On the day of my hip hop tour of Gabon, the government sponsored a free streetside concert with Amenem, Tina and Ba'Ponga warming up the stage for Senegalese-born U.S hip-hop star Akon.

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She started sampling jazz and hip-hop at 18 in her native Japan and moved to the U.S. five years ago for more technical training in modern dance and ballet.

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She moved to the U.S. for a time, and American jazz, soul and hip-hop became part of her musical mix, along with reggae, Latin and other world sounds.

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