Oral history interview with C. K. Mann and Jojo Gyan
Object Details
- General
- Associated documentation for this interview is available in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives.
- Title created by ACMA staff using text written on sound cassette, contents of audio recording, textual transcript, and/or associated archival documentation.
- Names
- Gyan, Jojo
- Mann, C. K.
- Collection Creator
- Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum
- Place
- Ghana
- Washington (D.C.)
- United States
- Topic
- Musicians
- Fanti (African people)
- Ashanti (African people)
- Highlife (Music)
- Emigration and immigration
- Intermarriage
- Marriage
- Interpersonal relations
- Control (Psychology)
- Polygamy
- Interviews
- Culture
- Ghanaians
- See more items in
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. Exhibition Records / Series 3: Oral History Interviews
- Sponsor
- Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
- Extent
- 2 Digital files
- 1 Sound cassette
- Date
- circa 1992-1993
- Archival Repository
- Anacostia Community Museum Archives
- Type
- Archival materials
- Digital files
- Sound cassettes
- Citation
- Black Mosaic: Community, Race, and Ethnicity among Black Immigrants in Washington, D. C. exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
- Collection Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Note
- The total playing time of interview recording is approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Scope and Contents
- C. K. Mann and Jojo Gyan spoke about the origin of highlife music; writing new music; their goal to make highlife music accepted in the international market; and why they came to United States. Mann and Gyan also spoke about playing for churches, schools, and museums in the United States; and the importance of their interactions with other musicians. Jojo Gyan spoke about when he migrated to the United States; where he is ancestrally from and grew up in Ghana; his memories of childhood in Ghana, including when he started playing music and sneaking out of the house to play with C. K. Mann; and playing music in London. Gyan stated he is part of Fanti ethnic group in Ghana. Gyan and Mann spoke about the Fanti group in the Washington, DC; the ethnic groups in Ghana, including Fanti and Ashanti, and how the groups interact with each other; intercultural marriage and relationships; African women versus American women; polyamorous relationships and marriage; power relationship between women and men; and the type of food they like to eat. Interview is in English. Digital audio files include white noise and static. Interviewees' voices are intelligible for the most part.
- Collection Restrictions
- Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
- Record ID
- ebl-1712088000981-1712088003348-0
- Metadata Usage
- CC0