At least by Pacific standards, the hit single by 1Tox, Ramukanji has taken a life of its own on the Internet. I am certain that Bernard Vave & George Kuper Jnr never imagined in their wildest dreams that this song would reach far beyond the Solomon Islands and create its own Youtube following all around the globe.
Spending the past few hours going through the many remix versions available on Youtube, I have to admit that it is pleasantly surprising that this song could make this much of an impact.
Firstly, it is safe to say the song is hip. It is a huge deviation from the norm in the Solomon Islands. A unique blend of different Solomon Islands dialects, Pidgin English and English all rolled into one song. The official Ramukanji video clip is everything a video clip should NOT be! It is a major disappointment! Yet it commands more than 40,000 hits on Youtube.
But here are some of my favorite remixes. I must acknowledge the attempt by Tuff Tumas but it only deserved mention for being the most popular remix on Youtube, maybe owing to Tuff Tumas’s huge fan base in Facebook. Its a decent job but it just doesn’t send my sparks flying!
Perhaps the very first remix to make it on Youtube was by a Olobout Productions by a group of Solomon Islanders out of Auckland, New Zealand.
Olobout Productions followed this with another version, similar to the first but with some extra work put into the song.
DJ NOiz started off well but the rest of the song was a disappointment. It could use some more work.
Finally, a remix of a different kind – a blend of Ramukanji, the second 1Tox hit Leabana and Drop It Low by Ester Dean featuring Chris Brown. I think its a clever integration of these songs and by far the most creative remix I have seen.
I think I better hit that iMac tongiht, fire up Garage Band and put up my own version of Ramukanji. If you were wondering which would be my favourite, I think Olobout Production’s first version is perhaps the best yet. Either way, search for Ramukanji on Youtube and find a whole host of people who have gone crazy over this song. George and Bernard, with their singing days behind them, would have been really proud. It is best to check out the 1TOKRAPblegendary which carries some of George & Bernard’s unreleased songs.