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Post by subsaharanite on Dec 20, 2011 2:33:07 GMT 3
Big loss to the musical world.
This talented musical icon should have just stuck with his music.
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Post by phil on Dec 20, 2011 9:39:02 GMT 3
Big loss to the musical world. This talented musical icon should have just stuck with his music. Not really. People like Tabu Ley (and I suspect also Papa Wemba) also did serve as cabinet minister and MPs in DRC in the last decade or so. They can always go back to studio and record albums or singles. But Wade needs to be challenged by a younger and well known personality, and I do not see anyone else who can match N'Dour. |
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Post by Onyango Oloo on Dec 20, 2011 10:33:12 GMT 3
Big loss to the musical world. This talented musical icon should have just stuck with his music. Greetings. With all due respect, I think your reaction is rather...what can I say- myopic and parochial. Why do we know and respect Youssou N'dour? Is it merely because he is a gifted singer from Senegal? I think it is more than that. Speaking personally, I first became aware of this great African artist way back in 1988. Why? He was part of the memorable Amnesty International Human Rights Tour that included Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and Sting. All four had tremendous talent as singers, song writers, instrumentalists and creative geniuses. But what made them stand way and above the musical fray was their social consciousness. It was not an accident that they were assembled to travel the world highlighting issues around democracy and human rights.Tracy Chapman, then a precocious 24 year old, had just unleashed her now ever green classic, Talkin' About a Revolution; Peter Gabriel penned the paean to the slain South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko while Youssou N'dour made his hit Shaking the Tree which he co-wrote and composed with Peter Gabriel, a standard during that Amnesty International tour. In case you do not know, here are the lyrics to Shaking the Tree: ARTIST: Peter Gabriel and Youssou N'dour
TITLE: Shaking the Tree
Lyrics and Chords
Moku la le, moku la lai
Moku la le, moku la lai
Moku la le, moku la lai
Moku la le, moku la lai
/ D - G - / / / /
{Refrain}
Souma yergon, sou nou yergon, we are shaking the tree
Souma yergon, sou nou yergon, we are shaking the tree
/ D - G C D - G - / /
Waiting your time, dreaming of a better life
Waiting your time, you're more than just a wife
Don't have to do what your mother has done, she has done
This is your life, this new life has begun
It's your day, woman's day
It's your day, woman's day
/ D - G - / :
Turning the tide, you are on the incoming wave
Turning the tide, no you are nobody's slave
Find the sisters and brothers who can hear all the truth in what you say
They can support you when you're on your way
It's your day, woman's day
It's your day, woman's day
{Refrain}
Changing your ways, changing those surrounding you
Changing your ways, more than any man can do
Open your heart, show him the anger and pain so you heal
Maybe he's looking for his womanly side, let him feel
You have to be so strong
And you do nothing wrong, nothing wrong at all
We're gonna to break it down
We have to shake it down, shake it all around
/ D C G FC / :
{Refrain, ad lib to fade}Here are some You Tube links to the song: [youtube] In other words Youssou N'dour is equally known for his POLITICS as his MUSIC. Together with his equally talented compatriot Baaba Maal, Youssou N'dour refused to tour the United States when Bush illegally invaded Iraq. I once had the opportunity to interview Baaba Maal way back in 1998 when he was in New York to promote his Nomad Soul CD. I will reproduce the article I wrote for a Canadian monthly magazine called the Word to reinforce the point I am trying to make on artists and social justice activism: onyangooloo.blogspot.com/2004/05/music-views-reviews-and-interviews.htmlPay attention to this quote from Baaba Maal: As you know, African musicians are very important in African society. They help to mold public opinion. African musicians are social commentators. In many cases, people take musicians more seriously than they do politicians. African music is found at the very core of society. Think of Bob Marley. What songs do you immediately think of? I do not know about you, but for me, Redemption Song, Get Up, Stand Up, Zimbabwe, Africa Unite, War, Exodus, So Much Trouble in the World etc, rush to the fore. Think of the Kenyan artists who have made a lasting impact. Who are they? Daudi Kabaka and his song Musa, a plaintive protest against domestic violence composed way back in the mid 1960s; Gabriel Omollo and his monster 1971 hit Lunchtime about the travails of Nairobi workers; the late Ishmael Nganga who composed the famous Maai ni Maruru (the Waters are Bitter) as a protest against the Mzee Kenyatta ordered gangland assassination of the popular patriotic politician JM Kariuki in 1975; Eric Wainaina and Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo; Gidi Gidi Maji Maji and Unbwogable; Kalamashaka; Sinpare; Do Klan Revolution...I could go on and on, but you catch my drift. The internationally renowned tropicalismo musician Gilberto Gil became Brazil's Minister for Information a few years ago;Wikipedia informs me that " In November 2005, Tabu Ley was appointed Vice-Governor in charge of political, administrative, and socio-cultural questions, for the city of Kinshasa, a position devolved to his party, the Congolese Rally for Democracy by the 2002 peace agreements...". If you can get past the "Frenglish" of this blogger from Pan African News who thinks in French and writes in English you will glean the following about the great Congolese chanteuse Tshala Muana: " In 1991 she was decreed by the Chiefs of the greater Kasai area as an Ambassador of Kasai Culture. In 1997 she returns to the Congo from Paris indefinitely. As an artist she has continuously fought for political soviernty and the territorial integrity of the Congo (Kinshasa). She created one of the greatest movements for women called REFECO (Regroupement des Femmes Congolaises: The Regrouping of Congolese Women) which continues to this day." Have you ever heard of Mzwakhe Mbuli, the legendary South African poet, musician and spoken word artist? Here is an excerpt from an online biography of him: Throughout the 1980s Mzwakhe was repeatedly detained by the authorities and denied a passport to travel while playing a leading role in the Cultural activities of the United Democratic Front.[3] His international career began in 1990 in Berlin, Germany when he shared the stage with Youssou N'dour, Miriam Makeba and Thomas Mapfumo. An imposing figure, standing well over 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, he performed at the funeral of Chris Hani, the assassinated head of the South African Communist Party, and at the presidential inauguration Nelson Mandela in 1994. In 1996 Mbuli was invited to London to co-host, with British poet and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, the Two Nations Concert at the Albert Hall to honor President Nelson Mandela on his visit to London . Later in the year, he returned to the UK to join Peter Gabriel, Youssou N'dour and other prominent African artists to record the fundraising Aids Album.[4]." Of course I need not say a word about his greater compatriot, the late Pan Africanist activist, Miriam Makeba. I believe I have made my point "Subsaharanite": I will be THRILLED if Youssou N'dour is elected the fifth President of Senegal in February 2012. Onyango Oloo
Nairobi
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Post by Onyango Oloo on Dec 20, 2011 23:50:55 GMT 3
Comments from my Facebook page:
Peter Wanyonyi
Well, African music has always been an extension of the musician's social consciousness in a much more significant way than is the case elsewhere. It is impossible to be a musician - an artist - anywhere in the developing world and not have to need to speak up and out against the injustices that permeate ordinary life and reduce citizens to little more than mere numbers, in the eyes of their misrulers.
He is just following a natural progression to the next level. Let's hope he helps end the Wade regime.
7 hours ago ยท Like
David Kiige
But he could have been a voice in politics using music. Look at Fela Kuti.
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Post by jakaswanga on Feb 11, 2012 22:48:26 GMT 3
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