Anyone who knows a bit about the Liberian music known as Gbema must have heard of the legendary singer Morris Dorley who changed the face of Liberian music and so about his successor known as Kzee Bigname, born Kolando Baby Zulu.
Kzee Bigname has been labelled the post-war Morris Dorley of Liberian Music. As a musical genius Dorley led the movement that popularized local songs and inspired a lot of musicians who came after him with his soulful and touching lyrics.
Before the war, the majority of the music on the Liberian airwaves were foreign songs, and the few locally ones, were mostly about politics. Such a condition contributed to international songs controlling airwaves and nightclubs for a substantial amount of time.
Dorley, who is a native of Bomi County and a Gola by tribe, fought against all odds and became the first Liberian musician to break away from the influence of American songs and recorded Liberia’s first ‘Afro-music.
Dorley, who is widely regarded as the father of Liberian music, is popular for the songs, Grand Gedeh Oh and Who Are You Baby.
Kzee Bigname on the other hand picked up from Dorley stopped. Through his debut musical effport tilted “Kakaleka” he redefined and increased the popularity of Gbema music in post-war Liberia music setting. Not just that, he also inspired a new generation of artists to avoid Africanizing western genres.
“He didn’t only increase Gbema popularity, he redefined its sounds to meet the taste and desire of today’s music lovers,” said DJ Blue, a Liberian media mogul, and owner of Bluelink Records, one of the country’s top record labels.
As DJ Weego Zico noted: “Kakalaka was an immediate success because it incorporated a number of lyrical changes, particular, pidgin and dialect, as well as rhythm that makes the tunes extremely danceable. This was what people were looking for—a cheerful, midtempo, and bass-filled local music, free of politics. “
After the success of Kakalaka, Kzee released another banger, titled “Kountry Chicken”, which rocked the country for more than three months. Again in 2012, Kzee returned with another hit single “Chicken Saloma” featuring David Mell, and two years later, with another banger “Da Who Say” featuring JB of Soul Fresh.
Since his debut more than a decade ago, Kzee had so far released over 6 hits songs and collaborated on several hits tracks as well and won numerous awards including the MTN Liberia Music Award four times.
