Happy new year, dear reader! I hope all is well with you and that your 2019 is off to a great start. Today, for my first post of the year, I would like to do something a little different: I’d like to share some music with you. I recently came across a new tune from Tanzania, that’s sweet in subject matter and catchy in sound. I found this song in my inbox, where it had been sent to me by the popular Tanzanian record label MJ Records, the record label of one of the artists that performs the song. Usually, I … Continue reading New Music from Tanzania: ‘Mpokee’ by Ericomsongz ft. Kellah→
It’s a new day in Africa, and I love it! What makes me say that? I say that because we now have the likes of award-winning Nigerian recording artist Yemi Alade remaking her songs in Swahili for African fans on the other side of the continent (she specifically mentions Kenya). Why does that matter? It matters to me because finally, I am seeing the fruit of much-spoken-about Pan-African ideals not only in the usual rhetoric of our political leaders (sorry I don’t have much faith in that) but also in the everyday lives of regular Africans and in pop culture, which usually reflects the zeitgeist of the times. … Continue reading Yemi Alade – ‘Na Gode’ (Swahili Version)→
For as long as I can remember, I have always been a great lover of kanga, the East African cotton fabric with bold designs, bright colors, and a Swahili saying, aphorism, or slogan printed along its bottom border. If you’ve ever seen children wearing kanga wrapped around their bodies and tied behind their necks, then you have a perfect picture of me as a child. If you were to drop by my house unannounced today and I didn’t have a chance to run and change into something “decent”, then chances are you would find me in a kanga, though this … Continue reading Kanga Sayings→
