Cultural revival changing face of arts

By EMMANUEL SSEJJENGO
Published July 19, 2009

Julie Ssesanga is enchanting in her songs which brings the best of African in her

Julie Ssesanga performs one of her songs which brings out the best of African in her

In the arts, happily and unhappily, we are going back to the pre-colonial times. It is back to the roots as folk music gains more popularity, popular music incorporates essentials of folklore. Recent visual art’s images depict cultural performances and items. Drama has moved away from politics back to cultural norms and fashion is everything that culture is. The bark cloth has become fashionable once again. Hip hop is not hip hop without cultural beats and traditional leaning lyrics. What more can I add?

Music, the most popular art form here, has taken most strides backwards. Traditionalists are having the last laugh. Ndere Troupe, Nandujja and the Planets now have stiffer competition with the likes of Karim Saava (lingala artist), Klear Kut and GNL Zamba - hip hop artists.

The drama groups are now in their comfortable zones. In the 1970s, Byron Kawaddwa and Okot p’Bitek relied so much on images from traditional culture to make political critiques. Too bad it cost Kawaddwa his life when Iddi Amin’s henchmen carried him from the National Theatre stage during the Oluyimba Lwa Wankonko (Song of the Cockerel) musical and his body has not been seen to-date. From the 1990s until recently, the popular drama groups went political. But as FM radio stations take over the political debates in talk shows, the groups have resorted back to motifs that worked for them before.

Harry Lwanga prefers to wow as a master of strings with a deep attachment to the bass and acoustic guitars. His Jazz epitomizes the value of Africanness in music

It started in August 1993 with the coronation of Kabaka Mutebi after kingdoms had been banned in 1966 by the then government. It touched people’s cultural sentiments and over the years, there has been a keen search for identities especially at a tribal level. And now that tribal cultural norms are a source of pride, artists are borrowing from this rich field to get attention.

Take Karim Saava who has attempted to make it to the big stage with Congolese lingala music and Afro-beat. Navio (Klear Discussion) and GNL Zamba ( Omwana wa Baaba) are two hip hop artists who have recently rapped on the backdrop of traditional Ganda drums. The sound of those drums just made the regular showgoer a fan of hip hop, the first time the genre has crossed over to mainstream music. Bebe Cool (ragga and Afrobeat artist) has also collaborated with traditionalist Annet Nandujja on Kamongole. Mesach Ssemakula (Afrobeat singer) has ridden high with his Njagala Nyimbire Omutanda. It is a whole new sound that is very much appreciated.

“It is a process of artistic growth,” says Phillip Luswata, the director of Theatre Factory, a drama group based at the National Theatre. First the artist started working around political themes because that is the audience that afforded to purchase art forms. Then, the public servants, mostly in their late years, were the ones who controlled the economy. The 40-year olds only could afford that luxury. But with the growth of corporate companies that employ 20-year-olds.

The other argument is that traditional culture, having been ignored for a long time, became an issue of an exclusive community. That class of people had clout. And with the emergence of this group, everyone else wanted to identify with them, and so all the wannabes changed their tastes. They were swallowed into the class when they started attending traditional music shows. When the artists noticed the change in tastes, so did their music formulae change.

“Such music cuts across generations and classes. Father and daughter can both listen to it, understand and enjoy it,” says Shadrack Kuteesa, a music promoter. Music that speaks to so many people can hardly be ignored.

Milege (from Kenya) performs during the Bayimba Arts and Music Festival in Kampala recently. This Christian-leaning Afro Jazz band aspires to bring a new meaning to Jazz by qualifying the genre as one with deep African roots.

But as identities are being celebrated through such cultural releases, there is a deeper fear. Traditional culture poses some dangers to modern society. Is it bringing back all the traditional religions? Someone could even blame the current incidences of child sacrifice to this. Is it bringing back the backwardness that Europe fought against over the years? Like shall we start barter trading and ignore the dollar economics? When you listen to all the proverbs and riddles in these songs, do you still find any use for Shakespeare?

Well, it depends on which side of the divide you fall. But certainly, traditional elements have entered into the popular arts and we cannot ignore. We just have to draw different parameters for appreciating this music. Those who think that Karim Saava is obscene (the sexual innuendo) in his recent song, you would change your attitude if you knew that the song is only meant for adult audiences. There are certain words and songs that are reserved for particular audiences and occasions. In his introductory statement in the song, Saava makes it clear that this song is for adults. So don’t play such music when the young ones are about or you will fail to interpret it for them.

It is a win some; lose some situation that you desire as much as hate!

Reach Emmanuel Ssejjengo at Essejjengo@eafricainfocus.com