MUSIC (Eritrea): Rahel Kibreab's "Men yu Zeyebis":

Rahel Kibreb’s song, Men yu Zeyebis, is a ballad of the highest order of artistic intent and execution. This Eritrean singer’s written lyrics are unavailable to me, and wouldn’t in any case make sense without a translation from Tigrinya into a language I understand.

But that language barrier, that visible-invisible wall, is part of the human condition in this global village of ours; a village that’s increasingly multicultural in its day-to-day affairs, and densely inter-networked by speed-of light communication technologies and social media. It’s a village likewise put together by rapid transportation and the attendant (and resultant) need and want to connect – to connect from the grassroots all the way up to wherever “up” is, for anyone. 

Watch Men yu Zeyebis here

The truth is: not knowing the verbal language of a song hardly stopped baby-boomer folks from savoring a good song they could otherwise hear and, better still, see. They could tell a good song by tuning (zeroing) in on the sounds and the vibes – and on the beats and, wherever possible, body texts. It won’t stop Millennial types or any others either.

Rahel Kibreab’s performance here is of truly epic proportions. She sings with great passion and drive -- and an abundance of belief in her own talent and craft. The impact of her voice is reinforced by the stellar support of an invisible band, whose presence is nevertheless emphatic and indubitable. She clearly grew up in a community for which her kind of music was second nature. Her singing, I suspect, is a telltale sign of a form of cultural life in which the proverbial troubadour, whatever the local name, would have felt right at home.  And if the script of the video accompaniment is anything to go by, her song’s underlying theme is in the end a perennial one: Love and Fidelity and Betrayal -- and all the attendant triangles and absences and twists and turns and prisms of suspicion.

MUSIC (Ethiopia): Zomawa by Hahu Beatz x Selamawit Yohannes

  

The art in this Ethiopian song, Zomawa, is thoroughly and refreshingly pop. Eyes and ears will both pop, in a first encounter with this superb and unheralded rendition of funk from the continent’s Far East.

Two stars shine and outperform in this 2018 clip, which is both visually and aurally elegant and irresistible. Hahu Beatz, who I encounter for the first time, has multiple roles here. Besides being one of two star singers – and a contributor to the lyrics – his ‘hand’ and mind both feature in the design of the song’s melody as well. And he is, most notably, the Video Director. In hindsight, all of that leaves an indelible imprint on our sensibilities.

As for Selamawit, I’ve heard (seen) her before, and know her talent. I’ve heard her in Hambel, for example, which is in fact a more recent release than Zomawa, being a 2019 production. I’ve also heard her in Senay, Milesh, Bel Jalo and Nafkot (the last with Fikremariam Gebru) – but never in this “key”, not in this Zomawa mode. Still, they’re all milestones – all place-names of sorts – in her artistic journey.

Watch Zomawa here  

Zomawa, a fine dancehall piece, has a rousing beat and projects an equally upbeat mood. Spiced with fine bits and moments of rap as it is, which are reminiscent of King Kong Remix, it stands out quite decidedly in these parts for its refreshing and hard-to-beat melody. And this reminds one of a simple truth, and validates it: Rap and Melody need not be strange bed-fellows. All they need are two pillows of a kind. There is, finally, refreshing theatricality in the video as well, capped with the cameo appearances of two universal clowns. The stage set is, for all that, altogether inspired.

Kena!

Kena!

Kena!