(adj) used to describe something that may seem, seemed, or will seem radical but is only, was only, or will only be a fad.
(eg)
Matt: "I had a great idea! What if I created a pen that recorded what people say!"
Josh: "Seems a bit fadical to me."
To be together as one in spirit. That is the message of this song. John Bosco is the name of this musician, and he actually teaches music here in Bujumbura not too far from my house. He's the most refined of the musicians so far, and he has a load of songs, and on this day, he recorded two of his originals in our living room. Again, John is a friend of a friend. My buddy Adam tried to get john for a month... we couldn't track him down, so when I heard he had an hour, we just rolled cameras. I think John Bosco is Burundi's Ben Harper. I have no doubt that if John Bosco cut an Album, it would do quite well, I'll have to talk to Adam to see if we could help with that. John doesn't showcase his guitar skills here, but he's actually quite good, because he would just jam inbetween songs, and when we started recording, we would totally change his style. This song is about his message for unity, so it's a vocally driven song, with a chorus you can't ignore. He sings this song in 4 languages, almost as if, he's using the different languages to emphasize his point, that no matter what tongue you speak, we should be united in spirit as one. Again I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do.
Swahili:
Tuna taka umoja … Africa
We ask for unity … Africa
Tuna taka umoja … wa warundi wote
We ask for unity … every Burundian
Tuna taka umoja … from South Africa to Tunisia
Uwacu wote umoja … umoja ni nguvu.
We ask for unity … unity is our strength.
Kirundi:
Dusabira umoja abarundi, yeah …
We ask for unity all Burundians, yeah …
Dusabira umoja imisi yose
We ask for unity every day
Dusabira umoja ibintu vyose bifite ibibazo
We ask for unity in everything that causes us problems
Have you ever heard the sound of a Burundian musician? I didn’t think so. If a Burundian wants to get his or her music on the radio or televsion, they give up all the rights to their songs, so the serious musicians never really get their music out there. They’ll maybe get an audience of a couple hundred other Burundians and a few expatriates. I decided to do a Burundi music project and feature some local musicians, from my area of the woods in Burundi in order to bring the musicians to you. This series will feature four musicians. The two musicians in this video are August and Ceasar.They are twin brothers, and they are Tutsi, and they wrote this song together about the genocide that has been happening in Burundi for the last thirteen years, only I've not heard anything like this song before. The song discusses the genocide from an angle I've not heard, and gets to the root cause. If you are from the region you would know it’s a song written by Tutsi’s, and August and Caesar have taken a bit of slack for it, but anybody who doesn't live there wouldn't be able to tell. I think it's fine for people to tell their story from whatever side of the fence they are on, true freedom of expression is necessary for healing. What I love most about all these musicians, is that, everybody that I will show you is writing from experience. Every artist featured has lived through the genocide. They are all among the poorest people in the world, they are not "A List" artists visiting the country, then writing a Billboard hit single. These guys are the real deal. They are the people in their songs. I was sort of blown away by the lyrics of this song, and as I said already I’ve never heard a song like it.If you choose to watch the video, make sure you’re in a quiet place with no distractions. A I mentioned, August and Caesar are twin brothers who grew up during the genocide, and their whole life experience is seasoned by war, and corruption, simply because of where they were born. Many of us, who watch this video are fortunate to never experience anything close to what these guys would call their, “normal life.”I’m thankful for these musicians, and the stories they tell. The struggles they’ve survived. This was a live performance recorded in our living room. Myself, Trina, and my buddy Adam, were all present to watch these guys, sing their story. I hope the song is as powerful for you as it was for me.
Small, poor, densely populated, and landlocked, Burundi lies just south of the Equator in central Africa. Burundi has experienced many of the same devastating conflicts as Rwanda, yet with a fraction of the attention from the international community. Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the west. Although the country is landlocked, much of its western border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The country's modern name is derived from its Bantu language,Kirundi. Geographically isolated, facing population pressures and having sparse resources, Burundi has the lowest GDP per capita in the world arguably making it the poorest country on the planet. It is also one of the most conflict-ridden countries in Africa and in the world. Its small size belies the magnitude of the problems it faces in reconciling the claims of the Tutsi minority with the Hutu majority.Thirteen years of civil war have uprooted and devastated the lives of hundreds of thousands. Burundi ranks 169th on the Human Development Index of 177 ranked countries. One in five of Burundi’s children die before they reach the age of 5. And adult life expectancy is just 51 years. Yet against this backdrop of despair, there are churches and humanitarian agencies playing a pivotal role in Burundi’s recovery.
