“His Imperial Majesty”, S. Sponji Living’s fourth album to date,” charted Top 10 Euro Indie Music Chart and DRT USA recently plugged by Musik Radio Promotions worldwide. Sponji was nominated for grammy by Stephen Wrench, President of MAF, and is now in semi-final as “best reggae album”.
Music isn’t concerned with cultural or geographical boundaries any more. We live in a much more connected and cross-pollinated world than that. The best music ignores rules and regulations and mixes and matches its sounds and style as it choses. It is why you find artists such as S.Sponji Living drawing on everything from the Afrobeat vibes of his Ivory Coast homeland, to the distinctive dancehall sound of the Caribbean and from western pop to sultry R&B and even referencing some intriguing threads of rock guitar.
The result is music which is truly global, taking African beats and western vibes, sultry rhythms and infectious carnival spice, you can see exactly what ingredients go into the mix but would be hard pushed to say exactly where its spiritual home is. And that is the era that we are finally embracing, one where cultures are merging, where styles, fashions, sounds and creative juices have become so fluid and wonderfully embracing that soon all we will be able to say is …that is music…and find that no other qualifiers necessary.
This isn’t just African dance music or western pop or Jamaican reggae or world music, it is all of those things and also more than the sum of those parts too. All that matters is that as soon as the music starts you ask yourself does it make you want to hit the dance floor, move your body, cut loose and get lost in its sultry splendor. And the answer to that is a resounding yes.
After some time concentrating on other creative avenues, His Imperial Majesty, his fourth album to date, marks a glorious return to recording music and the future is looking very bright indeed.