Quick to come to mind is this youth group from a church near Nakuru, that had heard a song over VOK (I do not remember whether those days if it was not KBC) radio and while they did not fully understand its lyrics, they felt compelled to believe that they understood them enough to re-launch that song in Swahili and possibly beat all the youth groups in their Division if not District. The song was so sweet and so was the message.
Their music writer, after listening to the lyrics, came out with super lyrics. They did not change the melody because it was the melody that took them over the hills (before they headed down the lake in shame). The lyrics they wrote for the new song went something close to this:
Wee Mkombozi, utukomboe …
sisi watu wa Bahati, utukomboe
Wee Mkombozi, utukomboe …..
sisi watu wa Bahati, utukomboe
Their melodious voices went through to the heavens until one of their own who lived in Nairobi walked into the church hall looking like a man who had seen a deadly snake. Before they could ask him what was wrong with him, he asked what was wrong with them. They all laughed. He composed himself and asked: “How can you possibly sing a chang’aa song in church?” The singing came to a grinding halt (ouch!) and in unison they asked: “What do you mean chang’aa song? This is talking about Jesus, Mkombozi.”
The man from Nairobi shook his head and explained to his brothers and sisters that from DJs on Voice of Kenya Radio, he had learnt that the song was originally sung by South African diva, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and its title was Umqombothi, named so after a potent South African brew reputed to be stronger than the illicit chang’aa everyone knew killed those that chose to drink it.
They could not believe what they heard, and never having seen their fellow villager who worked and lived in Nairobi as serious as he appeared, the truth sunk in and a few tried to vomit. But nobody had said to them that they couldn’t vomit what they didn’t drink in the first place. What they needed was a prayer for cleansing performed by their pastor, but they were afraid to tell him the truth in the first place. A supposedly novel song died before it could live.
Emmy Kosgei is a budding Kenyan Gospel artiste from the vast Rift Valley, I am sure not very far from Nakuru. Many prefer to call her a Kalenjin Gospel artiste, which is quite unfair as it narrows her scope. She is a national figure and should be given her accolades as it befits her super effort, since music is a universal language. One of her songs from the Album Katau Banda has been hitting the airwaves giving her a large following, among them our very own Jobjow who has posted a video of the song Nguno on the Angaza Family Radio website. Sometimes (not necessarily all the times) Jobjow knows how to bring a breath of fresh air into our tormented lives. Asante Jobjow.
Emmy will have to excuse me because as much as I love the melody of her song Nguno, I do not understand the lyrics and therefore I cannot discuss the song’s subject matter and what she is talking about. She sings in Kalenjin. However, one word comes out clearly and it is “Jesus”. You can call His name in any language, but no one will suffer the disappointment of being told that they got it wrong. Jesus does not get lost in translation.
Everyone who watches this video will agree with me that it is one of the best choreographed songs that Jobjow has on the website. Video mixing brings up the song’s tempo in a superlative manner, especially the synchronised dancing put up by her backup girls, and the church congregation. The most rousing part is when the backup girls perform on the platform in the church and their shadows appear on the ceiling as they undertake the purposeful and well coordinated dance movements (05:20 – 05:24).
The backup girls have a choreography regime that blends in with change of key as evidenced on two occasions 05:37 – 05:40 and 05:45 – 05:49. The children in pink dresses and shirts stomping the ground in bare feet raising hot dust into the air as they execute well coordinated movements are a marvel to watch. However a number of times when Emmy appears 100%, one cannot help but note that the mouthing of the words is not consistent with the lyrics in the background. One does not need to understand the language to make that observation. A perfect example is 01:14 – 01:24. A couple that appears several times (among them 00:59 – 01:04) only helps to throw off the song’s fast and well harmonised tempo.
Hats off to Emmy. Kongoi missing! Whether you understand the lyrics or not, overall Nguno is an inspirational and a must-watch song. It easily makes four green stars in our non-scientific rating.
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