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Titus Invites you to Join in the Celebration of his Debut Album, "I Refuse!"
By Linda A. Annan
After numerous attempts to release a record in the last 20 years, Titus Fotso is seeing his dream unfold as he shares his life experiences through his debut album, I Refuse with the rest of the world. This master dancer/musician released his first record on December 22, 2006, an accomplishment he is yet to fully enjoy with tours around Africa and in the United States.
Because he traveled so much during his youth, he has embraced many cultures and has been able to incorporate them in his music with lyrics ranging from English to French to Spanish, Swahili and other African languages. This long-awaited record highlights Titus ' life experiences, both smooth and rough. To him, it is an album of celebration and he invites others to enjoy the record's joyful themes and tunes, while he hopes it inspires young people to never give up on faith. “They sort of have to understand the story…they have to understand what's in it,” he explains. There are heavy dance influences in this album considering Titus' profession and the flowing rhythms woven in each song nudges you to dance.
Throughout the album, Titus relates “his side of the story” of his life chronologically. The first track “I Refuse!” marked with an exclamation simply depicts his tone and mood even without listening it. Emotions from the years of trying so hard to make it and to prove to people who doubted him all along are unleashed in this song. But, he is not bitter; he reflects on influential people like former South African president, Nelson Mandella, in “Mandella” and in “Abele,” he recounts the love story between him and a Brazilian lady during the early stages of his dancing career. She was a woman with a “wild spirit” who used to dance “passionately with him, on and off the dance floor.” The songs following “Abele” relate the non-stop partying and fun he had with this woman whose Brazilian dance moves encouraged him to fuse his with hers to create a new love dance groove he named “Afrobraza.”
It is a good record for a first-timer; the dance influences in it truly adds to its appeal.
The album is available at all major music stores throughout the United States and at cdbaby.com. Residents of California can also get a hold of it at Amoeba music stores throughout the area.
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