If a picture is worth 1000 words, then this song is worth 1000 pictures and I hope you read in between the lines because I read in between the rhymes and was impressed! If he is not the greatest Swahili poet out there right now then I don’t know who is. Together with the amazing Enika who gives the song a cultural feel they bless us with this soulful joint called Niimbie (sing for me )
Thesong however captured my imagination with its amazing imagery a skill that the calif records front man has perfected and is using to take his music to the next level. Le t me see just how keen you are? Listen to the song and try to think of the message and then read my interpretation of the song. Ps I had to listen to it 15 times before I finally got the message to let me see if you will understand this genius then check out the analysis of the lyrics below….listen…..I present …
Juakali ft Enika in Niimbie…
Now, if you think that he is singing about a girl then …….you are wrong! I thought so to after my first 2 listens and it was until I heard the main line that I understood him.
He opens the the first verse with
“Nani amekunoki kunishinda ukiniita kila siku naitika, unakumbuka pahali nilipokuona mara ya kwanza nilikuwa 5 years hapo kejani na brother, nili kuchukua nikakuweka kwa tape nikakuskiza nikasema ehhhh!”
This was the opener that made me get the song. He is referring to the first time he came to contact with her, he was 5 years old in his brothers room. He took her and put her in a cassette listened to her and was impressed . In the same verse he goes on about how he loved dancing with her and also said
“Ukikatika nakuunganisha”
That line brings memories coz I when I had cassettes, their tapes would break and I had to fix them using cello tape. Hehehe! So do you get where he is heading with this? Read on…
In verse two he open with…….
“Saa hii umegeuka unaitwa LP lazima nijichunge usinidunge na pin, unaruka ruka na sijui ni kwa nini, dawa yako ni kukushikilia na shilling”
He opens this verse by pointing out how she has changed and now is a LP. Back in the days when the LPs were the most popular for music storage I had issues with our player that would skip ……if you have handled an LP before you know what he means.
He goes on and says….
“Mbuyu siku hizi umembamba na lugha mpya inaitwa lingala”
This is another clever line where he is pointing out how now even his dad likes her because she uses a new language called lingala. For all of you who are with me you know he is referring to the days when lingala was the most popular genre of music in Kenya! (Genius)
He finishes the verse by pointing out how he loved dancing with her and just how sweet it was.
Verse three is a conclusion of the story. He opens it with……
“Unapenda video sana siku hizi kila mtu amegeuka anakuita CD, naona umeoga umepunguza uchafu, dance basi mbele ya watu angalautukuone, wanakuharibia biashara na kipindi hii ni ya lala salama. Nakuingia unapumua reggae mtoi wetu wa kwanza ataitwa Genge!”
He says now she is called a CD(Compact Disc) and she is now clean, peharps reffering to the fact that there has been a push to rid Genge of lewd lyrics. He also says their first child will be called Genge and this is a reference to the spread of Genge music all across East Africa! He finishes the song by stating his intentions to marry her. He also mentions that her friends, the radio deejays and presenters are present and it is a journey they will take to the summit!
but the line that sums it all is
“hii safari mpaka kilele sauti yangu nakupa milele”
he vows to be with her to the end to give her his voice forever!
I am still baffled by his level of thinking and creativity. In this song he took his music and with powerful imagery made it the woman of his life and took us through its journey from the days we only used radio cassettes to the days LPs were the in thing and now the advent of the CDs that has seen phenomenal growth of the genre he has helped create! This man is a musical Genius ……….I rest my words.
NEXT….Nonini’s song with the same theme! shocked? ……in 2 days!
NONINI FT LADY BEE
As i had promised, i will also let you in on a project nonini has been working on with a bootyfull lady who goes by the name lady Bee. As much as the juakali and Enika track was amazing, this track by nonini will knock your socks off and make you appreciate genge even more. it is almost as if juakali and nonini had planned to do songs with the same theme and even release them at the same time.
nonini’s kumbuka is the sweetest journey down memory lane and he does not deploy his poetic skills but makes this song as simple as a jam can be. he simply reminds you of the days when local was still local and he uses deejays and presenters who were instrumental in the rise of kenyan music and made time for us.
its a simple track that simply reminds you of those days…..of Fred Obachi Machoka to the days of Dan Oloo who to me is the grand presenter and of kenyan music.
Dan Oloo was on metro fm and his top three at three show plus the 2 hours of kenyan music was and still will be the number one show from kenya! i heard of the longombas and nameless first on his show and i also remember hearing the first E-sir joint on his show and if a simple song can bring those memories back then nonini as an artist makes a serious killing with this joint!
its definitely one of his best songs!
nonini ft lady bee in kumbuka!
Both songs are some serious bangers. Yani even the flow is as always Sick. Check out more of these brand new hits on Jamhuri City Vol. 2 on this download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?vkzmqyjnzjn.
King of Genge indeed!!!