Takana Zion is a young singjay sensation from Conakry, Guinea in West Africa where he was born on 30 June 1986. As a youngster in school he was very interested in history and became concerned very early on by the inequalities and injustices that plagued not only Guinea and the rest of Africa, but also the entire world. Takana also loved music and liked to sing, he quickly realized that music can make a powerful ally and decided to use it. In his first foray onto the music scene in Conakry he experimented with Guinean rap and dancehall, and then becomes more and more attracted to, and involved in roots reggae, after coming into contact with the music of Peter Tosh and Culture’s Joseph Hill. It was not long before his talent was recognized and after making an impression on managers and producers alike he takes the decision to move to Bamako, Mali to encounter Brother Sam (Ghanaian rastaman and spiritual guide) and take a step back to reflect on his life and the future.
In Bamako Takana began to slowly but surely develop his craft as a singer and performer by regularly performing on stage and recording songs. He met established reggae singer Tiken Jah Fakoly and records two (as yet unreleased) albums that Tiken Jah produced, he also eventually meets and join forces with Manjul. This union led to the 2007 release of his first album, “Zion Prophet”, produced by both of them in Manjul’s Humble Ark studio in Bamako. Manjul also played most of the instruments on the album.
Takana Zion’s first performance in Europe was at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris on the 06/06/ 2006 where he was invited to open for Tiken Jah Fakoly; it was here that he met Pierpoljak a French reggae star who also gave him the opening slot for two of his concerts. Due to critical acclaim the album “Zion Prophet” would be re-released on the Makafresh label, (a branch of Makasound France) in 2008 and Takana would begin performing and touring regularly in Europe. “Rappel a L'ordre” (which means call to order) Takana’s second album, was produced in Paris with Manjul and was released in May 2009 on the Makafresh/Makasound label to mixed reviews.
Since then Takana have toured extensively across Europe and is now awaiting the release of his highly anticipated third album “Rasta Government”, which was produced by Sam Clayton and Stephen Stewart at Harry J studios in Kingston, Jamaica.
“Rasta Government” will be released by Soulbeats Records on May 9 2011.
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