Music video discussion
Nigeria – King Sunny Ade
3. “Ja Funmi” (NYC, 2016)
Ja Funmi is actually a type of what is called, Juju Music. King Sunny Ade dropped this song in 1982 in hopes to modernize this music. This form of music is popular in Nigeria, and it is derived from Yoruba praise singing. King Sunny Ade added more instruments and integrated rock and funk into the music to make it more relatable (Zhou. 2015).
King Sunny Ade was already famous in Nigeria when he made his way to the international stage. His record company, Island Records, wanted him to become the next Bob Marley. They dropped this persona after realizing a couple years later that King Sunny was not making as much money (Zhou, 2015).
In July of 2016, King Sunny Ade came to New York City to perform at the Central Park Summer Stage. In an interview with Afropop, King Sunny Ade was saying how he considers NYC to be a nation because there are people from all over the world. He called it the “land of opportunity” and that everyone is “more or less free. It’s a free united city in the United States” (King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview). That emphasis on freedom makes me think about this song. Ja Funmi means fight for me. Perhaps to King Sunny Ade, he is fighting for his freedom in Nigeria or maybe just singing about his ancestors fight. I have been doing a lot of research, and I haven’t found much about what the other lyrics of the song mean. Recognizing that this song is about fighting for yourself is enough to understand that this is about oppressive times in Nigeria. The readings from this week state that music can be used as an outlet for when people are feeling oppressed, and that they can use it as a way to communicate to bring the community together. Some people have also stated that this song is about an internal fight, as well. There are a couple different interpretations.
“In some parts of Africa, praise singers, known locally as jali, jeli, or griot, compose songs to praise patrons and also to keep the history and genealogy of a community” (Online Readings). King Sunny Ade felt like he had the same responsibilities. He said that since his heritage has been passed down to him, he needs to “maintain the image of ancestors” and that he needs to be careful that he represents them correctly (King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview). He also needs to continue on their story so that people will never forget where they came from. This is true because as our readings from a few weeks ago said, music can be used to preserve a memory.
Ja Funmi has tons of instruments in it. King Sunny Ade said his guitar is attached to his hip and that it is the “gateway to [his] living” (King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview). In the New York performance, there are at least 4 guitars and 3 drums on the stage. I tried seeing what exact drums were on the stage, but the video was a little fuzzy. There was a typical drum set and then what looked like talking drums because they were being struck by a curved stick (Agrawal, 2010). “Ade and his band African Beats [have] modernized the bucolic juju sound by getting rid of the accordion and adding pedal steel guitar plus multilayered electric guitar” (Tarte, 2003).
The music itself is rhythmically complex and dense. Most African music is like this because they have so many elements going on in the songs. African music tends to have a buzzy timbre, but when I listen to this song, I think it is brassy. That may sound strange but the guitars sometimes sound like saxophones to me. This song could be an example of homophony because it is accompanied by an instrument like a guitar, but I also think it could be polyphony because it is hard to follow the melody. There are different people singing all the time and different instruments being played. It’s almost hard to focus on the song. The song is a great example for strongly metric because there are people dancing on the stage as well as in the crowd.
I really enjoyed this song and learning about King Sunny Ade. I hope you feel the same!
References:
Agrawal, N. K. (2010, July). The Glossary Of World Percussion Instruments - DRUM! Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://www.drummagazine.com/hand-drum/print/the-glossary-of-world-percussion-instruments (Links to an external site.)
King Sunny Adé: Afropop Video Interview. (2016, October 11). Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://www.afropop.org/32106/king-sunny-ade-afropop-video-interview/ (Links to an external site.)
Tarte, B. (2003, May 15). Raw and Uncooked. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://www.miaminewtimes.com/music/raw-and-uncooked-6348068 (Links to an external site.)
Zhou, M. (2015, August 23). The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s. Retrieved October 31, 2016, from http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/?page=2 (Links to an external site.)