senduQ

mind entropy of the ethiofrican

The Uncomfortable Truth: Nneka

4 March, 2010 | 41 comments | Category: Africa, for.the.love.of.words!, musiqa, nation & ethnicity, peace & conflict

Simple Star!

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”.

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the horn’s dustyfoot wordisans

31 January, 2009 | 14 comments | Category: book snip, for.the.love.of.words!, love.of.words!, musiqa, poetry

I wrote about the dusty foot philosopher k’naan’s wordskillz last year. looks like the emcee-poet-word artist is back with a new album!

a somali wordisan artisan
K’naan’s poem ‘too well done’ portrays beyond doubt the power of words to relay messages dripping with passion and energy. It does that as it encapsulates an experience within the horn in a unique and touchingly honest way that no other medium could.

Words can shake. caress. arouse. repel. expose. provoke. uplift… It’s intriguing how complicated the history of cultures & their wordplays get. Though, simply -- words sculpt a story through a unique writer-orator’s worldview. enter: the horn immigrant K’naan hailing from Wardhiigleey (”The Lake of Blood”), Mogadishu, Somalia, now a rapper residing in Canada.


the horn of africa’s wordy history

For a region with communities that raised us teaching you must respect the elders without daring to talk back…words weigh a lot. Though the truth -- our stories are not heard in our voices resounding across the world. We hear stories about wars, famine and suffering, no clear and honed voices speaking out in intricate articulation about people of ancient cultures sharing their glorious humanity, until now. The groove of the horn is deep with a lot of treasure within… as K’Naan put it “The horn of Africa has the deepest wells humanity has ever dug to find the truest sentiments that describe the world and what it contains.”

I’ve been reading ‘Notes from the Hyena’s Belly‘, an interestingly written book seeping stories about cultural rituals and traditions through the eyes of a grown man remembering his childhood in Jijiga, eastern Ethiopia -- a cultural crossroads between the interior of Ethiopia and the interior of Somaliland. And I came across a section that described the role of poets in times past, of highland kingdom kings and noblemen, feudal lords and warriors…

The key to the kinae lies in the contradictory nature of the Amharic language…Generations of oppression, without freedom of speech, gave birth to this tangling of meaning and intentions. If a man had been mistreated by a feudal lord or local chieftain, he would compose a kinae to read at a social event, a poem that was sweet and heart-rending to the untrained ar, but quite biting to the lord- one of the intended audience.

The peasants, by and large, were illiterate and unable to put together a recondite kinae, so the poets did it for them. A poet might compose a kinae to inform the lord that the taxes he had levied on his subjects were expensive, about the brutality of his son, who raped and plundered the locals, or as a plea for forgiveness on behalf of the man he had recently thrown into his private jail. The feudal lord was often trained in the interpretation of the kinae, but if he doubted his own judgment, there were always one or two monks beside him to shed light on the subject. Poets were usually exempt form the repercussions of their kinae, as lords were generally reluctant to be seen as monstrous persecutors of humble poets. Besides, the poet could always plead his ignorance, claiming that his intentions were misread, and offer apologies.


It’s quite fascinating really, the horn has such ancient traditions with words…intertwined with the fabric of society where the lifestyle has been dictated by the nature of the location. A location very much at a crossroads and junction point between continents with a variety of cultures. Like most forms of African art, spoken and written words are mixed into the way of life; literature is functional, musical, entertaining, uplifting and has a performance culture fused with it. Like most African art -- it is holistic…interactive…improvisational… communal.

The horn is the land of storytelling, poetry, fables, riddles of play, wisdom and double edged words…warrior chants and calls, songs of childplay, lyrics to accompany the grinding of grains & the sifting of dry pepper fruit … Religious & spiritual hymns resound along with rhythmic recitations of scripture and the echoing sounds of mosque prayers …words spar for justice village elders witness conflicts of village members, scribes record mystical tales as beggars and singers improvise poetry & lyrics to customize to their listeners…

the dusty foot filosofer’s wordy inspiration

‘Somalia tops Forbes magazine’s “Most Dangerous Destinations,” list above Iraq and Afghanistan. And yet it is “The Nation of Poets,” where a poem has the power to inspire peace. Where every weekend, regardless of the climate, one can find a play or concert.’

‘Somalia was dubbed by the 19th century British explorer Richard Burton in his book ‘First Footsteps in East Africa‘ as a nation of bards:

The country teems with poets, every man has his recognized position in literature as accurately defined as though he had been reviewed in a century of magazines -- the fine ear of this people causing them to take the greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetic expressions. Every chief in the country must have a panegyric to be sung by his clan, and the great patronize light literature by keeping a poet. Read more about Somali poetry

.

As Said Samatar explains, a Somali poet is expected to play a role in supporting his tribe or clan, “to defend their rights in clan disputes, to defend their honor and prestige against the attacks of rival poets, to immortalize their fame and to act on the whole as a spokesman for them.” In short, a traditional poem is occasional verse composed to a specific end, with argumentative or persuasive elements, and having a historical context.’

The grandson of Haji Mohamed, one of Somalia’s most famous poets, and nephew of famed Somali singer Magool, K’naan the emcee is creating his own musical orator path through reggae, funk, pop, soul and hip-hop. K’naan says he makes “urgent music with a message”, talking about the situation in his homeland of Somalia and calling for an end to violence and bloodshed. He specifically tries to avoid gangsta rap clichés and posturing, saying:

“All Somalis know that gangsterism isn’t to brag about. The kids that I was growing up with [in Rexdale] would wear baggy [track] suit pants, and a little jacket from Zellers or something, and they’d walk into school, and all the cool kids would be like, ‘Ah, man, look at these Somalis. Yo, you’re a punk!’ And the other kid won’t say nothing, but that kid, probably, has killed fifteen people.

”

“My job is to write just what I see / So a visual stenographer is who I be,” he rhymes in “I Come Prepared.”

here’s the video of his first single from his latest album.

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Wayna & Dinaw: Slums of Paradise

8 December, 2008 | 9 comments | Category: book snip, for.the.love.of.words!, I.dentity, i.mmigration, love.of.words!, musiqa, nostalgia.personal, peace & conflict, poetry, prose.tales

The African immigrant experience within the U.S.
…complex, diverse and ridiculously chaotic!
Which experience isn’t, eh?
A friend recently told me we are ‘transplants’…
Surely there is no way that can be less-than-a-chaotic experience!
A chaotic experience that’s gotta be told…

Why Stories?

Stories are powerful and profound…
They are ways to …share the most beautiful parts of ‘me’ and ‘us’:
stories of sincere, vulnerable, honest, contradictory and complex humanity…(great video on that)…a way to confirm my & our presences in this world, in our own voices…I love stories, always have for some reason.

My mum told me, when I was a little girl and wouldn’t eat food, she used to tell me stories so my mouth would unconsciously gape open and she’d slip the food in! We should tell each other our stories to share each other, and to build/reaffirm our commonality – or humanity.

Stories make & relay meaning, share, connect, inspire, uplift, persuade, shape thought, teach, transfer history, bring together, affirm culture, enable self-reflection…they confirm ‘you are not alone in your experience’ and describe common narratives of communities. From the political-historical angle…written stories hold weight as Virginia Woolf once said; “Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded.”…and as long as the victors tell the prevalent stories, they would have the upper hand. Stories are paths to peacemaking, just as they are to the absence of peace. ‘Stories fill our lives in the way that water fills the lives of fish.’ Stories are as all-pervasive as culture.

Wayna’s Slums of Paradise

Below are sublime original sounds by Grammy nominee Wayna Wondwossen. ‘Slums of Paradise’ holds her description of experiences as an Ethiopian-born immigrant in the US with parents filled with expectations about her future. She is an incredible neo soul musician wonderfully deserving of her Grammy nomination. Listening to her live rendition of Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song’ last March, I literally had tears in my eyes and goosebumps! Her voice has a clarity and beauty that is just uplifting. No wonder the incredible Stevie Wonder himself said “She is Incredible!”
Slums of Paradise – Wayna

 

Desparate Days – Wayna ft. Tewoderos Taddesse

 

Dinaw’s “The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears“

Also been reading a very engaging novel by Dinaw Mengestu, an Ethiopian Immigrant, winner of the 2007 Guardian First Book Award. The story is about a man, Sepha Stephanos, who flees a communist junta as a teenager to become a transplant immigrant in the US, making attempts to grasp the ‘beauty that heaven bears’- the American dream. The book captures the loneliness, and internal angst involved in the immigrant experience- it is so bare and honest… The best parts of the book, to me, circulate around the emotional narrative behind the illusion of opportunity and Sepha’s attempts to reconcile his ever-present nostalgia. His fleeting romance with a family of a single white mother and biracial daughter is a touching tale of a man fearful of love in his self-doubt. Here is an interview with Dinaw by Tadias Magazine. My favorite part of the interview:

“I don’t think most writers ever decide to write. For me, it was something that I did because I had to. It’s been my way of managing and making sense of the world I live in.”

It’s exciting that voices like his are starting to get heard.

(more…)

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Kenna.i.love: Grammy Nominee EthioAmericans!

4 December, 2008 | 1 comment | Category: madness!, musiqa, thinking...

This is way beyond surreal! I was writing up this post last nite before going to sleep-- and this morning I woke up to an alert on facebook: Two Ethiopian American Musicians have been nominated for Grammys!! Way to PUSH the envelope! CONGRATULATIONS- Way proud of you guys!

Best Urban/Alternative Performance

Say Goodbye To Love -- Kenna

Wanna Be -- Maiysha

Be OK -- Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am

Many Moons -- Janelle Monae

Lovin You (Music) -- Wayna Featuring Kokayi

____________________________________________________________

Kenna.i.love?

such love!

its inexplicable! wheew!

its beyond the realm of words i tell ya….

it’s a feeling located in a place only music can reach.

Kenna Zemedkun, is an Ethiopian-born American musician- a rocker…

i didn’t like his music just a year ago…i thought it sounded like empty ruckus muckus suckus. tehehe i know, so harsh right?

but now--NOW i hear him and i quickly connect…he is like a genre of his own which u acquire a taste for. his voice is so singular, so clear…so confident. his style is so unapologetic…which i just love. His artistry is like he has a little caption under his music: this is me *shrug*. that’s kinda deep… that’s a lot deep…!

yes, part of his stuff sounded/s kinda the same…but thinking more about it, to me, he’s kinda like gnarls barkely in that -- his distinction and sometimes sublime lyrics have an enthralling clarity. hmm…his stuff is always so recognizable, and catchy…great ‘on the move’ music.

what i am in love with the most tho is that …from his work i sense he’s a creator…a musician  who flows passion into his work, pours it all right out, splatters it onto the guitar strings, sound mixer and keyboards from his heart. exhaling ‘there!‘ An artist friend of mine once said to me “creativity comes from the heart” and i was like …hu? the heart spits out innovative cartoon thought-clouds? sawweet  …it’s all subjective anyway, i guess…

been looking @ some stuff on creativity. The “creative personality” article on Psychology Today was an especially intriguing commentary on creative people’s personalities… had some fascinating observations including -- ‘creative people are more like ‘multitudes’ rather than ‘individuals.’ ‘one word what makes their personalities different from others, it’s complexity.’ Here are some more abstractions from the article…

  • great deal of physical energy, but they’re also often quiet and at rest
  • smart yet naive
  • combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility
  • alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality
  • tend to be both extroverted and introverted
  • humble and proud at the same time
  • escape rigid gender role stereotyping
  • both rebellious and conservative
  • very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well
  • openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment

Well i don’t know how this all sounds to anyone else but, to me, these descriptions paint portraits of people who are full of contradictions and frankly speaking- plain ol CONfuSION…I think it’s like they’re comfortable with the confusion and ambiguity…they choose to be at that itchy middle point, the interface, on the edge. They are comfortable with discomfort because they know the Brink is where they can push themselves off the edge into something new. after all…one wise dude once said ‘necessity is the mother of innovation’. out of a survival instinct standing at a void-at emptiness and a lack of fulfillment of what is humanly necessary or comfortable, these creative minds make do and use what is available to create…

ok enough philosophizing for one sitting. handing it over to a queen of creativity herself…

lo and behold the world-renown ‘Joy Luck Club’ author Amy Tran asking where Creativity Hides. Quite the edgy, quirky, rambilicous talk seeped with sarcastic humor. video again courtesy of Nani

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Dance Free!

25 June, 2008 | 10 comments | Category: book snip, I.dentity, musiqa

Minyeshu

Dancing is pure freedom! It is…completely releasing all inhibitions in an act that seizes the moment. In a

moment …you set free all nagging thoughts and nuances to sway, step, slide, twist …to pulsate! A pulse navigating out of the speakers to fuse in sync with your beat, your inner rhythm.

I love to dance… Could probably literally dance the night away, most days!

…So I thought I’ll drop 3 things on dancing into the senduQ:

~Minyeshu

Minyeshu is an Ethiopian traditional music vocalist residing in the Netherlands. I stumbled upon her when I found a flickr picture of hers looking like the lady on the senduQ header. :)

She just released an album ‘Dire Dawa’ this past April and has a previous album ‘Meba’ released 2002.

I love the ^ fashion, and stage energy… She exudes joy when on stage, in dancing; a free-spiritedness that doesn’t need an entourage. Simply put: Tishekeshikewalech on stage. I like how her fashion seems deliberate. The yellow dress does not come across as stereotypical, but does a great fusion of many styles from different cultures while keeping the flare of a traditional touch.

More than the music, which to me isn’t incredibly, incredibly original. Though her music uses notable full-on acoustics and makes a great and enjoyable attempt at fusion (of sounds from within and beyond Ethiopia) just like her attire…I like that she expresses a different take on the diversity that is Ethiopia …and that she pays homage to the best treasure jewel in the harur valley – Dire. (more…)

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