To my fellow over 50s – so you don’t know Ne-Yo? Don’t stress – many of us do not know him. I first heard about Ne-Yo from a young Zambian friend working abroad who told me, two months ago, that she was coming home for the Stanbic Music Festival.
Her attractions were Ne-Yo, Sampa the Great, Pompi and James Sakala. Don’t beat yourself if you don’t know Ne-Yo – even some under 40s that I know, do not know him. These things are about interest, religious inclination, your generation, chance and time.
In our prime years there was only one hit at a time. Which was why on a periodic basis there would be the latest album or the latest hit single and we would all know it and know the singer. We would even refer to some tracks eg John Secada’s ‘Just Another Day’ as the ‘national anthem’. Of course there would be several hits but the highest selling album (or 12” Single) would feature for weeks before another artiste would take the reigns. With no internet, the latest hit would come to Zambia through Lusaka (mainly through Zambia Airways – QZ or British Airways) and then would be shared with the Copperbelt and other provinces (via cassette tape and Radio).
Ne-yo performing at the Stanbic Music Festival
Most people in Zambia do not even know our local musicians. When a singer dies most of us ask what song he or she has to their credit. I didn’t know Yo Maps until two years ago, even though I had been listening to some of his music for about two years. One of my sisters (who is even younger than me) can’t tell the difference between Yo Maps and Macky 2., even though she loves ‘ Finally’ and ‘Season Yanga’ by Yo Maps Another younger sister, didn’t know until this week that my all-time favourite singer, Whitney Houston had died.
Last month, I asked a male friend if he had seen any of J Lo’s movies and he asked me who J Lo is. So what am I saying? Don’t stress if there are some singers or actors that you do not know. There is a lot going on and too fast. We are really in the Information Age and are overwhelmed. Google does help. Use it when you are curious. You do not need to know all the musicians. Enjoy what appeals to you. And the Beat Goes On!
Stav Nurieli (r) told Kathimerini the best memories she has of her friend Eden Ben Rubi (l) are from the camp they went to together for 10 years in Litochoro, northern Greece. [Stav Nurieli] Eden Ben Rubi and Stav Nurieli were 13 years old when they first arrived at the Jewish camp in the small town of Litochoro, northern Greece. The two girls immediately became friends. “We were always together. We lived in the same city in Israel, our houses […]
Another NSW music festival has called it quits, with organisers blaming a 529 per cent increase in police and medical costs they must bear following a 2019 change to the state’s laws.Return to Rio, a boutique funk, soul and house music festival held at Wisemans Ferry since 2013 is the […]
GloRilla is tired of hearing people talk about whether or not she has “sex appeal,” because as far as she’s concerned, she has something way more important.Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday (April 29), Big Glo shared an X-rated take on the type of sex appeal she possesses.“Mfs luv […]
