Ahmed Janka Nabay

Who is Ahmed Janka Nabay?

Ahmed Janka Nabay is a Sierra Leonean musician who has been a major figure in Bubu Music, a traditionally Muslim music which is played by up to 20 musicians blowing into bamboo pipes of different sizes.. Janka Nabay recorded his album in Forensic Studios in Freetown during the Sierra Leonean Civil War. Since moving to Washington, D.C. in 2003, Janka Nabay has continued to play bubu music, including a performance at the CMJ College Music Marathon in New York in 2009 and 2010. In June 2010, he formed a full band, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, with members of four Brooklyn indie rock groups Skeletons, Gang Gang Dance, and Starring. In 2012, Janka's band announced that they had signed a three-album record deal with David Byrne's record label, Luaka Bop.

Janka Nabay is of Mandigo and Temne Temne descent, two of the ethnic groups within Sierra Leone.