Wonder Woman of the Week: Mo'Kalamity
- Jul 6, 2017
- 1 min read
The Wonder Woman for this week comes straight from West Africa as a leading artist in contemporary reggae setting the stage for more female reggae singers to enter the genre known best for male singers like Ziggy and Bob Marley. Mo'Kalamity is a Cape Verdean reggae artist based out of Paris and through her expatriate status formed her band- the Wizards. The band was hailed as heroes when Mo'Kalamity returned to her home country of Cape Verde to find every concert sold out.
If her success in reggae was not impressive enough, it is important for a listener of her music to understand how incredible her success really is. Cape Verde- located of the West Coast of Africa- in part of a region (West Africa- go figure!) infamous for its gender disparity with high levels of violence against women and girls. So it's no surprise that Mo'Kalamity felt more secure making her base in France.
But even dealing with issues as a female artist from Africa transcends Mo'Kalamity's home continent. Fellow West African artist Angelique Kidjo explains in an interview with members of her band how stereotyped African music can be to Western audiences. She describes how even in some of Africa's smallest countries- like Benin and Cape Verde- there is great diversity in music. Mo'Kalamity's approach according to an interview in 2011 derives greatly from her early introductions to music in Cape Verde. Mo'Kalamity cites artists like Bob Marley and Otis Redding as well as British invasion bands as being her biggest influences.
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