Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
La Playa
AFRICAN
$
(Blvd Treich-Laplene; dishes from CFA3000)
A
maquis
that does a great line in upmarket versions of
Senegalese and Ivorian dishes.
Getting There & Away
Shared taxis (CFA700, 40 minutes) leave from Abidjan's Gare de Bassam. In Bassam, the
gare routière
(bus station) is beside the Pl de Paix roundabout, north of the lagoon.
COUPÉ-DECALÉ: CUT & RUN
Picture the scene: it's 2002 and you're at the swish l'Atlantic nightclub in Paris. Around you, tight-shirted Ivorian
guys are knocking back Champagne, throwing euros into the air and grinding their hips on the dance floor.
Coupé-decalé
is one of the most important music movements to hit Côte d'Ivoire. From the French verb
couper,
meaning to cheat, and
decaler,
to run away, the term loosely translates as 'cut and run'. It evolved as a
comment on the shrewd but stylish Ivorian and Burkinabé guys - modern-day Robin Hoods, if you like - who
fled to France at the height of the conflict in 2002, where they garnered big bucks and sent money home to their
families.
They splashed the rest of their cash on the Paris club scene. It wasn't unusual for them to shower audiences
with crisp notes. The late Douk Saga, one of the founders of the movement, was famous for wearing two designer
suits to his shows. Halfway through, he'd strip provocatively and throw one into the crowd.
Soon this music genre took off in Côte d'Ivoire, becoming increasingly popular as the conflict raged on. With
curfews in place and late-night venues closed, Ivorians started going dancing in the mornings. The more that nor-
mal life was suppressed, the more they wanted to break free from the shackles of war.
Coupé-decalé,
the who-
gives-a-damn dance, allowed them to do exactly that.
Early
coupé-decalé
was characterised by repetitive vocals set to fast, jerky beats. Lyrics were either superficial,
facetious or flippant - 'we don't know where we're going, but we're going anyway', sang DJ Jacab. As the trend
has matured,
coupé-decalé
lyrics have become smarter, more socially aware and dripping with double and triple
entendres. The movement is now a national source of pride and, above all, a comment on Ivorian society; despite
years of conflict, misery and fear, Ivorians have never stopped dancing.
Today's
coupé-decalé
is cheeky, crazy and upbeat, and to fully appreciate it you should get yourself to an
Abidjan dance floor. Tracks to seek out include Bablée's 'Sous Les Cocotiers', Kaysha's 'Faut Couper Decaler',
'Magic Ambiance' by Magic System, DJ Jacab's 'On Sait Pas Ou On Va', 'Guantanamo' by DJ Zidane and Douk
Saga's 'Sagacité'. The latter spawned the Drogbacité dance craze, inspired by the footballer Didier Drogba. In
2006 DJ Lewis' hugely popular 'Grippe Aviaire' did for bird flu what early
coupé-decalé
did for the conflict - it
replaced fear with joy.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Assinie
