Black Nature Band
San Francisco, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"“Our country went through a lot of terrible things, my dad was killed in front of me, I was taken as a child soldier. I had a lot of anger. Music helps me melt down that tension, gives me hope”, says Alhaji Jeffrey Kamara. Known as ‘Black Nature’, he’s the youngest member of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, and he’s describing how making music helped him and many of the other members of the group survive a civil war that at in the nineties plunged the West African country of Sierra Leone into over a decade of raging violence. An orphaned teenager, Black Nature and tens of thousands of his countrymen and women fled to refugee camps in the neighboring country of Guinea. There, he began hanging around Reuben M. Koroma, an older musician who had played with several of the capital city’s bands. “Music was the only thing for us to do, and it reformed our life”, Black Nature declares.""
- By Catalina Maria Johnson on April 14th 2011, When the music is a matter of life over death: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (Apr 14, 2011) - Catalina Maria Johnson - April 14th, 2011
"“Our country went through a lot of terrible things, my dad was killed in front of me, I was taken as a child soldier. I had a lot of anger. Music helps me melt down that tension, gives me hope”, says Alhaji Jeffrey Kamara. Known as ‘Black Nature’, he’s the youngest member of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, and he’s describing how making music helped him and many of the other members of the group survive a civil war that at in the nineties plunged the West African country of Sierra Leone into over a decade of raging violence. An orphaned teenager, Black Nature and tens of thousands of his countrymen and women fled to refugee camps in the neighboring country of Guinea. There, he began hanging around Reuben M. Koroma, an older musician who had played with several of the capital city’s bands. “Music was the only thing for us to do, and it reformed our life”, Black Nature declares.""
- By Catalina Maria Johnson on April 14th 2011, When the music is a matter of life over death: Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (Apr 14, 2011) - Catalina Maria Johnson - April 14th, 2011
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Black Nature is an original musical artist who composes and performs positive music that incorporates a unique blend of African Rhythms, Reggae, Dancehall, Rock, Hip-Hop and R&B. He is also a musical producer and filmmaker.
As a young child, Black Nature began singing and playing percussion, and he was greatly influenced by the rich musical culture of Sierra Leone. In the midst of the country’s brutal 10 year civil war, he fled to neighboring Guinea where he was placed in a refugee camp. During his time at the camp, he and other Sierra Leonean refugees formed a band that later became the world renowned Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars.
For the first few years, this band composed and performed original music to entertain their fellow refugees. They actually had to make their own instruments from the few materials available to them at the camp. In 2002, the group met documentary filmmakers Banker White and Zack Niles along with the talented musician Chris Velan. Banker, Zack and Chris followed the group from one refugee camp to another, creating a documentary of the band's experiences living and performing in the various refugee camps in Guinea. After three years in production, this documentary, entitled The Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, became an international success, winning eleven awards in various categories and is currently available on Netflix. For more information about the documentary, please visit www.refugeeallstars.org.
Following the release of the documentary, the band toured internationally for nine years and developed a loyal following. They have performed at events such as Red Rocks in Colorado, Life is Good Festival in Boston, Bonaroo Festival in Tennessee, Fuji Rock in Japan, Outside Lands in San Francisco, Central Park Summer Stage in New York, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, SXSW in Austin, Jam Cruise 9, the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Save the Children in New York and a variety of other notable venues and major festivals worldwide.
Two of the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars’ songs were featured on the soundtrack to the movie “Blood Diamond” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and they have appeared on Oprah, CBS, CNN, NPR, KEXP and many other US and European radio and news stations, establishing the band’s success and notoriety in the industry.
Over the years the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars have also collaborated and performed with many other well known musicians such as Aerosmith, Dispatch, Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff, Lee Scratch Perry, Burning Spear, Damian Marley, Wyclef Jean, Chadwick Stokes, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, Bonerama, Chris Velan, Dan Zanes, and Toubab Krewe.
The Band
While remaining a member of the Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Black Nature also established his own band in San Francisco over a year ago, called the Black Nature Band. The band includes a diverse group of musicians from San Francisco, San Diego, Brazil and Hawaii.
This rapidly growing band has been performing as both an opening act and as a headlining act in various venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, such as the Independent, Kimo’s, Grant and Green, the Bissap Baobab, Amnesia, the Rockit-it Room, 50 Mason, the Boom Boom Room, Moe’s Alley, the Mardi Gras San Francisco Style Festival 2012, Santa Clara University and several other local schools and non-profit agencies. These performances were well received by various audiences. The band also appeared on the KSCU Radio Station, KPOO Radio Station and the African Channel.
Additionally, Black Nature regularly performs as a guest vocalist with various artists, such as Rupa and the April Fishes, Chris Velan, Swoop Unit, Wontana Revolution, Sila, YoMama’s Band and many other local and international touring bands. He was also invited to perform as a guest artist with Toubab Krewe on the 2012 Jam Cruise 10.
Black Nature is available for performances at music venues, festivals, schools, colleges, non-profit organizations,
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