Yé ké yé ké

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"Yé ké yé ké"
Yé ké yé ké (Mory Kanté).jpg
Single by Mory Kanté
from the album Akwaba Beach
LanguageMandinka
B-side"Akwaba Beach"
Released1987
GenreWorld, pop, Afro-pop, house[1]
Length3:58
LabelBarclay,
London (UK)
Songwriter(s)Mory Kanté
Producer(s)Nick Patrick
Mory Kanté singles chronology
"Yé ké yé ké"
(1987) 		"Tama"
(1988)

"Yé ké yé ké" is a song by Guinean recording artist Mory Kanté. It was released in 1987 as a single from his third studio album Akwaba Beach. The song became an international hit, it was one of Africa's best-ever selling hits as well as being a European number one in 1988, making it the first ever African single to sell over one million copies. The song was a top five hit in France, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, where it topped the chart for two consecutive weeks. A remix named the "Afro Acid Mix" was especially made for UK release where it reached No. 25. In 1994, German techno duo Hardfloor remixed the song and released this new version with moderate success.

The lyrics are in Mandinka.[2][3] Kanté adapted it from a traditional song called "Yekeke." "All good things have many owners," said Kanté in a 1997 interview. He added that "the song comes from a wonderful tradition we have in the villages. You know, when young griots are approaching the age of marriage, they flirt with each other through music. They court and ensnare each other through their songs and dances. These are sweet songs, I swear. 'Yekeke' is one of them. It's the sound that young women make when they dance ... It's their way of communicating their interest."[4]

Track listings[]

7" single
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" – 3:58
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:11
12" maxi
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (remix) – 6:17
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:11
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" – 3:58
12" maxi – US
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (French Remix) - 6:17
  2. "Yé ké yé ké" (Afro Acid Mix) - 5:25
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (Mory's House Version) - 5:25
  4. "Yé ké yé ké" (French Edit) - 3:38
  5. "Akwaba Beach" - 5:11
12" maxi – UK
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (the Afro acid remix) (*engineered by Robin Guthrie)
  2. "Akwaba Beach"
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (the French remix)
CD single
  1. "Yé ké yé ké" (remix) – 6:20
  2. "Akwaba Beach" – 5:14
  3. "Yé ké yé ké" (live) – 7:17

Charts[]

Popular culture[]

Asia[]

Due to the international popularity of the song, Cantopop singer Priscilla Chan recorded a cover version (地球大追蹤) on her 1988 album, Autumn Colours (秋色) . In September 1989, the song appeared in a television commercial for the second generation Toyota Carina ED in Japan.

The song was also popular in India. "Yé ké yé ké" was used as background music in the 1990 Bollywood film Agneepath, inspired the Bollywood song "Tamma Tamma" in the 1990 film Thanedaar, and inspired the song "Pellikala Vachesindhe" in the 1997 Telugu film Preminchukundam Raa.[22]

Greece[]

A Greek-language parody of Yé ké yé ké, titled Ελλάδα Είναι Μόνο Μία (There is only one Greece), was recorded by Harry Klynn for his 1989 political comedy album Ραντεβού Με Την... Εισαγγελία (Date with the...Prosecutor).[23] In contrast to Mory Kanté's original subject of doting on a love interest,[24] Klynn's parody version discusses various political issues present in Greece during the late 1980s such as the Davos process for reconciliation between Greece and Turkey. In particular, the main chorus of the original is replaced by "Our (vulgar expletive for female genitalia) is burning, it's burning"[25] to imply the lack of action on the part of the government in power at the time.

References[]

  1. ^ Larkin, Colin (May 24, 2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Grenfell, Joyce - Koller, Hans. MUZE. ISBN 9780195313734 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Duthel, C. Pitbull - Mr. Worldwide. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781471090356 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Mory Kanté - Yeke Yeke lyrics + English translation". lyricstranslate.com.
  4. ^ Durán, Lucy (Jan–Feb 1998). "Techno-Griot". Folk Roots (175). Retrieved July 3, 2021.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  5. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mory Kante – Ye ke ye ke" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mory Kante – Yé Ké Yé Ké" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  8. ^ "Lescharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké" (in French). Les classement single.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Yeke Yeke". Irish Singles Chart.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mory Kante" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  11. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké". Singles Top 100.
  13. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké". Swiss Singles Chart.
  14. ^ "Mory Kante: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  15. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mory Kante – Yé ké yé ké". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  16. ^ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 11 Jun 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mory Kante: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "1988 Belgian Flanders Singles Chart" (in Dutch). ultratop.be. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  19. ^ "Single top 100 over 1988" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  20. ^ "1988 Year End Eurocharts" (PDF). Music & Media. January 1, 1988. p. 30. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  21. ^ 2008 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived January 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 20 May 2009)
  22. ^ Srinivasan, Karthik (16 October 2018). "How Guinean Singer Mory Kanté's Music Was Lifted To Create 'Tamma Tamma Loge' and 'Jumma Chumma De De'". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Ελλάδα Είναι Μόνο Μία".
  24. ^ "Yeke Yeke (English translation)".
  25. ^ "kegete to mouni mas".

External links[]


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