Bill Akwa Betote left Cameroon for Paris in 1972, he became a press photographer, one of the first to practice the job out of Africa. Armed only with his camera he signed his first photographs and learned the ropes of his trade with the black magazines such as : Jeune Afrique, Afrique-Antilles, Muziki Magazine, and Bingo…. At time he chose to become a professional photographer as if he were alone in Babylon. Soon he was to become one of the first African freelance photographer to work with the major French names of the press such as Liberation, Le Nouvel Observateur, Cosmopolitan and Le Monde.
Based in Paris and its suburbs, Akwa Betote has been focusing on the rise of the new multi-racial trends. His photographs have become the most telling proof of this archaeology of the modern world, creating a fusion of trends and morals, a kind of “world sound”. All the black rock communities who had been left out, have now become real and comprehensible. The camera pauses on a thousand colors in black and white.
At the same time, he published a collection of photos he did about the african and afro-american musician community in Paris during the 80’s. Those photos were the subject of an exhibition at Cabaret Sauvage in Paris (July 2015) and a you can discover part of them here at Superfly Records. Enjoy!
A track for the view…
African Cookbook by Randy Weston
