The Shukublai A Centuries-Old Basketweave Is Inspiration For Musician's Brand

L: a Shukublai © Sierra Leone Heritage / R: Sierra Leonean Musician Drizilik real name Benjamin George

The brightest minds can think across disciplines and add value to local content. How do you take folklore and make an animated web series? Can you capture the fragrance of Number 2 beach and make scented candles? Can you look at a shukublai and create a fashion print? 

I THOUGHT IT WAS A GIMMICK when I noticed Drizilik wearing two small shukublais around his neck. When he used the pattern for cover art, I thought it was interesting. He modified the design and created a print; I thought it was brilliant. 

I’m of Krio and Yoruba ancestry, so anything that connects Sierra Leone and Nigeria gets my attention. Shuku is a Yoruba word. Shuku is also a centuries-old Yoruba hairstyle. Depending on the context, it can mean a lot of things.

If you go to a Nigerian hair salon and say you want to braid shuku dem go gee, you all go up. The top would look like a shukublai. I would like to believe that the hairstyle influenced the basket style of weaving. 

Beyond Sierra Leone and Nigeria, almost every African country I’ve traveled to has some version of weaving that goes back centuries.

I saw it in Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Liberia, and Ghana. It has a different name in each place, but the technique is the same. The same weaving makes baskets, hats, mats, bags, and even jewelry.

Ashobi is the name of his next album and Shukubly* which was the first, shares its name with his record label. This month Drizilik released a limited series of what he has dubbed the ShukublyAshobi, shirts in two colors; white and yellow. This print is innovative. It has elevated the shukublai from a household tool to wearable fashion. 

While the T-shirt is currently the only product, I see the shukublai print pattern as something that could scale into a complete line of products, including household items for decor, sneakers, and even luggage. I can also imagine the print using different country flag colors matching the colors of their weaves or their national flag. Why not? 

Suppose he can register a trademark to protect the shukublai print. In that case, Drizilik could have global commercial success with this fashion print that could be as iconic as Burberry, Gucci, or Versace prints.

So next time you see Drizilik’s print that remembers, in addition to being this season’s trendy fashion find, the shukublai is centuries-old Sierra Leonean art and culture older than our nation-state itself.

Drizilik is an award-winning Sierra Leonean Musician from Freetown. His latest song Popular released in March is available wherever you stream.

The Ashobi is now available from Drizilik.com.

*Shukublai (krio spelling) or Shukubly (anglicized)