Zoblazo is a musical style from

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

, created in the early 1990s. It is a cosmopolitan popular dance music with simple up-tempo rhythm and high tech instrumentation and contains a mixture of traditional dance rhythms from southern Côte d'Ivoire. Zoblazo's best known exponent is Freddy Meiway, who has released a series of Zoblazo records starting in 1989 with the record "Ayibebou" with his group Zo Gang. An ethnic N'Zema from Grand Bassam, Meiway integrated folk rhythms from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana with and is danced to with a white handkerchief. From his second album in 1990 entitled ''200% Zoblazo'', Meiway became the second best known Ivorian and N'zema musician after

Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953, in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung i ...

, and has released a steady stream of records, the most recent ''9ème commandement –900% zoblazo'' released in 2007.

External links

RFI Musique: Meiway Biography
January 2007.
Review Meiway - Golgotha (800% Zoblazo)
Africa On Your Street, BBC.co.uk.
Meiway from Ivory Coast, JJC Reviews
May 2006: Africa On Your Street, BBC.co.uk. Ivorian styles of music World music genres Abidjan {{Coted'Ivoire-stub