The influential London label, Honest Jon’s, co-founded by Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, recently finished a high profile four city European tour. The tour featured Ghanaian rapper M.anifest who lends his rich lyrics and distinct voice to a very live instrumental set.

The tour, dubbed ‘Another Honest Jons Chop Up,’ served as the coming out party for the supergroup Rocketjuice and the Moon which is the trio of Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn, Red Hot Chili Peppers Bassist Flea, and Afrobeat legend Tony Allen. In a strong nod to African music, the tour included M.anifest and Fatoumata Diawara from Mali teaming up on vocals with Rokectjuice, South African group Shangaan Electro, and Cheick Tidane Seck from Mali. While the African representation was high, the music was universal with the inclusion of Chicago’s Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Jazz legend Phil Cohran, and Detriot Producer Theo Parish.

‘Another Honest Jons Chop Up’ played in front of packed audiences in Ireland (Cork, Dublin) as well as in London and Marseille to great reviews in the Guardian (UK), Irish Times and many more. All the venues were reported to be sold out. In Marseille alone where the chop up headlined Fiesta Des Suds, a sea of teeming fans, many unfamiliar with the band’s new music but exhilarated all the same, screamed for a double encore which they got.

The Evening Standard said M.anifest’s “conscious lyrics were complemented by Diawara’s crystalline vocals” while another reviewer said M.anifest’s “ boisterous demeanor recalls previous Albarn collaborator Tinie Tempah, while the fluidity with which he delivers his vocals is redolent of Jay-Z’s clear-as-Diamante slur.”
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This year has been a busy one for the Ghanaian MC who currently splits his time in the US and Ghana. The video for one of his singles, “suffer” has been nominated for the 4syte TV Awards. It has also gotten much airplay on Channel O and MTV Base. In September, M.anifest released his sophomore album, Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America which has been well received by fans and has had great reviews in the press. The album features collaborations with Ghana’s Efya and Nigeria’s eLDee the Don. It is currently available on iTunes and many retail stores.