Culture

Music : Jato Sonita Prepares Release Of Maiden Album

Par Kimeng Hilton
06 Sep 2023 15:58
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Comprising 10-tracks, it is expected to be out in December 2023.

Jato Sonita, an upcoming crooner and her group of singers stand, out for one thing. They are often clad in shredded plantain and tree leaves during performance. This, they explain, is acknowledgment that humanity owes its continuous survival to the existence of forests.
Sonita has so far released three singles (“Light Your Fire,” “Warawa” and “Suffer Pikin” – between 2022 and 2023). And has 8 unreleased songs which will be part of her 10-track debut album due for release in December 2023. Amongst her songs is “Plant a tree.”
The young crooner shot into instant fame in 2020 through her video of Witty Minstrel’s award-winning song, “Be Proud!” By ingeniously adding lyrics, colour, sights and sounds from her rich cultural roots. Growing up in Binka village, Donga-Mantung Division of Cameroon’s North West Region, little Sonita was drawn to singing by listening to music on the grandfather’s transistor radio.
“I enjoyed listening to the music of Eboa Lotin. Later, I was also impressed by Charlotte Dipanda, Afo-a-Kom and other folk artistes,” she recalls. She has also creatively rehashed songs like “Elimba Dikalo” by Eboa Lotin, “Mota Benama” by Bebe Manga and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens. As well as “Mon cousin militaire” by Donny Elwood and “Lean On Me” by Akon.
A committed singer, Sonita is not only concerned about music. But other causes like the fight against genital mutilation and the climate crisis. On September 3, 2023, Jato Sonita and her group of singers known as Forest Children, were in the Bamenda Regional Hospital as part of the songster’s efforts to protect the environment. “We are products of nature as Forest Children – as my group is known. We want to be the voice of environmental protection and the fight against climate change in Cameroon,” Sonita, 15, said on Sunday, September 3, 2023 in the Bamenda Regional Hospital.