There must be a hidden sample somewhere, a groove recorded in Cotonou in the 70s that ended up, decades later, in a track everyone knows without knowing its origin. We set out to find that specific story. What we found is broader than a single song: for decades, Beninese grooves nourished global sampling, from deep house to underground mixtapes, without any musician from Cotonou ever seeing a dime, until a German label sent a former KGB-trained agent to find them one by one and finally pay them.
In this article
- How a Cotonou studio became a global goldmine
- The evidence: from Grammy to DJ Babu's vinyl
- The untold true story: decades without a cent
- The KGB-like agent who found the musicians one by one
- Frequently Asked Questions
How a Cotonou studio became a global goldmine
In the 70s, Cotonou had something no other West African capital had: SATEL, the region's only vinyl pressing plant not owned by a major label (Decca, EMI, Polydor owned those in Nigeria and Ghana). Any musician with a tape and a little money could press their record there. The result: hundreds of small Beninese labels emerged, and musicians from Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo traveled to Cotonou to press their tracks. Even Fela Kuti recorded there. At the center of this effervescence was T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, which recorded over 500 tracks between 1968 and the early 80s, fusing Vodoun rhythms with funk, soul, and afrobeat.
It was this wealth of music, forgotten for decades, that German digger Samy Ben Redjeb began to unearth in the mid-2000s for his Analog Africa label. His description of the Beninese sound is direct: "Africa is a goldmine for samples," he said, referring to Le Super Borgou de Parakou, another Beninese band whose live-played loops during recordings already sounded like ready-made samples.
The evidence: from Grammy to DJ Babu's vinyl
Concretely, these Beninese grooves ended up circulating far beyond Cotonou. In 2018, the British electronic duo Disclosure, Grammy-nominated, released "Ultimatum" with Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara: the track is based on a recording combining Fatoumata Diawara and T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, documented on sample databases. The song earned Diawara a Grammy 2019 nomination in the Best Dance Recording category. On the more underground hip-hop side, "Graveyardshiftin'," by DJ Babu (of the cult group Dilated Peoples) with Cali Agents and the highly respected rapper Roc Marciano, directly samples T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo's "Agnon Djidjo."
These two tracks are documented and traceable. But they are only the visible part of a much vaster, largely invisible phenomenon.
The untold true story: decades without a cent
Before labels like Analog Africa did the tracing work, these same records had been circulating for years on bootleg compilations, in the bins of diggers worldwide, on crate-digging forums where rare vinyl rips were exchanged without ever seeking to know who recorded them. Looping a Cotonou groove into a beat was common practice, and finding the musician behind the track was not. This is precisely the void Samy Ben Redjeb wanted to fill by recording stories and securing rights directly from Beninese musicians, so they could finally earn something from music that had been circulating far from home for decades, unbeknownst to them.
The KGB-like agent who found the musicians one by one
The craziest story of this hunt is that of Lokonon André, singer of Les Volcans de la Capitale and a former member of the Beninese police under Mathieu Kérékou's regime, sent to the USSR for training in tracking and surveillance techniques. When Samy Ben Redjeb struggled to find a list of musicians for his compilation "African Scream Contest Vol. 2," André offered his help, on his motorcycle, using his old Soviet surveillance reflexes. In one week, he found everyone. The result: musicians, some of whose tracks were already sampled or internationally sought after, without their ever knowing, were finally paid for their work from the 70s.
This is the kind of story we want to continue telling at DAÖMEY: African music never needed anyone to be good, it just rarely had the means to know how far it traveled.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou?
It is the most prolific band in Benin's history, active since 1968, which recorded over 500 tracks blending Vodoun rhythms, funk, soul, and afrobeat. Internationally rediscovered through reissues by the German label Analog Africa since the 2000s.
Which global tracks have actually sampled Poly-Rythmo?
"Ultimatum" by Disclosure feat. Fatoumata Diawara (2018, Grammy-nominated) and "Graveyardshiftin'" by DJ Babu feat. Cali Agents and Roc Marciano are two documented and traceable examples.
Were Beninese musicians paid for these samples?
It depends on the case. Reissues supported by labels like Analog Africa have made it possible to find the musicians and secure rights for them. But for decades, the same music circulated on bootleg compilations and in diggers' crates without tracing or payment, a practice long considered normal in sampling.
What is Analog Africa?
A reissue label founded by German Samy Ben Redjeb, specializing in unearthing and reissuing African music from the 60s to 80s, with extensive research into original musicians to secure their rights.
The sound of Cotonou traveled further than you thought.
DAÖMEY continues to delve into the stories that African music never had time to tell itself.
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