Ayeah Leonette is not a new name to anyone who takes a keen look at Cameroon’s English language film sector. She has been on the lips of many over the past year, thanks to her work on the soundtracks for multiple award-winning movie, The Planter’s Plantation.
Taking her role in the movie to real life, Leonette graced the stage at the first ever edition of La minute de son, a house concert held at the Laboratoire Musical Bastos in Yaounde. She was one of three ladies and a jazz band that held the audience captive for three hours with amazing performances. Also performing were band, Gygc (pronounced Gik), singer, Anique Mballa and the amazing Vera Tcheby. Leonette on her part, mounted the stage and poured out her soul and heart, leaving the audience begging for more.
Like the two other ladies performing that night, Leonette’s songs bordered on love, emotions, and women emancipation and independence. She kicked off her performance with her personal pieces, ‘Ngalla’ and ‘Niniwom,’ and then her remake of Prince Nico Mbarga and the Rocafil Jazz’s all-time hit, ‘Sweet Mother’. She would then close with another of her original pieces, ‘Njuhsah’
“I think that is a platform God brought up just for me,” she says of the show. “I have always wanted to share with people what I do in my room … I was fortunate to have been given a chance to show the world this…”
Following her electrifying and heartfelt performance, the crowd would continue to cheer for her, for up to ten minutes after she quit the stage. To them, it was excellence but to Leonette, it was just another day in the office.
“They wowed at what I thought was normal. I think it is normal but those who don’t, see it as a big deal,” she stated.
Ladies for ladies
Leonette’s journey to the La Minute de Son stage was a rather interesting one based on audience feedback and of course, her mouthwatering performance. The singer, Serge Maboma who chaired the evening’s session revealed, was introduced to him by Afrosoul singer, Joyce Babatunde who too considers the laboratory as her home.
He noted that since knowing her and listening to her works, he has never regretted giving her his stage for a second.
The Bastos Musical Laboratory has been an incubator for multiple artists over the years. La Minute de Son is one of other initiatives hosted by the incubator, as it seeks to promote local talents and give them a platform for first professional experiences.
Speaking at the end of the first ever edition, the show organizer, Marc Ndzana promised to ensure continuity, with a frequency of once monthly.
Giyo Ndzi
