Bu Man Wants You To B U

Bursting onto the scene with a fresh new sound, Bu (legally known as Andrew Abu), is looking to bring a different energy to the brewing music scene in Ghana and Africa.

The rise of the collaborative, LA MÈME Gang, coincides with Bu’s own recent exposure and development in the music game. Having put out a well received single in ‘Shade’ and having his time in the spotlight on LA MÈME’s self titled inaugural tape, Bu looks to carve out his own niche in the current landscape.

A man filled with vibrant energy, masked with a cool demeanor is one you would regret underestimating or overlooking. He combines his British and Ghanaian heritage in an effortless manner to bring a sound that is uncommon and special, to say the least. The future is bright for this talented young man, and up is the only direction he can go.

We met up with Bu on a calm wednesday night at local spot Bloom Bar in Osu, to catch up on life and what he thinks of the creative scene in Ghana.

VT: So tell me, what made you get into the music stuff? Most of us went the academic/9-5 route but what pushed you to follow your heart?

BU: I kind of waited on what I was good at for too long. I could always rap, I loved music. The first time I was put in front of a mic was the moment that actually defined what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go with this.

VT: What was your support system like? Most Ghanaian parents aren’t really for the creative path in life. They want the office job with degrees and all that.

BU: I don’t really have a support system. I’ve been schooling for how long.. I’m about to graduate this year and I basically did it to get them off my back. Now I’m free to do what I want to do and this is what I wanna make strides in.

VT: We noticed you've been hanging and making some music with the guys at LA MÈME, how did that come about?

BU: Haha that again is God. It was all higher powers. That day I was with Will and we met BS at Carbon, the Christmas after we dropped Subaru. BS invited me out to their studio, I figured they'd heard Subaru and just fucked with me off that, but I hadn't heard any of his stuff yet. I decided to check their stuff out and immediately was like ‘woah what the f**k!’.

Sometime later, a mutual friend Charles Brown calls me saying Darkovibes wants someone with a british accent to do a hook on a song called ‘5 Star Ting’. Being gingered from the Subaru hype already, I was ready to meet people in Ghana who were working on music and willing to collaborate. And that's when I met the rest of their gang, before they were even a gang.

VT: Did you immediately sync with them creatively?

Haha no, I got there and I’m standing in a room with 12 niggas doing a hook for the first time. Then I dey stress fokin *laughs*. People have different processes, but I didn’t even know what my process was to begin with but they kept saying shit like ‘wavy bro wavy’ before asking me to do a verse. Then they heard my bars and were all in agreement that I was nice. Before you know it, BS is playing me his CV, thats what we called our discography at the time, and I heard Shade. I decide to freestyle on it straight off the top. one take. and we've been working together regularly ever since.

“I knew the space existed but I didn’t know how to break into it. It was difficult for me break in, but the energy is mad.”

VT: What are your thoughts on the creative energy going round in Ghana right now with LA MÈME, Kwesi Arthur and the likes.

BU: It’s amazing. I know all of us coming from the same schooling background, the creative arts wasn’t something we were pushed into. I knew the space existed but I didn’t know how to break into it. It was difficult for me break in, but the energy is mad.

VT: Why now?

BU: At the end of the day we’re realizing that the potential has been there from the beginning so it’s just a matter of bringing everything into manifestation. Everyone has an idea even a non-artistic person can have a creative idea. It’s just about bringing that idea to life.

 VT: Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years

BU: More than music, it’s also honing the culture. The culture itself is the only thing can sustain this energy. God willing, everyone wants to have a song that will blow tomorrow and bring money. But for now it’s about the energy and the mood. I’ve even done free shows. I don’t get that working in the office thing, I wanna touch the business side of music but I also want a way to give younger creatives the lessons and platform to express themselves.

VT: How do you see yourself and your affiliations with both LA MÈME and VERY TEMPORARY synthesizing?

BU: Chale if I have a backing like that, how can I fail? We’re like minded people pushing towards the same goals. Speaking on who I am, I use my name Bu to represent B.U (Be You). So it’s like an understanding of self, Be You man.

VT: Finally tell me about your next single?

BU: I haven’t come up with the name yet, but it’s a different vibe to everything I’ve put out so far. Currently working on the cover art. More of an Afroswing vibe with my own flavor and Darko’s Ga touch. Honestly a summer song for the girlies haha. The yenkodis!

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity