I was introduced to this artist not too long ago and since then I have been hooked to this particular song. The song is called "Africa" and the artist is Fishe. I will not pretend that I know that much about the artist whose real name is Andrew Mosheshe, but I will say that his song "Africa" is what I listen to when my day of following Nigeria and Africa related news has me feeling disappointed and sometimes upset. And since that happens often, I listen to "Africa" a lot.
"Africa" reminds me of my pride and love for not just Nigeria, but the entire continent. It takes me back to my Pan African roots. It reminds me that the road ahead is and will be tough but that we all must pull ourselves by the bootstraps and face the challenges ahead with dignity and strength. Now, you might not take all that away from listening to the track, but I am just sharing what I feel when I listen to it. When you listen, pay attention to the 'ancestors' he calls to and the contemporary Africans he mentions. To me, it is all quite inspiring, when you consider the odds these individuals and many more faced but yet accomplished success and recognition.
So, without further ado, and before you think I am 'weird', here is Fishe's song, "Africa".
Chorus:
God bless the rivers out in Africa
God bless the people back in Africa
Each and every nation in Africa
May God bless the continent of Africa
Verse One:
Africa. The home of civilization
Home to 53 strong and beautiful
Beautiful females, rich vegetation
The sunshine, the rainfall, the perfect location
Perfect for a very nice family vacation
What a wonderful work of creation
But the media only projects the negative situations
Kids dying of starvation on your TV station
War and diseases, just devastation
Tarzan in a jungle, no modernization
But these are just the media's misrepresentations
We've got modern infrastructures across every nation
All forms of modern day transportation
Modern hospitals and schools that give a good education
Africans come together in unification
So we can rise up to any given occasion
Chorus.
Let me take you back to the days of western colonization
One of history's worst case of dehumanization
The days of the so-called explorations
When really it was nothing but exploitation
Enslaved the population of a whole generation
Took some of us away to work in plantations
There's no justification for this victimization
There's no amount of reparation
That can pay of this....human degradation
Human rights violation
Racial segregation, racial discrimination
When Martin Luther marched in peaceful demonstration
For liberation and total emancipation
So we no longer care about skin coloration
Whether you're Latino Asian Black or Caucasian
Everybody come together in unification
So we can rise up to any given occasion
Chorus.
Nelson Mandela. Patrice Lumumba
Nnamdi Azikiwe. Kwame Nkruma
Haille Sellasie and Sekou Toure
Steven Biko. Julius Nyerere
Obafemi Awolowo. Jomo Kenyatta
Inwar Sadat. Thomas Sankara
Wole Soyinka. Desmond Tutu
Mariam Makeba. Shaka the Zulu
Martin Luther King Jnr. Marcus Garvey
Malcolm X and Ralph Albernate
Rosa Parks and Harriet Thubman
WEB Dubois. Frederick Douglas
Ray Charles. Nat King Cole. Bob Marley
Tupac Amaru Shakur. Mohammed Ali
Jesse Jackson. Louis Farrakhan
Oprah Winfrey. Barrack Obama
Chorus.
And, so, I add to the prayer - God bless the Continent of Africa and its peoples all over the world. And like Peter Tosh says "You're an African!"
Check out Fishe's website - http://www.fishe.us/fishehome.html
Further reading: The Music Series
Further Reading:
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent II - P-Square "Say your Love"
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent III - Infinity's "Olori Oko"
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent IV - Tuface
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent V - Ty Bello's "Greenland"
-Nigeria vs. The African Continent VI - Banky W.'s "Ebute Meta"

13 Curiosities. Add Yours.:
Sounds good, however I do not agree with some of the things some of these 'heroes' stood for.
@ Doja: which specific ones?
Louis Farrakhan & Tupac should not be glorified in the same song where really great and responsible people like Azikiwe, Martin Luther King Jnr, Rosa Parks are mentioned.But I have always felt that people should be free to decide and choose their own heroes so I am not hating O!
@ Doja: Definitely, Farakhan would be a questionable 'hero'. Same goes for Tupac who spent a lot of time demeaning women in some of his songs. But, every great leader has/had serious flaws. MLK for instance and his reported extramarital affairs. And, I think there are many who view both of them to be heroes of some sort and like you my sista, I can 'hate' on people's choices. However, I wonder if they should be mentioned in the same breath as Zik or Awolowo. Anyway, thanks for pointing this out.
I cant talk4farrakhan but4 tupac I'll shout.he may hav used "bitches" in the hood but have u 4gotten great songs lyk "keep ur head up" n my favourite "dear mama" n lyk solomon said they hav their good n bad sides
I really lyk d lyrics of d single especially d last verse(d dude aint bad)
solomon im feelin u mehn,aint been here in a while,missin all d serious talks u bring up....personally I think d black race is backward bcos of our ignorance,we aint as learned n enlightened as our brothers,d blackman doesnt lyk to read....theres this popular sayin ,"if u want to hide something frm a black man keep it in a book"....we need to start readin n learning,im not talkin of goin to school alone,theres a lot of knowledge n readin outside school,thats ow men bcam great n innovative! by daring n learning
my post today is kinda similar to this. Great minds think alike:-)
I really needed this postive energy. Of recent, I've been questioning many things and wishing why am I not from....
This song really makes me proud to be african! I'm off to iTunes to buy it. Thanks alot!
Yes, this is a wonderful song but the video is far from professional. It would be wonderful if the artist would work on that.
This reminds me: I need go back and re-read classic lit from Soyinka, Achebe and Franz Fannon.. :-)
Loved the song....just the song
Okay,this ENTIRE conversation goes right over my head...but nice blog,solomonsydelle. i mean, keeping ONE blog is hard enough and you've got TWO?
Chop knuckle.Bluetooth.
beautiful and inspiring...especially since i read the one about naija first:)...although i agree that i didn't agree with all the heroes...but whoever it takes to inspire good, so be it...and i clearly have some reading to do to familiarize myself with some of those unknown heroes...i still owe you a post on lumumba...great post...thanks for posting the lyrics too!!!...
i will forever love Africa, despite her shortcomings. i agree with ur comments at doja. every leader including azikwe and king jnr had their shortcomings. who's to say had tupac lived another 50 yrs he wouldnt change. the fact is for the little time he lived on earth he impacted a generation of people. no mean feat o.
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