While researching the hip hop scene of Cameroon , it is impossible to come across Stanley Enow and his most awarded song, Hein Père. Stanley, who is a rapper, voice actor, radio and TV presenter, is also a breakthrough artist who became the first Cameroonian to win Best New Act in the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. Enow began writing lyrics and break dancing during his years in high school. Soon he began performing at popular night shows and on private radio stations. He has also hosted the show Mboa and done advertising for the Pan African telecommunications company MTN Group.
It was in 2013 that he released Hein Père. The haunting start tells the listener they are in for an interesting 3:47. Much of the lyrics are difficult to make out due to the switching back and forth from english and french slang. However, it’s not hard to infer that Enow is speaking of his lifestyle and the hard work he puts in on regular basis. When asked he has previously revealed that Hein Père unofficially means “yes sir”. The video features many of the elements of a typical hip hop music video; women, large posses, cars, a slight storyline and the scenery of Enow’s home country. The quality and visuals of the video are excellent, though it wasn’t all glitz and glamour. I found myself enjoying the angles as the images changed with the music.
Upon release of Heir Père Enow was labelled “African music revelation of the year” by Trace Tv. The Hein Père music video also won the award for Best Video of the Year at the Balafon Music Awards in 2013. The single went on to rank number 1 on reverbnation’s Cameroon list and on Trace Africa’s top 10, amongst many more accolades.
I feel this song captures the influence of American Hip Hop and adds a Cameroon twist to them with the french slang and Cameroonian visuals.