Music
and the soul are soulmates. They are (or ought to be) intertwined.
Inseparable. Thus attempts to divorce them renders music lifeless. Dead.
See?
Music speaks volumes about and for the soul. Thence it heals,
soothes, uplifts, pleases etc etc. Such music, when sung, apparently
informs us who is singing their heart to be felt and who is exercising
their jaws and contorting their face to be heard.
Good music is invaluable; it is of timeless significance. Like the
infamous 'zilizopendwa' and 'rhumba'. It hardly runs out of taste. It is
highly honoured and accorded utmost sacrecy. Really! There is ever a
sense of newness and freshness when they reach our ears. They flow in
our blood. And we nod, as we dance with our hearts. Unlike the awkward
dances we perform in the face of alien tunes.
Our society has always relied on music for recording history,
socialization, education and cultural preservation among others.
However, modernity has infected this noble medium with lots of wonders.
It is sad to note that negativity outwheighs positivity. Mostly, the
content--sometimes x-rated, rhythm and dances have, more or less, ruined
the value and taste of music. Music isn't music today. Just mere
things. We yap and shout obscenities behind a computer, in the name of
singing.
Okumba Miruka in ''Encounter With Oral Literature'' argues that not
everything that has a rhythm and can be sung is a song. This therefore
implies that not all lyrical compositions are songs. See? Well. Some of
them are just things. They are sung to make money. They are sung to
gather fame. Most of them infact hit briefly prior to veering into
obscurity. Out of shelves. But they do well in smuggling filth and moral
decay into an otherwise morally upright society.
Good music is defined by style, thematic concerns, originality and
didactic function. Songs are fashioned from poems. And since a good
poem, Taban Lo Liyong posits: must have a moral to convey, music is not
an exception. The content should be drawn of the inherent society's
traditions. It should speak to the people, and for the people. Something
they could easily relate to. Such songs will evolve into classics. They
will withstand the test of time.
I have been watching my uncle play litungu since I was a little boy.
He sings in our local lingua, lubukusu and sometimes in swahili. In
drinking dens; at cocktail parties and in public functions. The worst
one, which perhaps I dislike, is entertaining and praising politicians.
Anyway, his content, originality and approach to social issues have
enabled him to survive in the industry. He still grapples to remain
afloat in these troubled waters. But it would have been a different
story-- a sad one of course had he gone contrary to the societal
expectations.
To ensure that we remain in the public limelight and win people's
trust and attention, we disguise our 'music' with unfathomable flavours.
There is a new meaning attached to genres today. For example, what is
so gospel in Willy Paul's 'Lala Salama' and Juliani's 'Utawala?'. I am
Jose Chameleone's hit 'Tubonge' is also a gospel. Oh, sweet Jesus!
Mentioning God here and there, especially there is not enough to make
what you are singing a gospel. Which gospel would you be preaching?
Spirituals are felt.
In attempt to meet the prevailing demand, music is construed or
rather is fashioned on foreign models. Nudity is stylish. A video
without nude or skimpilly dressed women is not worth watching. Apart
from the Western music, this is also dominant in most Jamaican
dancehalls and riddims. Obscene, uncivilized and awkward feats are
significant. What nude women showcase is astounding. You can imagine its
moral implications.
Whether we have lost music or music has lost us is disturbing.
Really! What is the use of wasting time rapping about women, money and
praising oneself amidst critical issues in need of address? What is the
use of leaning on alien cultures and tastes and leaving ours desperate,
ailing? Well. Only we know what. But are the things we sing relevant
anyway?
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