Music

Music must be in the air or something (lolll) – cos it seems most of my peeps have something in some form or the other on music on their blogs, but I swear this has been brewing for a while - infact, since I saw Brown Sugar on TV. I related a lot to that film. Apart from the fact that I knew all the old school hip-hop she made references to (lord I’m old!), music has also played a major part in my life.


I love music. Period. It influences my moods, it affects my day. I listen to it while I work, while I study, used to listen to it to sleep (why/when did I stop?), I turn it on soon as I wake up, it is a constant companion. I can always find some song that depicts my current state of my mind or completely encapsulates some emotion I felt during any sort of relationship I have ever had. My love affair started straight from my childhood and it has continued ever since.


I started writing this and realised this is going to be LONG (especially as every time I start to edit it, I remember something else I missed), so I’m breaking it up into instalments. Apologies for any mistakes (please let me know) cos I got all excited and pulled a lot of stuff from memory though I researched some to get the names and songs right.


Childhood

I was an 80s child. I grew up listening to all the 80s music and watching soul train. I ingested all the remnants of 70s (and 60s) disco that my mum was still boogeying too. I fell in love with Michael Jackson age 2, when I started shaking it to Beat it. My all time favourite MJ record by the way is still Rock with you. Thriller was the first music video I recall seeing especially cos it really scared and freaked me out despite my mother telling me not to watch it. The first time I had a favourite song was when I saw the video for Kool and the Gang – Cherish (I just remember this scene where she’s getting on some tiny jet plane and he’s singing to her). It was closely followed by Gwen Guthrie – Ain’t nothing going on but the rent. Incidentally my favourite Kool & G’s song is Get down on it – which I was still getting down to in JS2 at our end of term party, and today whenever I hear it.


I found a photograph of my mum one day taken at a party where she was wearing a bikini with some big ass afro and heels (apparently it was a pool party – I saw no evidence of a pool but hey! :-D my mum was/is a rocker!). I have memories of her dancing round our flat singing along to Anita Ward – Ring my bell (her song!), Sister Sledge – We are family, Gloria Gaynor – I will survive, Donna Summer – Bad Girls, Chic – Le Freak, which is why I can still jiggle to these songs as well as Andrea true connections – more, more, more and A taste of Honey’s - Boogie, oogie oogie.


I grew up wanting big hair like Diana Ross – a la Upside Down and I’m coming out – and thinking she looked so glamorous. I thought Marvin Gaye was such a bad man – cos he sang about Sexual Healing which made me go back and query what he meant by Let’s get it on (still my favourite song of his) which I heard it through the grapevine. I still remember going to parties and participating enthusiastically in dancing competitions as well as musical chairs and musical statues (lolll remember how competitive and aggressive those could be?) with songs like Jackson 5 – ABC, New Edition – Cool it now and Candy Girl, and did someone say Lionel Richie? Oh yes they did – All Night Long (yeah baby! :-D– I just keep coming with the cheese).


I can even now, go back to my 80s groove and sing my heart out to Shalamar – a night to remember, and The Temptations – My girl (which I came across because I loved Treat her like a lady). I remember a video of this incredibly sweaty man and how all the women loved it, Alexander O’Neal – If you were here tonight and ofcourse Freddie Jackson – Rock me tonight (for old time’s sake). I can also flit around like my young ballerina wannabe self in those days singing “I’m never gonna dance again” to George Michael’s – Careless whisper, which always reminds me of Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere. That video still gives me chills.


Not to say my Nigerian music wasn’t a big hit at the time with the likes of Onyeka Onwenu – One love, and the still popular “ Shina Peters lo lafro juju, afro juju oh, difference is clear oh”. Yes people, Shina Peters – Afromania came out in the 80s! I developed an appreciation for Sunny Ade from that time. Even though I don’t know the names of his songs, I remember the lyrics and watching the adults at parties shaking their idi rapata (bums) to lyrics like “Sunny Ade, ma kpa mi o … (something, something) … ma ko mi ni badi, kin to de le!” duh duh, followed by some crazy drum beats. Anyone remember the competition between and S.A and Ebenezer Obey with his brand of fuji music where you learnt how to do the hand movement to “e je ma bubble oh”? loll. Highlife grew on me with that one classic song, Prince Niko Mbargo’s – Sweet Mother. It was written about his Nigerian mother so I don’t care what anyone says, it’s Nigerian!


Even then, all these songs were oldies, the newbies were people like Majek Fashek with Send down the rain and I remember thinking what a rasta man and watching in awe as he swung around with his long dreads. Plus who could possibly forget Yvonne Chaka Chaka – Umqombothi? (resurrected in the opening scene of Hotel Rwanda). I don’t want to be too populist but I can’t not mention Fela. All I will say is that all I need to hear is the opening beat or even the instrumental, and I can tell you what Fela song it is. My ass was built to be a shrine girl.


Ok this is it for now, cos I can go on forever. Next stop, 90s Teen.