Many demands can be discerned in most of the musical compositions presented in Africa in recent times. But also a lot of rhythm and desire for fun. That everything has a place. We travel the continent from south to north, west to east to enjoy some of the novelties that come from it, celebrate its achievements and rediscover once again the originality and freshness of its composers and performers.
On February 5, the 65th edition of the Grammy Awards was held in Los Angeles. The big surprise was that Burna Boy didn’t win any awards this year. He had accustomed his followers to it. Despite being nominated like Ugandan Eddy Kenzo, he was not lucky. The winners were South Africans Zakes Bantwini (who rose to fame in 2021 with the song Osama), Wouter Kellerman (well-known flautist) and Nomcebo Zikode (singer from Jerusalema, Master KG’s theme went viral) in the Best Global Music Performance category, with Bayethe , which means “applause” in Zulu. This song was presented last October and features a mixture of flutes and traditional rhythms.
Outside of global recognition, Ugandan singer and actress Juliana Kanyomozi doesn’t stop garnering accolades at the continental level. After nearly four years of silence while focusing on his film career, he returns to the music world with a new single called Omwana. In it he talks about marriage and the qualities of a good husband, while at the same time criticizing traditions such as the dowry, which effectively buys the wife and becomes her husband’s property.
Much more conservative is the bongo flava king Diamond Platnumz, who in conversation with his deceased brother complains that his sister-in-law is no longer recognizable after his death. He changed his life, he spent the family money and gave up his obligations to his mother-in-law. Come on, who wants a woman who sticks to tradition. At least that’s how it seems to come out of his latest single Zuwema, as his sister-in-law is called.
Winky D., one of the country’s best-known musicians, comes from Zimbabwe. He has just presented the single Dze mabwe in which he collaborates with Shigai-Dzimba. In it he says that his heart bleeds day and night when he sees the poor and needy. The song explains that society has become very greedy and that something needs to be done to change this situation.
Senegalese rapper Didier Awadi calls against the subjugation of Africa and the neocolonialism perpetuated by those who promoted slavery through new mechanisms such as the CFA franc, two common currencies for 14 African countries, almost all of which are former French colonies were. The continent has left all its wealth in foreign hands and Africans cannot even leave it. All of this is sung in the song Quand on waste on dit non, which features Diyane Adams.
And speaking of rap, there’s no escaping a theme that’s hugely successful across the continent. It is about Chalé by the South African Sho Madjozi. This rapper/songwriter/actress/poet loves to infuse the Tsonga culture into her music and gets a lot of people dancing.
Togolese duo Toofan have a very different message. After a long period of silence, he resurfaces to thank God for everything he has achieved in life (money, houses, fame) after starting from scratch. C’est pas normal is a composition that mixes French, Wé and Pidgin.
We end with Tiken Jah Fakoly’s reggae. The Ivorian is back with a new song, this time in English: I Can Hearing, which features Jamaican Winston McAnuff. It is part of his latest album Braquage de pouvoir (Heist of Power). It’s a song for the people who are struggling to improve their lives, all they want is justice, equality and freedom.
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