Roger Damawuzan: the “James Brown of Lomé”

By the sea, by the beat. From the stage of the Tropicana hotel in Lomé, where he performed five concerts a week in the 1970s, Roger Damawuzan established a unique sound: a fiery afro-funk nourished by American soul and traditional Togolese rhythms. Nicknamed the “James Brown of Lomé” for his explosive stage energy, this singer, songwriter, and composer remains one of the major figures of vaudou-funk, a musical genre born in Togo and Benin in the wake of independence.

In brief

Key dates

Career: From Tropicana to international recognition

Born in 1952 in Aného, a small coastal town in Togo, Roger Dama Damawuzan grew up at the crossroads of two influences: the traditional Mina, Gazo, Akpesse, and Kamou rhythms, and the American soul of James Brown, Wilson Pickett, and Otis Redding. Vaudou-funk, the musical movement that flourished in Togo and Benin from the 1960s, is precisely the crucible where these two traditions blend¹.

He began his career with The Rickers Orchestra, then with Orchestre Melo-Togo, with whom he recorded “Wait for Me” in 1971, which quickly became a regional classic². In the early 1970s, he joined Les As du Bénin. From 1972 to the early 1980s, the singer and his group performed more than five concerts a week at the Tropicana hotel in Lomé, facing the sea³. This experience forged an impeccable, well-honed sound. Damawuzan recorded on numerous formats, sometimes at the Philips studio in Ghana, sometimes live at the Palais des Congrès in Lomé or the OTODI studio, always in analog and direct recording.

Success opened a series of recordings that collectors seek today. Titles such as “Baba na Ayele”, “Agbe fe avi”, “Vino la medo na aziaxo o”, and “Tirez Tirez” illustrate this period⁴. His repertoire, sung in Mina, English, and French, bridges Africa, America, and Europe. Despite the quality of his work, he gradually disappeared from international circuits in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2014, the Togolese group Vaudou Game — led by his nephew Peter Solo — invited him as a guest vocalist on “Pas Contente”, which became a continental hit. In 2015, Hot Casa Records released Wait for Me, a compilation of nine extremely rare tracks⁵. The true comeback arrived in 2022 with Seda — “listen” in Mina, as the artist says, but not as advice, but as a command⁶. At 70, Damawuzan recorded his first studio album in forty years, again at the resurrected OTODI studio, with Vaudou Game. The album confirms that the “James Brown of Lomé” has not yet delivered his final word⁷.

Major works

Legacy

Roger Damawuzan remains an indispensable reference in Togolese music. His approach — blending the energy of American soul with Mina rhythms and vaudou aesthetics — has influenced a generation of West African artists⁸. The vaudou-funk he helped popularize continues to fuel the music scenes of Benin and Togo. Today based in Lomé, he remains active and tirelessly pursues his musical mission.

Sources and references