Back in January, Ghanaian-British emcee Mista Silva shared the video game visuals for his 2014 single "Like It (feat. A.I.M)." Now the musician unveils the city-set music video for "B.A.D (Best Achieving Don)," the first single off his forthcoming Let It Off EP. Directed by "Bambu" creator Kojey Radical, the visuals show Mista Silva rapping about his affection for a woman against several brick walls and smoky interiors supported by drum hits and flying electronics. "B.A.D (Best Achieving Don)" is a song about love from afar and, with this booming romantic video, the track's inner warmth sneaks through. Mista Silva will be headlining the Let It Off EP launch party at London's Birthdays Dalston on April 6. More information for the event can be found here. The "B.A.D (Best Achieving Don)" single will be available on April 5 and the Let It Off EP is scheduled for release on iTunes on April 12. Watch the music video for "B.A.D (Best Achieving Don)" and read our interview with Mista Silva about the clip and his Ghanaian background below.
Okayafrica: Tell us about your Ghanaian background.
Mista Silva: I'm a British Ghanaian, meaning I was born in the UK but my father and mother come from the eastern region of Ghana, Akyem Oda, I also have alot of family in Tema..
OKA: Is there a strong Ghanaian, or West African, community in London?
MS: There is a very strong Ghanaian,or I should say West African community in London.. a good mixture of British born West Africans that feel strongly connected with their roots, and equally proud to be British. I guess this maybe one of the reasons the Afrobeats sound is so loud in the UK.
OKA: We hear the dancehall inspiration. What would you say are the Ghanaian and West African influences on "B.A.D. (Best Achieving Don)" and on your music in general?
MS: West African influences on "B.A.D" come within the verses taking inspiration from the language of Ghanaian and West African youth, broken English. By now you should know I really just enjoy blending cultures together in an African way.
OKA: How would you describe your style?
MS: London street style with West Africa's flair... Afri(can)-(lon)don, a new generation of African ready to add to the team taking Africa higher.
OKA: What other artists or genres have influenced your sound?
MS: I've taken influence from various, sounds some include hiplife & high, these include artist like TicTac & Kojo Ntwi. Also hip-hop music, house music & grime, I like to listen to artist like African Brothers Intl, Drake, Fela Kuti, Rob, Skepta, Castro & draw inspiration from the way they create music, & try be as creative as possible but still have the African touch.
OKA: Tell us about the music video. How did the concept for the video come about? How'd you link up with Kojey Radical for it?
MS: My management team includes my older brother, he's quite a connected musician so he put me and Kojey in the room together. Me and Kojey have the same family name so I guess it's natural we hit it off. Kojey is very creative, I like that! You can give him a camera and tell him to shoot an ant and he'll make it look good. Ultimately we wanted to show quality filming techniques as a means of demonstrating on a basic level how us the new generation of Africans present our progressive story. We felt it appropriate that we create a fashion lead piece that juxtapositions the environment we've grown up in with a feel good, yet gritty Afro track like "B.A.D."
