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Melodies of resistance: the power, politics and perils of music in Africa’s social, cultural and political evolution

by admin on | 2025-02-04 16:38:34 Last Updated by admin on 2025-02-06 12:41:50

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Melodies of resistance: the  power, politics and perils  of music in Africa’s social,  cultural and political evolution

In many parts of Africa, music played an important role in the struggle for liberation from colonizers. Music and song served as inspiration and provided a potent tool to mobilize society to resist and fight against colonial administrations. This was mainly between the 1960s and 1980s when many African countries gained political independence. It is from this context that in 2009, when renowned South African artist and activist, Hugh Masekela, chanted in Lugano, Switzerland, at a concert, ‘…I don’t know what happened to us the human beings, we seem to have lost our sense of outrage that we had in the 60s and 70s and now, we just look at our laptops and shake our heads,’ one can’t help but reflect on the importance, significance, and purpose of music and song in the struggle for liberation and freedom. Music and song will not in and of themselves bring freedom. They are not a substitute for mobilization to fight for freedom, but only serve to cultivate a ready ground. In songs like ‘Aluta Continua’ (Welela, 1990), Makeba urges freedom fighters to continue fighting for liberation: ‘open your eyes and answer the call of the drum,’ she urges her people. It was clear to Makeba that on her shoulders, and probably more aptly, on her tongue, lay the responsibility to contribute to the liberation of not only her country but also her continent.

The birth of protest music and censorship
Immediately after independence, there were “patriotic” songs composed to celebrate the newly attained uhuru. Musicians created songs reminding Africans of the independence struggle and the sacrifices that had resulted in self-rule. Along the way, as new presidents consolidated more powers, this music slowly morphed into glorification and praise songs. Before long, a hero-worship culture was born. Joseph Kamaru, a popular Kenyan Benga musician at the time, sang ‘Safari ya Japan’ in praise...

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