World Music Festival Chicago (2010) – Double bill of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: (Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew)

Originating in Sierra Leone, Africa, hip hop group Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew, have established quite the international presence, and are soon to make their mark at Mayne Stage. They are superstars in their native country- filling the national stadium for headline performances, and are currently working on their international debut album. The Crew consists of Bajah, A-Klazz, and Dovy Dovy in the United States, who join with the Jungle Leaders when performing in Sierra Leone.

Bajah + The Dry Eye Crew’s music unties many genres with hip hop; including funk, dancehall, and reggae. They are part of a growing international hip hop movement, though they are among the first of these acts to gain an international presence. Their live shows are notorious due to their electricity and energy they generate in the crowd; this reputation has earned them confirmed collaborations for their upcoming LP with some of hip hop’s most influential figures, including ?uestlove and Black Thought of The Roots, Talib Kweli, K'naan, Res, and El-P. Production credits for the album include Fyre Dept.- consisting of Grammy-nominated drummer and producer Adam Deitch and recording artist Eric Krasno of Soulive—who have produced for 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, GZA, Talib Kweli, and Justin Timberlake.

Their international visibility began when one of their songs was featured in the Academy Award-nominated film Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and continued to grow when the crew released their single "Ease Di Tension" as a free download just before Sierra Leone’s 2008 elections, the first since the beginning of its civil war.

This type of outreach has gained the group a reputation of humanitarianism and social awareness, which they cite as the inspiration for their moniker: as "dry eye" is a colloquial phrase in Sierra Leone for "boldness."