Event Listing - Music
Wed Jul 15

Gokh-Bi System


Tel. 415-655-5600
Website
$20 - $20
Tickets
Box Office: 415-655-5600

Location
Date and Time
Yoshi's San Francisco
1330 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115 map
cross street: Eddy
district: Japantown/Fillmore

Wed Jul 15 (8PM)

Description
Childhood friends from the Dakar, Senegal hood of Pikine Guinaw Rail—literally “the other side of the tracks”— Gokh-Bi System (pronounced Go Bee) reunite rap with its ancient West African ancestors in a style dubbed “ancient meets urban”. GBS was formed in 1993 by three childhood friends: Mamadou Ndiaye (Emcee), Diasse Pouye (Emcee), and Pape Bathie Pouye (Music Director/Manager). The three boys were transfixed by the conscious lyrics and powerful messages found in hip hop and began creating their own lyrics against the beat. They started out imitating what they heard on the cassettes, combining English, French, Arabic, and several other Senegalese dialects including Wolof (the official language of Senegal), Serer, and Jola into their own flow. Soon freestyle turned into original compositions and the boys from the other side of the tracks added Backa Niang (percussionist/vocals) and Sana Ndiaye (ekonting/vocals) and christened themselves Gokh-Bi System which means neighborhood system.