Ghanian Hip Hop for a dowdy Monday morning

Straight off Adam Walton's playlist...

I’m not sure what the weather is like near you on this Bank Holiday Monday (or even if you are reading this from a Bank Holiday zone) but the chances are it’s drizzly and grey and not the sort of weather that inspires some garden-lounging or whatever your Perfect Day equivalent might be.

So, with that in mind, if life’s duties don’t ask too much of you, and you’re able to sit back with a good book for a while then I hope you have a good one to hand (a bad book is better than no book, of course). But if you do have things to be getting on with, may I recommend getting on with them with this new track from The Allergies, as introduced to me by Adam Walton’s BBC Radio Wales Show last week. “Koliko” (feat K.O.G.) won’t fail to dust those cobwebs off.

Here’s some background.

The Allergies are back with 'Koliko', a super catchy, feel good mix of afrobeat and Ghanaian hip-hop, all sprinkled with the trademark Allergies production punch. Fresh off his recent European tour, K.O.G delivers his positive rhymes calling on men to not become puppets of the established cultural expectations of them.

Kweku says the track is, “A chance to voice my mind about how we should talk about our feelings and not to feel like robots. Learn to communicate our feelings, especially when we find ourselves in the dark…always reach out or be reachable"

Hope this helps you bounce around your chores.

Gary Raymond is a novelist, author, playwright, critic, and broadcaster. In 2012, he co-founded Wales Arts Review, was its editor for ten years. His latest book, Abandon All Hope: A Personal Journey Through the History of Welsh Literature is available for pre-order and is out in May 2024 with Calon Books.