Confessions from a dance floor!
I absolutely love Madonna. Does that make me any less african or true to my roots. I know that if the odds were to see madonna or salawa abeni perform live, i'd go for madonna!! Some would argue that this remains the cause of Africa's problems, this lack of direction of its young and future; but does that also say anything about the legacy we have inherited??
In fact, she is inspirational in a sense considering her ability to move with the times, still stay relevanant and look so great! Her confessions album sold out on the first day and madge continues to conquer even though most hate her. i really should be talking about salawa here with reference to a phenomenal female entertainer but somehow her music does not appeal to me in the same way madonna's would.
This is the situation the African continent finds itself. The same way most announce with pride that their kids are at oxford of cambridge. How they declare their homes on sloane square and belgravia and so on. This betrayal of the future, the Nigerian young by our predecessors has lead us to the Nigerian question of present. i should not feel guilty for preferring Madonna to salawa abeni as this is the legacy bestowed on me and my generation by my predecessors!
Madonna's cofessions tour comes to cardiff soon...absolutely looking forward to it!!!
posted by internationalhome @ 11:22 pm
4 comments
4 Comments:
This is a real hard question to answer. Yes, Madonna has been around the block a bit: hard to imagine that she was Basquiat's girlfriend in the New York Punk Era before she beame a sexy cabalist. She was happy to cross the colour-line and that, in a way, is what you raise. I am reading Marachera, the poet, at the moment. He felt Africa should embrace world literature to make itself more aware. The African purists hated him for it, saw him as un-African. It is all about choices. My personal view is that when you have been colonised then you turn to purist attitudes to rid yourself of the infection. But healing requires more than that. I sense your dilemma. Who are you? And what should you like? And are you selling out by liking Madonna?
Many thanks for your kind comments Eshuneutics, your observations are spot on! Perhaps controversy is the key to relevance and barrier breaking in-directly solves world issues slowly.
That said, i was also alluding to my seeming hypocrisy considering how i lambast the older generation for their western hero worship but still do so myself. In truth whether i do this as a result of my conditioned upbringing is irrelevant.
We should all ask these questions, don't you think?
Regarding Marachera and Africa embracing world lit, i think we do that already. My issues here are one of caution and appluse. It is good that we are aware of the outside world, afterall how best would we deal with them? However, should we know the outside more than we know ourselves? I was speaking to a British friend recently and i pointed out to him that their media (western)does them a disservice by not informing them of the outside world...correctly!
Please see TIME magazine this week containing an interview with Kongi, you might be interested in that!
"However, should we know the outside more than we know ourselves?" Now that is the crux! That is a question not only for States, but also to the mental state of the individual. Well, said.
Post a Comment
<< Home