LAMISI (Ghana) (Real World Records) reinvents one of Ghana’s most celebrated artists and women’s rights activists through an energetic new project blending Northern Ghana’s women’s clapping traditions with the contemporary edge, propulsive percussion and hook-driven production of Wanlov The Kubolor.
With a powerful, soulful voice, Lamisi bridges traditional northern rhythms and modern sounds. Based in Accra, she also leads the Lamisi Fata Foundation, empowering girls in her home region’s deeply patriarchal society. Her latest album celebrates women’s clapping music while championing female empowerment and social change.
“The women of Zebilla have been teaching me the clapping rhythms that are the basis of so much of their music and dance,” says Lamisi. “Wanlov and I decided to create a project that would combine this ancient artform with traditional acoustic instrumentation and the synthesised vocals that have been popular across Ghana for decades.”
Across nine tracks, Lamisi’s Let Us Clap reimagines ‘traditional’ music, fusing ancient grooves and clapping patterns with studio electronics and heavily vocoded vocals. Tempos shift, tension builds and releases, and past and future move in dialogue.
“This music is fresh,” says Wanlov the Kubolor, the project’s musical director. “It’s magic music. It is the world that we are coming from.”
"At a time in history when rollbacks on gains made in feminism and women’s rights are commonplace, Let Us Clap also serves as a reminder that vigilance - and action - matters."
Real World Records
