Ooh oohShe wants to be richShe wants to be famousShe wants to have lots and lots of moneySoar above the cloudsShe wanna be freeLike Nelson MandelaStand tall like a pyramidSo, so courageousNo place she’d rather beOh na na na, oh na na naAnd there’s no place she’d rather beOh na na na, oh na na naLive and die in AfrikaShe wanna live and die in AfrikaOh lo lo lo loLive and die in AfrikaLive and die in AfrikaI wanna feel loveI wanna be rememberedI wanna go down in historyAnd make my mama proudThe darker the berryThe sweeter the juiceNa sitoki nyumbani wacha mila ni mtumwaNo place I’d rather goOh na na na, oh na na naNo place I’d rather go yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeahLive and die in AfrikaOh lo lo lo lo lo loLive and die in AfrikaOh yeah yeahLive and die in AfrikaLive and die in AfrikaLive and die in Afrika
Bien-Aimé Baraza: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a pleasure and honor to be here today. Onstage is the group called Sauti Sol.
We have a couple of people paid in the audience to make some noise for us.
The four of us met in high school, 15 years ago, and at the time, we were famous for singing Boyz II Men covers, because they were our biggest inspiration.
And I remember, in a very pervy way, in my room, I had a Mariah Carey poster and a Britney Spears poster, too.
And I can’t help but feel that times have changed. Because what used to be Mariah Carey in my room now, in a 15-year-old boy’s room, is Tiwa Savage. What used to be 50 Cent in my room then, to a 15-year-old boy’s room now is Sauti Sol.
The role of Afrobeats in emancipating and getting over the colonial mindset of the youth cannot be ignored. Afrobeats has played the strongest role so far, if you ask me, as far as emancipating the youth is concerned. We are now the superstars of our generation, for our people. We are the solution to their musical problems.
And people our age are no longer looking for entertainment from America, from the West. We are the entertainment, and they’re priming us above any other form of art. In 2015, President Obama came to Kenya, and we had the pleasure of being the entertainment for the state dinner that happened at state house, Nairobi. And as we were performing, he jumped onstage with us, and together, we did a cultural dance to a song that I want to share with you guys right now. And wherever you are, if you feel the music, dance. Ladies and gentleman, “Sura Yako.”
Nimekuchagua wewe, nikupendeMama, sitaki mwingineAushi usiniache, usinitendeMama, usipende mwingineMoyo wangu ni mwepesiUmenikalia chapatiNafanya vituko kama chiziKukupenda sitasiziMoyo wangu ni mwepesiUmenikalia chapatiNafanya vituko kama chiziKukupenda sitasiziSura yako mzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mama Mzuri mamaNa tabasamu lako mauaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaSura yako mzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaPiga dansi kidogoPiga da … piga dansi kidogoDansi kidogoPiga da … piga dansi kidogo …Dansi kidogoPiga da … piga dansi kidogo …Dansi kidogoSura yako mzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaNa tabasamu lako mauaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaNa sura yako mzuri mamaMzuri mamaYou’re so, so beautifulMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaYou’re so, soMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mamaMzuri mama
Savara Mudigi: Wow. Thank you, thank you so much.
So, afrobeats, afrobeats. Afrobeat is a force, it’s a force in the world right now. Just last year, in the last year alone, Africa had songs in the Billboard charts. “One Dance,” written by Wizkid, performed by Wizkid and Drake. “Unforgettable” by French Montana. For those who know or don’t know, French Montana is Moroccan. Artists who the world has normally considered as mainstream are now realizing they’re late to the party. And they are knocking on the door, and because we are good people, we are going to let them in.
When we look at an artist, Queen B herself — in brackets, Beyoncé —
Beyoncé has African influence in her music. A couple of years ago, in 2011, through YouTube, she saw these dancers called Tofo Tofo dancers, from Mozambique, and she flew them all the way from Mozambique to Los Angeles to teach her and her dancers the now signature dance moves that you see in her song, “Run the World
.”Yeah.
So, with social media and a vibrant, vibrant African diaspora, more and more the world is dancing to our rhythm and talking our pidgin. Yeah?
Thanks, Nigeria, we’ll use that for across the board.
Our next song, “Kuliko Jana,” had a viral video that was posted by Snoop Dogg, Ne-Yo, Talib Kweli. And the general feedback of this song, especially in the black community in the United States, was that this song gave them a feeling or a sense of spiritual repatriation. So, ladies and gentlemen, “Kuliko Jana.”
(Vocalizing ends)Bwana ni mwokozi wanguTena ni kiongozi wanguAnanipenda leo kuliko janaBaraka zake hazikwishiSi kama binadamu habadilikiAnanipenda leo kuliko janaKuliko janaKuliko janaYesu nipende leo kuliko janaKuliko janaKuliko janaYesu nipende leo kuliko janaWewe ndio nategemeaKufa kupona Baba nakutegemeaChochote kitanikatsiaKuingia mbinguni utaniondoleaWewe ndio nategemeaKufa kupona Baba nakutegemeaChochote kitanikatsiaKuingia mbinguni utaniondoleaWewe ndio nategemeaKufa kupona Baba nakutegemeaChochote kitanikatsiaKuingia mbinguni utaniondoleaWewe ndio nategemeaKufa kupona Baba nakutegemeaNakutegemeaNa Bwana ni mwokozi wanguNa tena ni kiongozi wanguAnanipenda leo kuliko janaBaraka zake hazikwishiSi kama binadamu habadilikiAnanipenda leo kuliko janaKuliko janaKuliko janaYesu nipende leo kuliko janaKuliko janaKuliko janaYesu nipende leo kuliko janaNa Bwana ni mwokozi wanguNa tena ni mkombozi wanguAnanipenda leo kuliko janaAmenBaraka zake hazikwishiAmenSi kama binadamu habadilikiAmenAnanipenda leo kuliko jana(Music ends)Thank you very much.