The Uncomfortable Truth: Nneka
4 March, 2010 | 41 comments | Category: Africa, for.the.love.of.words!, musiqa, nation & ethnicity, peace & conflict
photography and article by Fabay
I’m so glad I came across Nneka in 2009. I was instantly in love with her music when I heard the song “Africans”. I was so impressed to see a young intelligent woman who was born and raised in Africa urging fellow Africans to focus on constructive solutions through her art. Nneka dares to point out that it is no longer acceptable for us to exclusively blame colonial powers for the conflict, death, injustice, poverty, exploitation, and corruption that exists in Africa. She urges Africans to take proactive roles in designing and implementing reform. She sings “you keep pushing the blame on our colonial fathers … it’s up to us (Africans) to gain some recognition.. If we stop blaming we could get a better condition.” Nneka’s genuine message of love, awareness, and her call for action is what attracted me. She encourages the African Diaspora to become active stakeholders, take responsibility, and invest their time, resources, and expertise in Africa’s development. She pleads “you got to wake up, please youuuuu got tooo“.
I applaud Nneka for using her talent to share a powerful message. She is among a group of new and rising African artists who give voice to Africa’s new generation. Her music is a medley of sounds, words, and beats morphing and blending with an alluring audacity. Her songs are loaded with moral and biblical references as she reflects on her life in Nigeria and Germany. She touches on issues of capitalism, poverty, war, corruption, and individual and government accountability.
“There are many of us, Africans, black people that leave Africa for a while go abroad, study etc. and instead of going back home to do something they stay, go overseas and make themselves comfortable. What I am really trying to stress here is that we all carry responsibility. There is so much we can do. If we come overseas to study and learn, it isn’t for no reason because God has given me that opportunity to do so. And I believe if I would have not stepped out of Nigera for a while I would not have been able to do what I am doing right now. And now that I have to chance to go back home and do something, why not do it?” ~ Nneka
Get a taste of her music: The Uncomfortable Truth
From her newly released American Album “Concrete Jungle”: Focus
When I found out Nneka was performing at Vinyl Atlanta on February 9th, 2010, I was ecstatic. I wanted to experience her energy in person. I wasn’t disappointed; her performance was filled with powerful messages and humor. Below are some pictures from her show at the Vinyl in Atlanta.
I left the concert feeling a longing for my Ethiopia. Her concert sparked a feeling of homesickness because every verse of her music was for my continent, my people, my leaders, and for me. Even though I was not Nigerian, I felt I could relate, empathize with every word and feeling she was expressing on stage. My love for the continent is beyond what words can express. I didn’t know how much I loved it until I left it behind. How do you feel when you see injustice and lack of resource killing your people? What do you do when the current status of your country breaks your heart but you can’t stop loving it? What do you know of the ache of being away for over a decade and not being able to go home to visit your family? What do you do when you feel powerless? As I patiently wait to set foot on my native soil, go back to a land where my heart is bound, when the journey seems so far away, I will listen to songs by two of my favorite African musicians who speak for me: Nneka “God of Mercy” and Knaan’s “TIA: This is Africa”.
Possibly Related Posts:
- A Saturday at the Wharton Africa Business Forum
- When I’m Back
- Opposite Sides of the Border
- Murky
- Kill Aid!