My little cousin is an interesting being. Like most 21-year-olds in this social media era, he is very much the crowd-follower. He is a newly-minted convert to the Church of Jovi, and is already on the fast track to becoming a high priest. He is a staunch Jovi supporter (lock, stock, barrel and hashtag) and has been screaming ‘Mboko Gang’ all last weekend and getting into arguments with complete strangers in light of Jovi’s online feud with some Cameroonian rappers in South Africa and later on with Ko-C. Funny thing is, my cousin, cannot tell a Tupac song from a Biggie song.
Yes, I know. Another Jovi article. One of those I hate to write because sentiments are always high and reason goes to Bedlam, flying straight over the cuckoo’s nest. I already know many people will read this and fail to see the full colours of the message I am trying to diffract via the PoiseSocial prism but will rather pick out the one red colour which they can use to spit their vitriol in the comment section.
But I will go on anyway.
The crux of Jovi’s argument with the South-African rapper was over the word “Mboko.” He not only claimed that he was at the head of the Mboko movement (that our SA guys were seemingly trying to hijack, MBOKO tee-shirts in tow), but he also demanded that people respect his movement and pay homage to him. Another interesting point he made was in the use of the word ‘kwata.’ He said, “Anyone you see with KWATA Or KWAT is using what I created that’s it.” (sic)
Now, as ridiculous and as vapid as that whole Kwata point is. I’m a little more interested in what he said about creating the Mboko movement. I was unaware there was one. To that effect, I have one very simple but pertinent question;
WHAT MOVEMENT EXACTLY?
You see, Hip Hop is a movement. It started as a grass root movement with political and social inclinations. The aim was to organise activities for youths in the neighbourhood and to keep them away from drugs and crime. It was a positive movement. And out of that initial intention, the Hip Hop Movement was born. Any hip hop scholar will tell you that the Hip Hop movement has 4 core elements.
Emceeing / Deejaying / Breakdancing / Graffitti
Other sub-elements which evolved over time also exist; beatboxing, street credibility, hip hop fashion, knowledge on hip hop and street-smartness.
For anyone who follows rap music, you will see that these things are all present in hip hop culture today. They form the identity of what is considered the hip hop movement. If a white rapper and a white rock musician climbed on stage at the same time, you can easily tell who the rapper is just from the way he dresses.
All this to say hip hop was born out of something. But what is the Mboko movement born out of? What defines the MBOKO movement exactly? What are the signs, the beliefs, the ideals, the ideas, the philosophy, the tangible and intangible cultural signposts? What is Mboko exactly?
"If Mboko be na religion na me I write the bible," said Jovi. But what does it scriptures preach exactly?
Is it the endless fights on Twttr? Is it wearing unaffordable French Kind bomber jackets in the sweltering Douala heat? Is it the just the Pidgin? That would make some sense but what about it exactly. Is it the borrowed trap-influenced beats on the song? Is it the album titles?
For now, the only thing which (unfortunately) I see people associating this Mboko “movement” with is the weed. After all, we di scatter nkou roll am na for iPad, we di kaka nencho wrap am with chubaka, we di braiser les poumons and when sun nova even shine we di wookup burn pantana.
I shall keep my opinion about weed to myself but we know the general Cameroonian opinion. It is seen as a signpost for juvenile delinquency. After Jovi’s huge musical contribution, is that really the legacy he will want to be identified with? I am sure not. And I know this because I am a fan and this is not the central theme of Jovi's music in its entirety.
And then again, how many fans of his that scream ‘Mboko Gang’ all the time can even tell sin semilla from dried eru? They’d first have to even know what sin semilla is. I know my cousin doesn’t. At this point, the Alte trend that is going on in Nigeria even seems to hold more water as a movement. At the very least, it has a clear origin, a distinct audience and a distinct musical sound.
To paraphrase T.S Elliot, I am quite ill at ease with this dispensation full of uncultured pilgrims clutching to a god with no abode in the firmament.
To put it in Lamnso, I am saying that the Mboko movement is a religious order with a heaven-less god, no code of conduct, no promised land and no posterity. Just empty tablets striking on the golden calf of infidels.
It is but a whisper in the breeze. It is a muffled scream in the howling winds of an ocean storm.
For Jovi to appropriate Mboko in the first place is foolhardy. Mboko existed before we were even born. I spent part of my early life in Loum and grew amongst cocoa farmers who spoke the real Mboko. If there was ever such thing as a Mboko movement, Lapiro would clearly be at the head. At least he clearly stood for something, and against someone in particular. This new age thing we have going on is just an adulteration. I know many fans will come and say but “Jovi mentioned Lapiro in ‘Man Pass Man Part 2’” Yes, I know. Et P8 koi?
Jay Z’s 4:44 album is a call to all rappers to build a legacy, to put their money into the right revenue streams and to build generational wealth. I’d have expected our rappers to turn that into a mantra and talk and work together towards turning this rotten society we live in, into something great. I would have expected our rappers to go on YouTube and talk about the process, their lyrics, the industry and their experiences. I’d have expected rappers to be giving Ted Talks and inspire generations.
But all that we have gotten is squabbles on social media over the rights to the name of a movement that, to paraphrase Shakespeare, is full of sound and fury but signifies nothing.
Jovi is a genius musician, and an excellent producer and sound engineer. His is the most consistent urban artist we have had over the last 10 years and has a catalogue long as an arm that speaks for his genius and work ethic. Four solid albums and even more EPs. But sometimes it seems he can’t hold his own weight in gold. Shouting for respect up and down in a manner un-worthy of his stature. And it doesn’t help that he is egged on by many newly-minted converts and high priests of the Church of Jovi whom, like my cousin are supporting him more out of FOMO than out of any real philosophical conviction or musical aesthetic.
They are the embodiment of the culture's desire to create gods of pleasure and wine and crown them supreme deities due to our generation's lack of principle, direction, and actual power, and is a testament to the values we place on nothing.
I only wish we all take that energy and start now to build a true Mboko spirit. One whose roots are firmly planted in soil that is rich in tangible ideas and ideals, one that is held tightly by philosophical fetters, one that is leashed to an untethered spirit and coated with a layer of identity that is clearly communicated & makes us all advance as a people, as a culture and as a REAL movement. One we can write books about and have our children defend theses on. That’s what you call a movement. Mboko, as it is, is nothing of that.
As usual, many high priests are going to look through this prism and see just one colour, and they are going to be making themselves heard in the comment section in 4,3,2,1….
- Wandji Wilfred.
**References I made in the article that may help you understand if you didn't quite grasp. 1) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s nest – a movie with Jack Nicholson set in a mental asylum 2) Journey of the Magi – A poem by T.S Elliot 3) Macbeth - A play by W. Shakespeare. 4) FOMO - The fear of missing out 5) Chubaka / Mboko God – Reality / Devil No Di Sleep/ Man Pass Man Pt3 - Songs by Jovi