Hello Afrika (song)

"Hello Afrika"
Single by Dr Alban featuring Leila K
from the album Hello Afrika
ReleasedSeptember 1990
Recorded1990
Genre
Length
  • 3:13 (Single mix)
  • 5:44 (Album version)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Denniz PoP
Dr Alban featuring Leila K singles chronology
"Hello Afrika"
(1990)
"No Coke"
(1990)
Music video
"Hello Afrika" on YouTube

"Hello Afrika" is a 1990 song recorded by Sweden-based musician and producer Dr Alban. It was released as the debut single from his first album with the same name (1990). It features Swedish Eurodance singer Leila K. The song is similar to Eddy Grant's "Hello Africa", but in the style of hip hop. It peaked at number one in Austria and achieved a great success in most of the other European countries, including Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.

Dr. Alban has stated that "Hello Afrika" took about two months to record. In the 2017 book Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers by James Arena, he told about meeting Denniz PoP and of the making of the song, "We met through the DJ channels, as he was working as one at the same time I was. We just started working together on "Hello Afrika", and it all came together. We had a good chemistry, and we just thought, "Come on, let's go in the studio and see what we can do." It was hard to get the song initially released, but the thing is that other DJs (who we gave it to before we had a record deal) played the track and liked it. That built demand for it in the clubs, and then it started to hit radio. That later paved the way for our deal with [Logic and Ariola Records]."[1]

It has been covered by South African group Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels.[2] It was covered by Grup Raptiye as "Hello Malatya" at the 1991 album, Doping, and by Grup Vitamin as "Hamiyet" at "Bol Vitamin" one in 1990 and "Deli Dolu Best Of 1" in 1996.

  1. ^ Arena, James (2017). Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc.
  2. ^ "Dr Victor & the Rasta Rebels: Greatest Hits". Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-08-21. Retrieved 7 January 2014