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Habib Koite is a young singer-songwriter from the west African nation of Mali. He's been called ' a modern griot'. There is a gritty realism to his songs and are very poetic even in loose translation. He recently toured the US.

Wari (Money)

(translated)

Tidiani, for you I would buy anything
But times are tough for me today
I’d like you to learn to walk on one leg, who knows?
C.T., who knows what tomorrow will bring?
If you want something for yourself, my son
Know that you will suffer
The only remedy for suffering is a moment of happiness
All kids think their Dad is the strongest
No father ever wished poverty on his kids
Ah children, children. Help me, I love them too much
Tidiani, who knows what tomorrow will bring?
Nowadays, for a simple headache
If you don’t have 100 francs, you won’t get the aspirin for free
The beggar looking for charity on the side of the road
If he was rich, someone else could count on his aid
Because money, I think everyone has a right to some
These days, just to eat
You’ll never taste the meal
Without showing the color of your money.
The young guy risking his neck, hanging from the side of the bus
To call his clients, is only trying to earn a wage.
Keep it up kid.
The old proverb says you can’t buy happiness.
That’s no longer true for us
Money can buy enough comfort.
If I could, I’d plant trees across Mali.
And the fruit of the trees would be banknotes
I’m convinced everyone should have some money
But if you want to be a slave to life, be in love with money
I’d rather be rich than a slave
But we are all slaves of the almighty
And money is what we need.

excellent video of the song...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjl2i_ ... -clip-wari


Batoumanbe (Name of a woman from the Bozo fishing tribe)

Two people from different worlds discover an impossible love
The young Bozo fisherman and the siren of the river
They could neither be seen together, nor marry.
From their idyll, a proverb has grown
‘Not all love ends in marriage’.
But love remains strong.
The fisherman said: ‘When I touch your breasts, it is not desire
It is out of love for the owner of the breasts.
If I put my hand around your neck, it is not from the desire
To touch your neck, but for the love I feel for the neck’s owner.
My dear Batoumanbe, not all love ends in marriage’.

Habib Koite live...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAmxXizTKSY


Both songs are from the album 'Baro'. Every song is terrific, not a single filler in the thirteen. All translations are included.

Oh, good... I'll listen to these when I get home tonite. No time at the moment, but I know they'll be good. Thanks, Kush.


~ Lizzy

Kush, you copy some excellent lyrics into this forum, and I like the way you look outside of "our" culture for stuff. I was moved by that video. Thanks much.

Yeah... I got distracted last night before I got a chance to listen. By the weekend, I'll for sure do it. I'm looking forward to actually hearing and seeing it performed.


~ Lizzy

Hi Diane...The video for some reason reminded me of the song Father and Son by Cat Stevens although the lyric content is quite different.
A line casually sung as "I'd like you to learn to walk on one leg, who knows? who knows what tomorrow will bring" was quite shocking to me. Songs - with lyric understanding - can be a window into other cultures I think. And even without lyric understanding - the rhythm and vocal inflections in African music are very attractive to me.

I finally got the chance to listen to and watch this last night, but didn't take the time to comment, afterward. I loved the video and all the varying scenes it included of that culture. The world music that I've experienced has had in common the intense infusion of life in the rhythms and sounds. It's irresistably attractive to me.

In African dance, it often seems to me that their bodies 'are' the rhythms; and the boundaries between the two are indiscernible. In this one, I kept wanting the camera to stay focused on the two women dancers longer; however, all of the other scenes and scenarios revealed another aspect I've noticed in the world music that I've experienced, and that's how clear the music and videos make it that the people enjoy life at such a different level than we [for the most part] do in the Western cultures. They find joy and happiness at a much earthier and holistic, and seemingly deeper level... perhaps, with some, because they have to grab with all their might and entire selves that which they're able to... and, for one reason or another, their doing that is fraught with interference.

I couldn't tell by the way you expressed it, Kush, whether the learning to walk on one leg was one of the aspects of another culture; or whether you just moved on to aspects of another culture being made possible through lyrics, after commenting on learning to walk on one leg. You may have interpreted that line the same as I did, but it just wasn't clear to me from what you said... however, it seemed to me to speak to a possible, literal eventuality of losing one's leg [war, disease, lack of adequate healthcare, whatever] and being prepared ahead of time, by already knowing how to compensate for one's missing limb. It may simply be a cultural metaphor for learning one's independence at an earlier age than what might be considered 'normal,' as one never knows [for whatever complexity of reasons] when the father will no longer be around to lend or give support.

I really enjoyed these, Kush. Thanks for posting them.


~ Lizzy

Hi Kush,

A line casually sung as "I'd like you to learn to walk on one leg, who knows? who knows what tomorrow will bring" was quite shocking to me.

Yes. I imagine watching your children suffer is by far the worst aspect of poverty. I recall seeing an interview with Patti Smith, when she told how she, as a new mother, had watched in horror as an African mother on TV was holding her own young baby. The baby died from starvation in the mother's arms before the documentary had finished.

Songs - with lyric understanding - can be a window into other cultures I think. And even without lyric understanding - the rhythm and vocal inflections in African music are very attractive to me.

I agree so much with this. Even without following the words, you understand the music on a visceral level. Six years ago I went to Morocco and travelled into the desert on a camel trip with Berber guides. One of my many magnificent memories from that trip is sitting in a traditional camel-hair tent, with the tent closed up because there was a sandstorm outside. The "only" instruments our hosts had were drums, their hands (for clapping), and their voices. But what a sound they created in that hot tent! A hypnotic rhythm and some marvellous singing.

I recently discovered this excellent video of Nahla Chaima by the Moroccan group Nass El Ghiwane. Again, no need to understand the words (although I'd be interested to know what they are).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdZnwPmOY0I

Cheers,

Diane

Six years ago I went to Morocco and travelled into the desert on a camel trip with Berber guides. One of my many magnificent memories from that trip is sitting in a traditional camel-hair tent, with the tent closed up because there was a sandstorm outside. The "only" instruments our hosts had were drums, their hands (for clapping), and their voices. But what a sound they created in that hot tent! A hypnotic rhythm and some marvellous singing.

Good for you! For the last 3 years or so we have had a loose plan to visit South Africa centered around the Jazz Festival there and also for sightseeing but havent quite managed it yet. Time is always an expensive commodity. Thats a terrific video thanks hadnt heard of this band Nass El Ghiwane before.

I guess these days rhythm and melody is what I first look for when hearing music so I am really attracted to african music - not so much the traditional music but more of contemporary afro-pop. I've built a pretty good collection of african music over the last few years and I really think that contemporary western music has sort of peaked in some sense and there is no new direction or sounds being created in folk, blues and rock. And the artists are so concerned with image and with being different and having a message in their music or making a statement, I feel sometimes they dont really master the basics of making music. I guess contemporary jazz is different and is still creating new sounds. Dont mean to be provocative with these statements - it is only what I feel and what I experience. Someone else may experience contemporary american folk quite differently.

On the other hand I find contemporary african musicians are really skilled in making music and so having mastered the basic they are more adept at creating new sounds. Maybe it is because there is less of big money in the music business there, so it is less of a career and more out of love of music. Someone like Habib Koite is really making a very sophisticated sound to my ears.

Amongst the many peoples of Africa, there are men and women who are blessed with a mysterious gift for poetry and improvisation which is close to madness. They are called the Griots. - Victor Hugo

I couldn't tell by the way you expressed it, Kush, whether the learning to walk on one leg was one of the aspects of another culture; or whether you just moved on to aspects of another culture being made possible through lyrics, after commenting on learning to walk on one leg. You may have interpreted that line the same as I did, but it just wasn't clear to me from what you said... however, it seemed to me to speak to a possible, literal eventuality of losing one's leg [war, disease, lack of adequate healthcare, whatever] and being prepared ahead of time, by already knowing how to compensate for one's missing limb.

I interpreted it as you did - being prepared for the possibility of losing a leg due to war, disease etc. Simply the idea that someone could/would prepare for this eventuality was quite new to me. Even if it is only in song. Another thing I like in the lyrics is the humility and a lack of bitterness - it is what it is.

Simply the idea that someone could/would prepare for this eventuality was quite new to me. Even if it is only in song. Another thing I like in the lyrics is the humility and a lack of bitterness - it is what it is.

Hi Kush ~

If we're right in our interpretation, it's quite new to me, too; maybe totally new, to speak of the impact of horrors of war, famine, disease in such a practical sense... the really remarkable part being speaking of it in the future sense, as one who prepares for their future. For us, it might be a rainy day fund, a savings account, stock and bonds, mutual funds. For them, it has to do with how they prepare to continue being mobile. Much more down to earth, and if you consider music as cultural description, as it has tended to be in Africa [elsewhere, too, but I immediately think of the African dance/songs that replicate washing their clothes by the river and other daily activities], it would be something that a father might tell his son... as he has watched life unfold around him, and knows the likelihood of its unfolding the same for his son. Such an unusual and graphic way of summing it up, though. Lacking bitterness is right... just very practical wishes for his son.

Just listening to a segment on NPR on a young woman Macy Gray, as they're playing the song "I'm So Glad You're Here" [when asked if she keeps anyone in mind when she sings this R&B sound song, she said, [pretty closely paraphrased] "Well, you know when the pizza finally comes... they say it'll be 1/2 hour, but it ends up 45 minutes, an hour, everytime, anymore." It sounds very clearly to be a love song .

"What I Gotta Do [to take care of you, etc.]" is written about her three children, a girl, boy, and a girl. It's a very nice song.

She's been in several movies, with Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding, and Helen Miera.

When asked why she named the album as she did, "Big" ~ she replied, "My big brain, my big heart, and my big ol' butt." She's also started a clothing line for women of her physical similarity.

Her speaking voice sounds like she could be a 16-year-old girl.
This is the blurb on the NPR main page about her:

Macy Gray has kept busy since her audacious 2001 debut: She's put out three albums, acted in films, established a music school and launched a line of clothes designed for full-figured women.

If you're interested in listening to her interview, you can find it on NPR. I thought to put it here, as I was listening, as I thought you might like her sound.

I like what you've said about the Africans and their music. It's such an enviable part of their daily life and such a natural extension of it.

For the record, I know I took your own personal views on music today as being just that; and quite agree with you, as a whole [wouldn't dismiss it all as much as you have], particularly on the specifics you've mentioned as being where their [displaced] priorities are, instead.


~ Lizzy

Hi Kush. Hope you get that trip to South Africa sorted! Nass el Ghiwane are big in Morocco, and have been around since the 70's:

In a time where the only music available was middle-eastern pop music about love, Nass el Ghiwane ... mixed the Sufi chants and litanies of Sufi Brotherhoods with the elegant colloquial poetry of Melhoun, the ancient rhythms of the Berbers and the healing dances of the mystical Gnawas. Morocco had just had independence from the French and its population, still uncertain of the future, was shocked and moved by the texts of Nass el Ghiwane, concerning corruption, injustice and degradation of society. They were the first Moroccan band to mix such a diverse and rich heritage and to speak their minds about subjects, public discussion of which may have led to imprisonment at that time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nass_El_Ghiwane

They seem to have remained traditional rather than become 'afro pop' over the years, but if you liked that video, there's a selection of their music here:

http://lahcen.tchatcheblog.com/9989940/ ... hiwan.aspx

I'm sure that, like you say, African music has a great deal to offer. Most of it is undiscovered by me. I would like to find the time to attend a World Music festival or two. It has to go on the, never ending, list-of-things-to-do-before-I-die.

Cheers,

Diane

Six years ago I went to Morocco and travelled into the desert on a camel trip with Berber guides. One of my many magnificent memories from that trip is sitting in a traditional camel-hair tent, with the tent closed up because there was a sandstorm outside. The "only" instruments our hosts had were drums, their hands (for clapping), and their voices. But what a sound they created in that hot tent! A hypnotic rhythm and some marvellous singing.

I mentioned the afropop website in another thread...I found this really informative article on Berber music and politics on the site: Berber Rising

http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID ... g%21%0D%0A

I'm a bit distracted by other things right now, but I did want to mention that I appreciate you linking that article. I have yet to read it fully I must confess, but scanning it I am struck by the immense and complex musical heritage of Morocco/ the Berbers. I want to investigate it a bit more, and also plan one of the many music festivals that take place there into my next trip over, as it is a place I will surely visit again.

These two videos remind me of the music I heard in the desert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BZLI3-bYhE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6fBElnsX3Y

I am very drawn to the ancient rhythms, but I also like what you said about newer African music in that post of yours above about how fresh and unhindered it is. Those young men improvising in the second video also hint at that.

Hell's bells, there is so much for me still to discover. Thank you for the reminder, Kush.

Awesome. I think the sense of rhythm is very strong in african music and that is clearly seen in the minimalist music in the videos. I think when you add this ancient and inherited sense of rhythm to more modern and complex music involving shifts and changes in melody, rhythm and tempo you get music that is at once both complex and yet easily accessible. Also I find that often there is a choral voice structure in the songs that is much more complex (a weaving in an out of voices) than the obligatory chorus in other pop music. The essence of contemporary african music in my experience.
I find almost all of the contemporary artists actually come from a musical lineage who were initially trained by their parents or grandmothers etc who themselves were griot masters in their day.
"Unhindered" is a good word for it - let me add 'unhindered by layers of sometimes pseudo-sophistication'.