Yes of course, the famous lyrics of the big man of Uganda have been a serious rib cracker for each one of us this festive season. It brought an idea to my mind though. What I realized was that many of us who wish to contribute to the entertainment world someday if not today could actually borrow a leaf from Mr. President…one simple lesson: Capture the right people with the right lyrics! I mean, people search and dig into their brain for lyrics to sweep us off their feet and take two weeks before they come up with a chorus! Whereas our man used about thirty minutes to crack the ribs of all East Africans! Sometimes I have had to listen to music and be strongly moved either into nodding my head, singing along, stamping my foot, or whatever reflex. Other times, I’ve asked myself why I’m listening in the first place, and can’t find a good answer. And in the worst of situations, I’ve wondered how some songs could have possibly made it out of the recording studio, and I feel better not knowing the answer! You know, lyrics are a bigger part of music than we usually think. They determine how long it lasts (its relevance). Honestly, when you take time to turn the radio on, and end up hearing someone singing of how he’ll take you out to Kibuye to show you “ibyiza by’uRwanda”, or simply announcing that the whole town and village knows them, sincerely don’t you feel let down? Well, I do. I have mentioned before that music is meant to speak to the listener. I once spent some time listening to Alpha practicing for the show he held on November 26, 2010, and I could not help but be blown away, his song ‘this child’ speaks about hope for a bright future for today’s child and so on… it got me thinking: this is the package; wonderful voices, wonderful message, wonderful music at the end of the day! Of course, I am not saying that the effort our musicians put into music is equal to zero, all I am simply pointing out something I believe musicians should consider a little more if they want to capture hearts and not just ears. As a listener who is looking for good music that I can comfortably listen to five years from now, ‘check your lyrics!’ I personally say, ‘yes sir! I want another rap.’ Ends
