Fuse ODG Encourages Cultural Identity Through Reclamation of African Names

To Fuse, there is no difference between these two versions. They are both connected and have always been guided by the same vision: to create music that breaks new ground, speaks to the current state of the world, and, most importantly, to make music with meaning.

To do that, Fuse broke things down in phases. First was the debut album, T.I.N.A., which included his biggest hits and served as a celebration of African heritage and pride. It was about "Making Africans proud of their culture. And the best way to do that at that time was to show us in a positive light," Fuse tells OkayAfrica. "We kept it very light so our people can latch on to it so that other people can get involved. The whole point of those songs [was] to get that sense of pride from that school kid who's now able to play African music."

Back then, while still establishing himself in the industry, Fuse kept his social consciousness mostly to interviews, using subliminal messaging in his music. Years later, the British Ghanaian singer now proudly combines the two, ensuring his social message remains fervently alive in his music as it does outside of it.

That ideology of marrying the ideological with the artistic is perfected in Spirit of New Africa, Fuse's latest and most thematically compelling project yet. Spirit of New Africa is rich in significance and intelligently lays out its themes of identity, ideological return, and the complexity of being African in a period of rapid globalization across 12 songs reflecting a cultural renaissance and honoring the historical legacy of the continent.

In songs like "Sundiata." Fuse examines colonialism and its impact on everyday life. He traces a rich history of the African identity and crotches a vibrant, powerfully delivered manifesto of African power and resistance. To further emphasize the message, Fuse started a social media campaign celebrating African names and reminding his audience of the importance of honoring their names and the history behind them. There are also reflections on homecoming in songs like "We Know It's Christmas"and "December in GH." While the latter imagines the pride that African forefathers must feel seeing their descendants return to the continent to find themselves anew, the former takes a sharp look at the dizzying glitz that defines December in Ghana.

There are also light and playful takes on this album. For a song like "54 Countries," Fuse, who has visited 25 countries on the continent, says he had to learn about all 54 to create a counter-narrative to the notion of cultural homogeneity. In it, he challenges the long-standing perception of Africa as one big country, using the unique characteristics that can be found in different African nations to paint a sprawling and diverse landscape.

At a time when most African artists are shifting their sounds away from socially conscious messaging, Fuse has perfected a balance between incorporating great messages into great songs, despite the blowback that it has attracted.

Fuse ODG's connection to the times 

Born Nana Richard Abiona, Fuse ODG can do the work he does because he is constantly listening to the times. Where most artists might respond to sonic trends, Fuse routinely lends his voice to causes that seek to dehumanize Africans or understate the African perspective.He also creates music that speaks to the growing level of awareness and insight, particularly among the younger generation. "Back then, they were not ready for that. Now the world feels ready. Now that we have that sense of pride, we're able to talk about these things in the songs," Fuse says.

Fuse grew up listening toFela Kuti,Bob Marley, and artists who were clear-eyed about the state of the world and were unafraid to articulate it. "One of the albums that I always used to play and still play to this day is 'Distant Relatives' by Damian Marley and Nas," Fuse says. "That album captures our brothers and sisters in the diaspora, especially from the Caribbean side. They were talking about how much we all need to unite as a people. It was like a Bible; I felt like I was reading scriptures. Hearing it from that perspective was inspiring."

Inspired by home: Fuse ODG's musical journey in Ghana

For this album, Fuse recorded in his home nation of Ghana, where he records all of his albums. "It's very important that the sound is made from the source," he explains. "These are the people that I'm fighting for. I have to be there to listen to their voices, and I have to be there to tap into the sound. So I always make sure that I'm in the motherland."

Alongside the Ghana-based producers he worked with, Fuse created a groovy, sleek Afropop soundscape replete with percussions, swaggering guitars, and collaborations with fellow Ghanaian artists such as Kofi Kanaata and Olivetheboy.

Fuse has always been a bridge between the world and the African continent. His early hit songs were a perfect marriage between a burgeoning music industry on the continent and an African diaspora yearning to reconnect with what felt most like home. It brought him immense success and made him, for the most part, digestible to the mainstream. But Fuse isn't stuck in that era anymore. His work now also champions cultural heritage, Pan-Africanism, and the evolving identity of modern Africa.

For him, the work he did with songs like "Antenna" paved the way for a generation of outstanding music makers who took that sound and created their own versions. That was the primary goal. "They [Azonto and Antenna] had to exist to give birth to all the other kinds of sounds that are happening now," he says.

The goal now for Fuse is to make socially conscious music with enough mainstream appeal to provide a new kind of blueprint for African artists while being mindful that it has always been a part of African music culture to combine the political with the artistic.

"Right now, there aren't many people who are instilling messages and making the songs that I'm making now," Fuse says. "But this phase has to happen for the next phase, where so many people will be able to put powerful messages into their songs. It's going to happen because when other people see me doing it successfully, which is happening now, it's going to inspire them to want to do the same."