Rapping Against the Common Sense

«It's like a deformed anger which comes out us. Some kind of shy happiness», says Wanlov the Kubolor, one half of the Ghanaian rap duo FOKN Bois. In the Norient podcast he talks together with his musical partner M3nsa about their visions and their way of doing art in a religion-shaped context. A podcast from the Norient exhibition Seismographic Sounds, produced by Thomas Burkhalter and Maame Adjei.

Quotes from the Podcast

«We were never raised or trained or programmed to be patriotic, to care about the country. We are just raised to know whatever we are learning is for us to get a visa to go somewhere else or to go to heaven.»
Wanlov the Kubolor

«FOKN Bois is a place where myself and Wanlov go. Where we say things that people are thinking, but never say. Or they think it but they don’t say it the way they think.»
M3nsa

«We see common sense as controversial. Somebody next door can just build a church, a loud church and the police will not do anything about it. Jesus has the final authority.»
Wanlov the Kubolor

«When I’m depressed I go on YouTube and I load up one of FOKN Bois’ videos and then I read the comments. Some people are so angry and other people think ‹this is so funny› and other people think ‹no this is not funny, we don’t get it, they are not good, they can’t rap›. People are interpreting art anyway they want.»
M3nsa

«We do it like a self therapy. You know it is like, if you guys have the power, to make noise, to walk around 3 am with loudspeakers on the shoulders and wake us up with your message from God. Then we should also be able to put that frustration out in some way and it comes out as teasin’, makin’ fun and people say blasphemy. But it’s because we don’t know any other way to win so we just do it, like we make fun for our self-expression so that we just remain sane.»
Wanlov the Kubolor

«I like to be president of Ghana, really I would. And I think M3nsa really wants to be a vice. But I think he wants it for corrupt reasons. Yeah. Really. I’m serious. You know, I really think we could do with some very really radical changes in this country.»
Wanlov the Kubolor

«It’s like a deformed anger which comes out us. Some kind of shy happiness, I don’t know.»
Wanlov the Kubolor