Cumbancha recording artist Rocky Dawuni has released his new music video for the hit single “African Thriller” in partnership with Entertainment Weekly.
“African Thriller” is the first single from the African star Rocky Dawuni’s new album “Branches of the Same Tree,” which will be released in March 2015 on Cumbancha.
The timing of the video launch occurred just a few days after the 40th anniversary of the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, and the video draws inspiration from that momentous event.
At a time when the news about Africa is dominated by the Ebola crisis, “African Thriller” offers a positive message celebrating African strength, unity and indomitable spirit.
Shot in Los Angeles, the highly polished music video, directed by Glen Wilson, and choreographed by Kara Mack, offers an explosion of West African inspired dance moves, rich colors, and a celebratory atmosphere.
Wilson, who directed Dawuni’s earlier “African Reggae Fever” video, was inspired by one of his favorite documentaries, When We Were Kings, which documented the famous Ali/Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” bout that took place in Kinshasha, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30th, 1974. The video also references Afro Funke’, Rocky’s world renowned cross cultural dance club in Los Angeles, and offers visual tributes to Nigerian Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti.
According to Rocky Dawuni, “‘African Thriller’ is a persona, a concept and a vision of what contemporary beauty and excitement will emerge from the confrontation and collision of cultures. The video hints at historical and cultural signposts in a metaphoric expression of how the dance floor is one of the ultimate and most colorful places for global unity, celebration and liberation.”
Rocky Dawuni and his team are excited for this video to inspire others to “shake it till it go be hot, hot!” Rocky is asking fans to post their “African Thriller” inspired dance-videos to his Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/rockydawuni) and will soon be announcing an upcoming remix contest.
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Source: www.rockydawuni.com