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WRITTEN BY MAE AZANGO/ MAEAZANGO@FRONTPAGEAFRICAONLINE.COM; PHOTOS BY NORA RAHIMIANÂ 
Hip Co King Takun J in a scene from video shoot for A Song for Hawa produced by PCI-Media Impact and directed by Fayah Bomah.
Monrovia [/B]- When the history of Hip Co is written someday, Jonathan Koffa alias Takun J will no doubt be remembered as one of the pioneers of a style of music helping to draw the world’s attention to his homeland, Liberia, a post-war nation on the mend where artists like Takun J have struggled to gain fame and the recognition they deserve.
Known for anthems such as “Who Make You Cry†and the current club banger “Pot Boiling Remixâ€, a collaboration, featuring Xpolay, Romeo Lee, JD Donzo, Takun J, Bentman Tha Don and Luckay Buckay,
connecting with those languishing at the bottom of the economic ladder,  to the controversial “Policeman†which chronicles massive corruption by officers of the Liberia National Police, Takun J is slowly establishing himself as one of the new age Liberian musicians making an impact on the post-war nation’s political rebirth.
“To all the men out there who are in the habit of raping little girls, I say STOP because just as you always protect your own daughters from rape like a mother hen protecting her chicks, do not spoil other people daughters. You know the side effect, so why do it to other people children when you have girl children as well?†– Takun J. Hipco King
Known for not shying away from shooting from the lips, Takun J is known for speaking about ills in the society through his songs.
The Hip Co musical genre is a simplistic art form for colloquial, the music of the vernacular, the way ordinary Liberians speak and relate to each other.
The genre evolved in the 1980s and has always been socially & politically bent. Takun says in the ‘90s it continued to develop through the civil wars, and today stands as a definitive mark of Liberian culture.
His most recent effort, a solemn ode against Child Abuse aptly titled: A Song for Hawa maintains his Hip Co edge but hits close to home to an issue dogging Liberia today, a culture silent amid the gross abuse of young Liberian girls.
The video for the song is produced by PCI-Media Impact, a pioneer and world leader in Entertainment-Education and communications for social change and directed by Faya Bomah.
In a scene from the video, A Song for Hawa, a struggling mom takes her young daughter to live with an uncle who ends up abusing her
“To all the men out there who are in the habit of raping little girls, I say STOP because just as you always protect your own daughters from rape like a mother hen protecting her chicks, do not spoil other people daughters. You know the side effect, so why do it to other people children when you have girl children as well?†– Takun J. Hipco King
[/B]The video recently premiered to 700 game-changers at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
PCI-Media Impact, has for more than 25 years, advanced the well-being of vulnerable populations by improving knowledge, shifting locally-determined attitudes and changing behaviors toward critical social issues.
Together with its partners around the world, PCI-Media Impact has produced more than 5,000 episodes of 100 serial television and radio productions reaching more than one billion people in over 45 countries.
Takun J, who currently serves as Gender Based Violence Reduction Ambassador for Media Impact, says the song is a warning to grown Liberian men taking advantage of young Liberian girls.
“To all the men out there who are in the habit of raping little girls, I say STOP because just as you always protect your own daughters from rape like a mother hen protecting her chicks, do not spoil other people daughters. You know the side effect, so why do it to other people children when you have girl children as well?â€
Catching up with Takun J on a recent Wednesday afternoon, the Hip Co rapper is dress up in a black T-shirt and blue jeans, at his Carey Street residence, sipping on a cool drink, as he narrates how “A Song for Hawa came to light.
[B]Hawa’s Plight resonates with all[/B]
Takun J says the song is about a little girl named Hawa who was sent by her mother to live with her uncle. The mother never wanted to willingly give her daughter away to live with her uncle but she simply had no choice because of poverty.
“Hawa mother took her to stay with the uncle at a very young age and the uncle was feeding, clothing and sending the little girl to school until she started growing. Hawa mother was sick and when Hawa was 14 years old, her mother died. And then the uncle raped the little girl as it usually happens in Liberia.â€
[
Director Faya Bomah directs a scene from A Song for Hawa with the young actress in the title role.
Director Faya Bomah directs a scene from A Song for Hawa with the young actress in the title role.
Director Faya Bomah directs a scene from A Song for Hawa with the young actress in the title role.
In a scene from the video, A Song for Hawa, a struggling mom takes her young daughter to live with an uncle who ends up abusing her.
[/B]Takon J further explains that after the Uncle raped the child the first time, he threatened to throw her out into the streets if she reports it.
Of which the little girl became scared and continued to go through this nightmare because of fear that she would be thrown out by her uncle.â€
“She got tired of the uncle raping her, so she woke up one morning with tears in her eyes and went to the police station to report the case and the uncle was immediately arrested and jailed.
These things are not supposed to be happening in our society because it could encourage other men to do the same and this is how our little children will start spoiling, so if we as musicians don’t stand and speak against these things to change the mind set of these men, things will go out of hand. I make music to tell people about what is going on around us and change ills in society.â€
Takun J says the Song for Hawa came about when his manager got in contact with an organization called Media Impart.
The group contacted him to help do a video speaking against rape and violence against women. And the rest is history. The Hip Co artist notes that as a man who has a heart of compassion; he felt the idea would be a good one.
Prior to shooting the video he says, he visited some safe homes where rape victims live and spoke with many of them, in order to get ideas from their stories and put things together for the video.
Speaking with such passion in his voice of how rape is evil, Takun J says the reason why many rape go on is because when elections are coming, some politicians who do ritualistic activities for power, believe when they rape a little girl, they would win elections.
“How can you look at a little girl of 7,8, 9, or 10 and sleep with them because of power? I am totally against men raping girls and I am also against violence and sexual harassment against our women. It is not right and not supposed to be going on in our society.â€
[B]Tribute to manager[/B]
[B][IMG]/images/stories/hsong3.jpg[/IMG]
Director Faya Bomah directs a scene from A Song for Hawa with the young actress in the title role.
[/B]Takun J paid tribute to his manager Nora Rahimian and media impact for coming up with such a brilliant idea, because had it not been for her, none of this would have happened.
“She has been doing well for Liberian musicians’ music to go out there and not only Takun J alone.â€
Takun J grew up playing soccer, dancing, and entertaining talent shows. He performed whenever he had a chance.
By the time he graduated from high school, he had fully committed himself to music. In 2005, he released his first single, “We’ll Spay You†followed the next year by “You Meaning Meâ€.
The success of those songs was cut short as the war flared up and a resettlement program took Takun to refugee camps in Ghana, and later, Ivory Coast, where he washed clothes and cleaned houses for people in exchange for food.
Takun J has seized his opportunity and making the best of what is coming his way.
For Takun, Hip Co is a musical expression which is breaking boundaries and speaking truth to power. Hip Co, he says is a unique Liberian language of the streets and markets- as integral to this.
In 2007, he released The Time, his first full length album.
The song “Police Manâ€, which spoke honestly about police corruption, was an instant hit with fans but resulted in two arrests and a brutal beating by Liberian National Police.
Takun refused to be silenced: the night of his release, he performed with his eye still black and his shirt still blood-stained.
Since then, Takun has committed himself to writing songs that speak truth, promote unity, and resonate with people’s everyday experiences.
His entertainment company, Jazzo Entertainment, is focused on taking Hip Co to the streets, where everyone can access it, while at the same time sharing the unique Liberian style with the rest of the world.
Takun is currently in the studio working on his next project, My Way which many of his fans expect will continue his trend of no-holds-barred effort to speak truth to power.
“I think it is powerful when a public figure like Takun J uses his voice to speak about something that no one is really speaking about. We hope that it gives more people the courage to speak up..to report rape, to seek help, to work toward protecting young girls,†says Rahimian.
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