KILLA ACE - ALI CHAM

As the first artist to speak out against the dictatorship by encouraging Gambians to vote against the brutal regime of then President Yahya Jammeh through his 2016 release “Ku Boka C Geta G” (Wolof for “If You Are Part Of The Herd of Cows”), Killa Ace was forced to flee The Gambia and live in exile in Senegal.

But Killa Ace would have the last laugh as Jammeh was voted out of office in December of 2016 in a landslide. And a lot of the new voter enthusiasm around ousting Jammeh can be attributed to the effect Killa Ace’s music had on the younger citizens of Gambia.

While most rappers battle amongst each other, Killa Ace uses his lyrics to battle against corrupt politicians. With veteran precision, Killa Ace places their incompetence and misaligned policies between his crosshairs like a lyrical sniper.

In doing so, not only does he hold those in power to the fire, he educates the public about the ongoings of Gambian governance. In a country with a 50% adult literacy rate, the influence Gambian music has on its citizens is evident.

Rapping in both English and Wolof back to back, Killa Ace is able to bridge both the modern world with his ancestral culture. And in doing so, he puts Gambia on the map in the global arena while bringing a fresh perspective to the Wolof language.

Now don’t think just because there’s the new democratically elected President Adama Barrow in The Gambia today that Killa Ace would grow quiet. To the contrary. Unhappy with what little has been done by the present government to reconcile the injustices of the recent past, Killa Ace raised his voice again with his 2018 release “I’m a Victim”.

In the song “I’m A Victim” Killa Ace fearlessly addresses the nation’s shared traumas and seeks healing through accountability and collective reconciliation. What is perhaps most striking about this song is how Killa Ace takes on the separate personas of different victims and raps from their particular perspectives. He becomes a prisoner, a murder victim, a victim’s family member, and a rape survivor who are all seeking justice. It’s quite moving.

And should it surprise us that we see Killa Ace among 36 others arrested in relation to the July 24 demonstrations seeking justice for Ousman Darboe, a market vendor who was arrested, tortured by the Anti-Crime Unit of The Gambian police force, and died immediately after being released on bail? Or is it that every time Killa Ace releases a song criticizing those in power in The Gambia, the police hunt him down?

More than just a rapper and recording artist, Ali Cham is an active human rights advocate and community youth organizer as both President of the Team Gom Sa Bopa movement and Acting Secretary General of The Gambia Music Union, where he continues to speak out against corruption in politics, police brutality, and sex tourism, while coordinating cultural art events to inspire younger Gambians to build a better Gambia.

Throughout an already remarkable life for a young man, Killa Ace has become the voice of The New Gambia.