Nomadic interdisciplinary artist JOJO ABOT summons an ecstatic hip-hop gnosis from the underworld to deliver a potent adrenaline shot of empowerment to the collective human heart with her latest video single “Born to Win Yah”
The message is clear: We are born to win.
“Power to the God within. That’s always been my core message as an artist,” says JOJO ABOT. “There’s power within. So tap in. Feel it and let it be felt. Operate with intention and purpose.”
“Born to Win Yah” is JOJO ABOTs first single to drop this year as part of a trilogy music/video EP project entitled 333. A multidisciplinary endeavor celebrating the great return of the Divine Feminine as warrior and protector, each of the three songs on 333 invokes an aspect of the divine trinity as understood by the Ewe culture of JOJO ABOT’s native Volta region in Ghana — made up of the deities Mawu (feminine/mother/moon), Lisa (masculine/father/sun) and Sogbo (divine androgyne/child/trickster).
Invoking the playful, trickster nature of Sogbo on “Born to Win Yah”, JOJO ABOT taps into the esoteric principle that all learned knowledge is actually a remembering of innate truths buried deep in the soul/mind/consciousness. Like the platonic epistemology of anamnesis, this recalling is an experiential rediscovering of knowledge from within, often under the midwife-like guidance of an interrogator, shaman, or spiritual guide. This role is fulfilled in the “Born to Win Yah” video by an elaborately costumed underworld-hip-hop-boxer character, dishing an exhilarated lyrical style of spitfire incantations from the liminal realms to remind each and every person of that one ultimate truth that those in power would prefer we forever forget: We are divine.
Your life has only begun
Your time has only just come
Don’t let them tell you no lies
You are Divine
Your vibe can carry the tribe
Reach out to Earth
Call to the skies
Your tribe will surely arrive
Now just sit back, relax
Watch what god does with the rest
Don’t let them tell you no different
You were born to win, yah
“Them” here refers to the adversarial elements of the illusion matrix that serve to obscure every human’s divine nature and purpose for incarnating. In her bold challenge of all that perpetuates the lie (which keeps us divided and conquered, and ignorant of the truth that we are infinite divine beings) the ethereal prize-fighter’s provocative message that we are “Born to Win Yah” becomes a powerful Afrohypnosonic spellcraft of the Divine Feminine with an undeniable pop appeal suited to our unprecedented time of collective transformation.
“I had this vision for a very powerful boxer, a strong entity that occupies our earthly space, but also feels like she is from another world,” reflects JOJO ABOT. “At the core of it, these characters, these beings, allow us to experience imagination and, in that space of imagination, anything is possible. So when you encounter this otherworldly character telling you that you were born to win, you might believe it. Sometimes taking away that very obvious sense of humanity and offering a sense of play, allows people to actually see themselves in a different way.”
As such, “Born to Win Yah” is an invitation to understand that we are not of earth but a part of the source that generates and sustains all things. We are not just matter; We MATTER. We are mind-eternal, sacred beings. We are divine.
Says JOJO ABOT, “I think with these songs, I’ve distilled what is important for me to echo out into the universe. We can’t just live for the sake of living, but are invited into daring to peel back the layers, and to see what more is within us and what more we can offer each other. I believe that we owe it to ourselves to be in that space of play and self-discovery, others also deserve to experience that of us, especially in a world that can be difficult and unpredictable. We’re deserving of a sense of groundedness, a sense of community, a sense of spiritual elevation, and connectedness. So these are all just little reminders that we don’t necessarily need to be perfect, to be excellent, or perfect to be loved …or to be love. We always have access to that and we’re never far from it, no one owns it, and no one can separate us from it. The most powerful thing is the knowledge that you’re able to break through the illusion, to release that sense of scarcity, to exist in a quantum space. You’re not limited by time and space when you’re able to imagine and manifest beyond the confines of the matrix.”
Created in collaboration with Los Angeles-based producer and visual artist Kyrian Bobeerian, 333 was imagined by JOJO ABOT as a series of songs, each under two minutes, designed to be moments, portals, or spaces of energy, mirroring the process by which illumination tends to come in short furies and bursts of ecstatic self-remembrance.
About JOJO ABOT:
JOJO ABOT is a nomadic interdisciplinary artist exploring evolving themes in spirituality, identity, and community with self as the starting point to collective evolution.
With an exciting career, JOJO ABOT has offered interdisciplinary offerings in collaboration with The MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, The Ghana Pavilion, La Bienale Di Venezia, Frieze Art Fair X Theaster Gates x Prada Armory Week NYC, and Perez Art Museum Miami among others.
JOJO ABOT has toured with Ms. Lauryn Hill, played stages like Afropunk, Roots Picnic, Radio City Music Hall, The Apollo, Kennedy Center, Greek Theater, and more while being the first unsigned artist to perform live for NYC’s Time Square New Year’s Eve concert to over a million people. An alumnus of The New Museum’s Incubator Program, New Inc, and Former Resident at National Sawdust, JOJO ABOT continues to develop and present her interdisciplinary practice through power to the god within and other curatorial projects.