to bring it out.” it was reported that CNN credited Azonto to Nigeria through a Glo commercial they aired on their channel. American musician Chris Brown also came to Ghana and attributed Azonto to Wizkid (Nigerian musician) on RLGs Hope City Concert at our Independence Square. Nigerian duo P-Square, instead of begging Ghanaians to teach them the rudiments of the Azonto dance, refused and metamorphosed Azonto into what they call Alingo. The Azonto braggadocios kept soaring day in day out till now that its dead and buried. As of now, all that can be said is that, Azonto is from Ghana, but as to which individual originated or created it, still remains a journey of discoveries. On our part, what Flex newspaper did for Azonto was to find out from the National Folklore Board - a board set up by Parliament to administer, monitor, and register Ghanas folkloric arts, if Azonto can be described as a modern day folkloric art, since it has no definitive originator (just like Ananse tales). This is what he said: “Azonto can be considered modern day folklore if after 10 years no one registers it as the creator or originator.” Again, Flex newspaper found out from the Register General if Azonto has been registered either as a company or trademark by any one. Our findings revealed that Azonto had not been registered either as a company/business or a trademark. The list of most popular Azonto tracks of 2012 includes; You Go Kill Me - Sarkodie ft E.L, Lapaz Toyota – Guru, Aboodatue – Gasmilla, Twame Lala - Stay Jay, Obuu Mo - E.L, Yenko Nkoaa - Eduwodzi Feat Stay J, Azonto- Eduwodzi Feat Stay J, Kolom - Buk Bak, Sokode – Keche, Azonto Ghost - Bisa K. Dei, Moko Ni - 4 x 4, Seke - Dr. Slim ft. Double, Ayi - Criss Waddle ft. Bisa K. Dei, amongst others. Azonto is finally dead! What killed it? Is it Akayida? Did Ghana benefit from Azonto? Let the discourse go on wherever you are. Until then….MOTWUM!! Osarfo Anthony
Posted on: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 18:02:32 +0000
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