NEW SINGLE ALERT: "My Africa" (EXCLUSIVELY Released On Steem)

Home of civilization, mama: mother of the world!

Hello Steem! I am introducing the brand new, fresh from studio, single that I just wrapped up with my colleagues. What is even more exciting about this project is that, for the very first time, I am releasing my music EXCLUSIVELY on the Steem blockchain for a limited period before it hits mainstream (read that as "fiat") CMS's.

As an artist who just recently became passionate about blockchain technology, this marks some milestone.

The release schedule for this single is to remain exclusive to @dsound (with the mock studio session video I created, to follow exclusively on @dtube) for a period of at least 7 days before we have it available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Reverbnation NotjustOk and TooXclusive. The last two being Nigeria's leading paid music host sites.

This will help me, an undiscovered music artiste, stand a chance to make some money off my new song, in addition to gaining an international audience for my work, with zero payment to a platform.

Why is this important? Maybe this will serve as a model for the many talents that roam streets in Nigeria making music that no one pays for, and desperately spamming links to their work on Facebook, all while hanging on the slim thread of getting hooked to any establised music set-up, individual or institution.

That is simply unsustainable. In Nigeria, music institutions are mostly lacking the resources and structure to on-board and grow promising musicians. As a new artiste, to keep creating new music, studio sessions need to be paid for, and accompanyists need to be compensated, all from your thinned pocket. And every time you invest in all these without any return, the chances of making the next song diminishes. Till you give up on dreaming to have enough compendium of music to be considered an artiste. Dad was right, you need a real job.

But platforms like Steem are game changers. All the investment in this project came from proceeds I made blogging about my music experience/knowledge and recording openmics. When converted to local currency, they just achieve a lot. Because of this considerable level of success, I am able to sustainably run my career. I didn't have that luxury when I was solely relying on mainstream mediums of distribution.

About The Song

"My Africa" is a music that amplifies the pride and elegance of "Africanness". In Akan (present day Ghana), the Sankofa symbol implies that we look back at our past to chart our future. That is why in this record we name some African icons who have contributed a great deal in our advancement as a people.

_{Fun Fact: The circle loop on the cover art is an Adinkra symbol called Adinkrahene that means Greatness. It is the "chief of adinkra symbols".}

Mind you these aren't flawless folks. These are just guys that we say, you did enough to stoke the fire of pride for mother Africa. Imagine Samuel Eto'o who lit the arena at Barcelona when Lionel Messi was still learning to tie his boots. Imagine Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela in their outspokenness against a brutal apartheid regime. Imagine the bravery of Thomas Sankara, mixed with the sagacity of Professor Ukpanah (my professor in uni). Stop for once and think of literature without the beautiful contributions of Chinua Achebe. Fela Kuti? Damn god! And of course the Africans in the Americas and the Carribeans, you weren't left out.

Africa has its struggles, which this song acknowledges; but more, it chooses to focus on its heroics. I hope you enjoy the horns, the dynamism in style, the breaks in flow to help you relax and take it all in, in bits. I mean, if only you would enjoy this as I did while making the music. I wish I could make an annotated lyric that provides some background into the names mentioned. But thank God for Google that you can easily learn about these icons and why we celebrate them, in a way that a 5 minute record cannot cover.

Below I provide the lyric, with some Nigerian pidgin spicing the whole stuff up. I hope you enjoy listening. Please do well to drop your feedback in comment. And of course every upvote and resteem will empower me to do more music and reach more people.

I shouldn't leave this out. This song was first played as an openmic entry. Run by @luzcypher and @pfunk, and the army of wondeful judges, this weekly contest hosted on Steemit is rapidly becoming a coming together of the most amazing music talents from around the world. I composed and recorded this piece for that contest. But then I thought, why not build on it? So I spoke with a few colleagues in my department in school and went ahead to arrange the rest of the music that became this record. Thanks to @misterakpan for introducing me to Steem and often holding the camera while I record the openmics, and proof-reading my works, constantly demanding for better clarity and formating, and deeper message. Thank you @carlgnash for the feedback you constantly give to my music. Thank you @curie for the strong supports. Look what y'all created.

Special thanks to the these guys: the wonderful team that cooked this all up. I will want to specifically thank the following:

Producer - Dr kellz; Pianist - Paulson Faith; Bass Guitar - Ndifreke James; Rhythm Guitar - Papa Udeme; Lead Guitar - Billy Bayanak; Alto Saxophone - Augustine Augustine; Trombone - Samy Jazzzer; Backing Vocals - Edi Silvester; Cover Art - Marsharl Arts.

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“MY AFRICA” Lyric by Papa Udeme

VERSE ONE (Papa Udeme)
Home of civilization, Mama, mother of the world
Great is the pain you've been through
But you're still so beautiful
Power and wonder on the streets of Soweto
So black gold, that's who you are
So put your head up high my brother
Have you heard about a man called Malcolm
Have you heard about Eko mega city Lagos state

Interlude

Abi you never hear about Marcus Garvey
Or you want make I tell you about Martin Luther King
The colour of his skin and Haile Selassie
Or have you heard about Barack Obama
You never hear about Mohammed Ali

CHORUS
My Africa (black is beautiful)
I love Africa (black is wonderful)
My Africa (black is powerful)
I love Africa (black is everything)

VERSE TWO (Edi Silvester)
Have you heard about Desmond Tutu or Nelson Mandela
Have you heard about Fela Kuti or Thomas Sankara
Have you heard about Chimamanda or Chinua Achebe
Have you heard about samuel Eto’o or Hugh Masekela
Have you heard about the beauty of Soweto
Oh have you heard about black gold in Nigeria
You never hear about the beauty of Kigali
Abi make I yan you about the music of Lesotho (Lesotho)
A very good man Professor Ukpanah
You never hear about oh have you heard about
Have you heard about the black stars of Ghana
Have you heard about the lion of Africa

Repeat chorus

Black is beautiful
Black is wonderful
Black is powerful
It’s everything
So we are not slaves
We are wonderful people
We are powerful people
We are taking over

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_{We recorded pictures of the studio session. Click to watch on You DTube:}

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