A couple of weeks ago, I was in my friend’s apartment. Precisely, I was in the kitchen over a frying pan, fork in hand as I turned slices of plantains over while trying to dodge little splatters of hot oil. I’m terrible at frying dodo.
My friend was in the living room which adjoins the kitchen. He was sitting in his couch and scratching his stomach; a cynical smile on his face as he watched television. He had just eaten fried plantains and black beans, and I daresay he was quite full. He always scratches his stomach when he is full. He was watching TRACE TV and a song by Featurist was playing. I can’t remember which one. I don’t watch TRACE. All the songs sound the same to me, so you’d have to forgive me this one time. Then my friend lets out this really long sigh.
“Abeg for sugarcane.” I said playfully. He turns around, looks at me and says, “Nigerians them don really colonise we,” with the cynical smile still on his face.
You’d have to forgive my friend. He is one of those introspective music listeners. He is a walking jazz encyclopaedia and he is the greatest Richard Bona fan I know; and when he gets critical of modern music, his stance can be really strong.
But his statement raises a good question.
WHERE HAS OUR MUSICAL HERITAGE GONE TO? WHY ARE WE SOUNDING MORE AND MORE LIKE OTHERS?
One week later I was at my Aunty’s. I was sitting with my cousins in the kitchen and music was blasting from one of those Bluetooth speakers. Toto Guillaume’s “Francoise” came on and my aunty left the living room and stood at the dining room adjoining the kitchen and she started dancing. She is a Douala woman and she knew the words of the song. But it wasn’t just her. We all danced to it; even my 17 year old cousin who was hearing it for the first time. Something deep inside us was stirred.
I am happy for the success the likes of Mr Leo and Locko are getting today internationally an I’d dance to “Partout” any day, but I DO NOT RECOGNIZE myself in their music. Ask yourselves the following questions.
Why was Featurist’s “Baba” and Magasco’s “Wule Bang Bang” so successful and relatable? Answer: Ben-skin and Njang.
It seems our generation is sucked into a vortex where the component that defines our musical DNA is beginning to shed its skin and coalescing with a foreign body. And the result is that we are losing our musical identity. We are losing it so much that some rapper (thankfully I can’t remember his name) said Makossa is dead and his happy about it.
Good lawd!!
I only hope for him, he is able to have a tenth of the influence Makossa music had in Africa from the 60s through to the early 90s.
Salatiel’s “Ca Se Passe Ici” is a testament to what Cameroonian music used to be and the position it needs to reclaim in Africa. I look at our generation and sadly I don’t see any Manu or Bona or Decca. I don’t see people who really want to reinvent our music in a way that is contemporary and yet maintains that traditional flavour and DNA. And people have done it already! Ndolo by Daphne, Baba and Wule Bang Bang are all great examples. BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT SUSTAINABLE!
Richard Bona, Nkotti Francois, Manu Dibango, Nkodo Sitony, Talla Andre Marie, Ange Ebogo, Toto Guillaume and many others have left us a great musical heritage. We have to use it!
If we don’t we are going to continue sounding like the Mr Eazis and the Runtowns whose music is actually a remnant of Afrobeat. Tiwa Savage takes a more purist approach in “If I start to talk.”
Friday September 6th marked the 20th anniversary of Eboa Lotin’s death. I want to use this opportunity to reinforce the argument in this article via two YouTube videos.
The first is a link to a contestant on ‘The Voice Afrique Francophone’ singing to Eboa Lotin’s “Elimba Dikalo” and giving it a modern twist in her delivery. A more Gospel/RnB approach if you like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mijk__WGooc
The second is a link to the original record. Scroll down immediately to the comments after you click through. What you read will amaze and make you even more proud of your musical heritage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkWWOBNQO94
Et pour la petite histoire, this song says the role of the musician is to educate the masses and awaken our collective consciences.
Go figure!
Rest In Power, Eboa Lotin
If you agree with this article, please tag the musicians you follow. Thanks!
- Wandji Wilfred