MUSIC: Boj's Paper

"So they told me to come for a show, they will give me paper"~ Boj

In this song, Paper, Nigeria's Boj wraps his mind, and ours, around the certainty, and/or otherwise, of paper -- and the potential otherness of Self and Place -- in a life form such as ours. Not paper mache. Not paper tiger. Not paper money. Not travel paper(s).

No tradeable paper, here. Nor no paper-thin Ness. Just plain ticket for a, not even the, the show. But what on earth show? That, that is his poetic right to w/hold.

Yet what a show! What a stream of cerebral suspense, in the terrain of life! With paper figurines of an extended idea -- of the right, merely, to pass. To pass from this all-too-ordinary Ordinariness of Self and of Place to the other, more prized, placement; placement which morphs one in2 an Other; and itself, as Giddens would have it, in2 Locale.

Boj's grainy voice is part of his charm; and, with his tended facial hair and distinctive eyewear, his distinguishing persona. Bow-tied Boj. Hat-topped Boj.

Not yet chart-topping Boj -- Paper, published on November 23, 2014, has 72,990 views right now -- even gets to wear a dashiki.

The set invokes an easy afternoon ride, in a convertible (or else), across a lush tropical countryside. Along the way, he and friend(s), encounter a motley of folks: a band of religious folks, clean clad, in a near-orgy of un-self-conscious adoration of The One. Mocking layabouts in better dashikis than Boj's. And there are always, it seems, uniformed schoolgirls deep in the country. Which is a good thing. Snippets of scenery, then.

Overall, a tribute to the diversity of talent we Africans must nurture. Talent -- not quotas of regional inclusion.

Click to view the video of Boj's Paper


A little more about Boj the person here

For The Lyrics of Boj's Paper, Click here

MUSIC: Susumila's "Ihale" is a Kenyan Gem

I'm looking for good African music, not good Nigerian or Kenyan or South African or Ghanaian or Congolese or Tanzanian or Ugandan or Angolan music. I'm not finding enough Kenyan pop music to fill one or two Saturday or Sunday afternoons of 'down-time' without too many encores. But I've just found another good Kenyan song, Susumila's Ihale. It's a gem.

Ihale is even more musical (with a more adventurous use of voice) than Obe Baba, which I said some nice things about just a day or so ago. The visuals are just as good, and in parts, I think, better. There's more energy here. More creative, and more 'competitive', body language. A touch of Naija mannerism, in fact.

I like the self-confident use of Kiswahili in Ihale. Susumila does not hesitate to flaunt his poetic licence in his use of language. Credit to his Director and Producer too. Give me a song I like, on my own terms, and I'll play and write about it -- regardless of which part of Africa it's from. Simple as that.

Of course I like Sauti Sol's Sura Yako and Nerea. Still, Sauti Sol, as a band, needs to be more fecund than it's been -- and not by doing a sort of Nishike and/or Nerea Remix. Sura Yako ft. Iyanya is already remixed, with mixed results. One or two songs a year will not take you far, in a field "overpopulated" by very hard-working and enterprising Nigerian artistes.

Of course I like  Elani's Kookoo.

Of course I like Victoria Kimani's Show.

Of course I like H_ART THE BAND's Nikikutazama.

Other Kenyan musicians whose work I have tweeted or blogged, or will tweet or blog, appreciations of can be found at my twitter (@MauriYambo) or on my blog. More is to come.