Obaa Sima
Ata Kak
- LP
- Label
- Awesome Tapes From Africa
Ata Kak’s 1994 cassette Obaa Sima fell on deaf ears when it was self-released in Ghana and Canada. The music on the recording—an amalgam of highlife, Twi- language rap, funk, hip-hop and electronica—is presented with the passion of a Prince record and the DlY-bedroom- recording lo-fi charm of early Chicago house music. The astute self-taught songcraft and visionary blend of sounds and rhythms has made the album a left-field cult favorite among adventurous listeners worldwide. Awesome Tapes founder Brian Shimkovitz found the tape in 2002 in Cape Coast, Ghana—one of only a few pressed—and later made it the inaugural post the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog. Thousands of downloads, hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, music videos, remixes and years of mystery as to Ata Kak’s whereabouts culminate in this remastered release featuring rare photos and the full back story of one of the internet age’s most enigmatic artists.