The rhythm of Afrobeat Sauti Sol
(Music)
(Singing) Ooh ooh
She wants to be rich
She wants to be famous
She wants to have lots and lots of money
Soar above the clouds
She wanna be free
Like Nelson Mandela
Stand tall like a pyramid
So, so courageous
No place she’d rather be
Oh na na na, oh na na na
And there’s no place she’d rather be
Oh na na na, oh na na na
Live and die in Afrika
She wanna live and die in Afrika
Oh lo lo lo lo
Live and die in Afrika
Live and die in Afrika
I wanna feel love
I wanna be remembered
I wanna go down in history
And make my mama proud
The darker the berry
The sweeter the juice
Na sitoki nyumbani wacha mila ni mtumwa
No place I’d rather go
Oh na na na, oh na na na
No place I’d rather go
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Live and die in Afrika
Oh lo lo lo lo lo lo
Live and die in Afrika
Oh yeah yeah
Live and die in Afrika
Live and die in Afrika
Live and die in Afrika
(Applause)
Bien-Aimé Baraza: Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen.
It’s a pleasure and honor
to be here today.
Onstage is the group called Sauti Sol.
(Cheering)
We have a couple of people paid
in the audience to make some noise for us.
(Laughter)
The four of us met
in high school, 15 years ago,
and at the time, we were famous
for singing Boyz II Men covers,
because they were our biggest inspiration.
(Laughter)
And I remember, in a very pervy way,
in my room, I had a Mariah Carey poster
and a Britney Spears poster, too.
(Laughter)
And I can’t help but feel
that times have changed.
Because what used to be
Mariah Carey in my room now,
in a 15-year-old boy’s room,
is Tiwa Savage.
What used to be 50 Cent in my room then,
to a 15-year-old boy’s room now
is Sauti Sol.
(Cheering) (Applause)
The role of Afrobeats in emancipating
and getting over the colonial
mindset of the youth
cannot be ignored.
Afrobeats has played the strongest
role so far, if you ask me,
as far as emancipating
the youth is concerned.
We are now the superstars
of our generation, for our people.
We are the solution
to their musical problems.
(Applause)
And people our age are no longer
looking for entertainment
from America, from the West.
We are the entertainment,
and they’re priming us above
any other form of art.
In 2015, President Obama came to Kenya,
and we had the pleasure
of being the entertainment
for the state dinner that happened
at state house, Nairobi.
And as we were performing,
he jumped onstage with us,
and together, we did a cultural dance
to a song that I want to share
with you guys right now.
And wherever you are,
if you feel the music, dance.
Ladies and gentleman, “Sura Yako.”
(Cheering)
(Music)
Nimekuchagua wewe, nikupende
Mama, sitaki mwingine
Aushi usiniache, usinitende
Mama, usipende mwingine
Moyo wangu ni mwepesi
Umenikalia chapati
Nafanya vituko kama chizi
Kukupenda sitasizi
Moyo wangu ni mwepesi
Umenikalia chapati
Nafanya vituko kama chizi
Kukupenda sitasizi
Sura yako mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Na tabasamu lako maua
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Sura yako mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Piga dansi kidogo
Piga da … piga dansi kidogo
Dansi kidogo
Piga da … piga dansi kidogo …
Dansi kidogo
Piga da … piga dansi kidogo …
Dansi kidogo
Sura yako mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Na tabasamu lako maua
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Na sura yako mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
You’re so, so beautiful
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
You’re so, so
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
Mzuri mama
(Applause)
Savara Mudigi: Wow.
Thank you, thank you so much.
(Applause)
So, afrobeats, afrobeats.
Afrobeat is a force,
it’s a force in the world right now.
Just last year, in the last year alone,
Africa had songs in the Billboard charts.
“One Dance,” written by Wizkid,
performed by Wizkid and Drake.
“Unforgettable” by French Montana.
For those who know or don’t know,
French Montana is Moroccan.
Artists who the world
has normally considered as mainstream
are now realizing
they’re late to the party.
And they are knocking on the door,
and because we are good people,
we are going to let them in.
(Laughter)
(Applause)
When we look at an artist,
Queen B herself – in brackets, Beyoncé –
(Laughter)
Beyoncé has African
influence in her music.
A couple of years ago, in 2011,
through YouTube, she saw
these dancers called Tofo Tofo dancers,
from Mozambique,
and she flew them all the way
from Mozambique to Los Angeles
to teach her and her dancers
the now signature dance moves
that you see in her song,
“Run the World (Girls).”
Yeah. (Laughs)
So, with social media and a vibrant,
vibrant African diaspora,
more and more the world
is dancing to our rhythm
and talking our pidgin.
Yeah? (Laughs)
Thanks, Nigeria, we’ll use that
for across the board.
(Laughter)
Our next song, “Kuliko Jana,”
had a viral video
that was posted by Snoop Dogg,
Ne-Yo, Talib Kweli.
And the general feedback of this song,
especially in the black community
in the United States,
was that this song gave them
a feeling or a sense
of spiritual repatriation.
So, ladies and gentlemen, “Kuliko Jana.”
(Cheering)
(Vocalizing)
(Vocalizing ends)
Bwana ni mwokozi wangu
Tena ni kiongozi wangu
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
Baraka zake hazikwishi
Si kama binadamu habadiliki
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Yesu nipende leo kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Yesu nipende leo kuliko jana
Wewe ndio nategemea
Kufa kupona Baba nakutegemea
Chochote kitanikatsia
Kuingia mbinguni utaniondolea
Wewe ndio nategemea
Kufa kupona Baba nakutegemea
Chochote kitanikatsia
Kuingia mbinguni utaniondolea
Wewe ndio nategemea
Kufa kupona Baba nakutegemea
Chochote kitanikatsia
Kuingia mbinguni utaniondolea
Wewe ndio nategemea
Kufa kupona Baba nakutegemea
Nakutegemea
Na Bwana ni mwokozi wangu
Na tena ni kiongozi wangu
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
Baraka zake hazikwishi
Si kama binadamu habadiliki
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Yesu nipende leo kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Kuliko jana
Yesu nipende leo kuliko jana
Na Bwana ni mwokozi wangu
Na tena ni mkombozi wangu
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
Amen
Baraka zake hazikwishi
Amen
Si kama binadamu habadiliki
Amen
Ananipenda leo kuliko jana
(Music ends)
Thank you very much.
(Cheering)
(Applause)