Going back to his roots

By LEONNARD OJWANG
Published October 25, 2009

He is the 2009 Msanii Awards Best Reggae Artist. Gold Touch Magazine compared him to Alpha Blondy and Lucky Dube, accolades you will agree with when you listen to his latest music. This December, Dynamq aka ‘the Sudanese child’ is coming back ‘home,’ to Kenya and Sudan, to launch his new album, “The Sudanese Child”.

Dynamq aka ' The Sudanese Child'

Memories of Nairobi as a child refugee makes Sudanese-born reggae artist, Dynamq, head back to Kenya to launch his new album, “The Sudanese Child”. The visit dubbed, “Those Days Tour”, will begin in Nairobi on December 12 ( Jamhuri day) and December 18 before proceeding to Kisumu on December 19.

Dynamq will also entertain his fans in Mombasa on December 23 at Club Lambada, and then fly to Juba, Sudan, to a “reggaeic” homecoming show on December 25.

Dynamq and his family moved to Kenya in 1987 because of incessant war in Southern Sudan, and lived at Ifo refugee camp in Garissa, for a year, before moving to Nairobi’s Kawangware slums, where he stayed until he relocated to the United States in November 1996.

Dynamq says his heart bears the scars, of an ‘empty’ life in Juba, and the trip is a personal promise he made that he would return home one day, to preach peace. He will be ‘remembering those days in Nairobi’, with two more concerts on December 27 and 31. All the shows will begin at 10 p.m. East African time.

“The Sudanese Child” album was produced in Atlanta by The River Nile Entertainment and Earth One Studios in the summer and has 14 powerful songs. The hit, “SLPA” (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) produced by River Nile Entertainment, is one of a kind. It describes the war that made Dynamq and many Sudanese people flee into Kenya. “I know my people want peace and equality…. Don’t give up the fight, to see that frightful light,” he says.

Another hit “Mama”, also produced by River Nile Entertainment, features Erica Newell (Damien Marley), and begins with painful beats of a weak drum and solemn sounds of a worried piano. Dedicated to his mother, it recalls the hardship, which only hopeful whispers from his weak and worried mother, could soften. His mother, Yolanda Lorya, had been hospitalized following a plane crash in southern Sudan.

A backup singer, Newell’s beautiful voice vibes, “Mother took time and made sure we went to bed on time!” as Dynamq electrifies the beats with his soft deep voice, then Newell pounces back, “Seven kids in a two-bedroomed house!”

This song captures Dynamq’s life’s story. It gets emotional as the beats deepen, and he cries, “Oh! What a life!” The deep drums soften the pain, and allow Newell’s voice to inject, “…. Children don’t you worry, I will never gonna leave you lonely!”

Every line in the song is a clue to his childhood jigsaw. The puzzle is complicated when Dynamq’s blue voice joins in the beats. But Newell’s captivating voice, solemnly reminds Dynamq of what his mother told him on the couch: “Even though life is hard, never let it break your heart.”

Indulging into the song, one can’t help wonder what Dynamq was going through when he recorded it. Nothing is profoundly more touching than the solemn promise to his mother, “I will take away your pain, mama!” In the same album, Dynamq uses the hit “World of Sorrow”, produced by Sunland Music, to ask the world fundamental questions. As the guitar strikes the lyrics away, he asks, “Do you know what it feels to wake up in a ‘World of Sorrow?’” This song reinforces the need to raise and love forgotten children – the refugees.

He notes, “Children don’t want to think of the past; they think of the present, because the future is a mess!” He also challenges humanity, “If we want to know why, we better look around, and see who is crying; see who is dying!”

“Nobody”, featuring Liz Crew, is extremely infectious. It mixes romance with reggae, and is presented with such gusto that even a kid would awe in delight.

“My baby” is a powerful song, blending Swahili and English to capture strong mastery of reggae music. Working with different people, the well-spoken artist is making big connections right now. Many bloggers will be quick to score this trip to Nairobi, as an international tour.

By returning home (Kawangware and Juba), Dynamq will also have fulfilled a promise, he made to his mother in “Mama” ballad. Dynamq, 28, is the third born in a family of seven. His real name is Kennedy Lorya. He says he lost his father and elder brother, while in Kenya.

Dynamq speaks Arabic, Swahili, Latuka and English fluently. He is an avid soccer fan and played soccer in Kawangware slums. It was also here that reggae music struck a chord with his soul! He summarizes his ‘ghetto life’, with an electrifying song “Remember Those Days in Nairobi.”

Dynamq’s music has won several accolades. He won the 2009 Msanii Awards Best Reggae Artist in Mission, Kan., this summer. Achis’ Reggae Blog also chose him as the artist of the month of September. “Dynamq is a sweet, sweet, sweet voiced African artist, who has been stirring the pot, and getting attention as well,” Achis wrote.

Dynamq’s album is rich, luminous and real, and his East African fans will certainly have a blast this Christmas.

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