craft and aesthetics:Thinking about YONDO SISTER

Feeling naughty and artistic:Yondo Sister

My playlist is one thing that is so close to my heart.It always works miracles on the state of my heart and stirs intellectual waters in my mind that always grows into pursuit for a better understanding of the world,the phenomenon of life,human character, the outcomes of perception of life and intellectual inclinations that shape what life is and turns out to be every hour of human existence.
Amongst the many great names I have listened to include,amongst others the likes of Yvonne Chaka Chaka,Nimon Toki Lala,Sam Fan Thomas,Alain Kounkou,Dr.Sakis and Kanda Bongoman and above all ,my all time favourite of  the Congolese female artists,Yondo Sister, who happens to have also been one of my father's favourite artists.

art never ages,so is Yondo Sister

One of the first musicians I listened to consciously when a child was this most flexible dancer,Yondo Sister.Dad loved Yondo and I grew to love her too.The effect of her hits such as Perdue de Vue,Mbuta mutu,Madi (Africa),Mwana Kento amongst others and the spirited and vigorous full of life and seductive dance that accompanied her beauty of person,melody,voice and generally her signature artistic expression took possession of my heart and many years today I still hold a very strong impression of her as a remarkable artist.The first time I saw a music video I did see Yondo's and so her work alongside other visual arts including Sylvester Stallone's Rambo movie series remain the most memorable arts that defined my entry into and the crawling-before-walking phase in my visual arts awareness(of course visual arts go beyond music videos and movies only)

She-Yondo-lives(of course  a myriad of both local and international artist have left a lasting impression in my life and I adore them too) as an artistic icon and what passion and shere determination can lead to having grown from being a dancer to an established singer of her own kind.

She thus takes her place on the list of my selected few from whose stories never misses a thing or two to learn.She is one of my childhood's sweetest memories.This is so owing to the fact that during Xmass and New year celebrations back in the days ,most DJs played nothing less than her music and then others-the mid and late 90s.Xmass was no xmass in Bar-Ober,my village town,and I bet then no other town without playing Yondo Sister.I miss those days when Xmass was such a mystery that kept us spinning wild in our childhood.And hearing Yondo's music would crown the memory of those precious moments.

Craft and aesthetics:TIM MCGRAW and FAITH HILL's "Meanwhile back at mama's"

Tim and Faith Hill performing the song to their fans

Any of the self proclaimed defenders of the African culture and its forms of artistic expressions never hesitate to harshly judge and throw jabs at those that openly appreciate western arts-music,movies;name them-with their bitter criticism fired at the lot as alienated culprits that need serious societal monitoring and rehabilitation.

Their displeasure bears truth to a certain extent as many of us have totally crossed the oceans and seas and won't even entertain a single local song in their playlist but it is not entirely true.

The world,maybe,at one time,millennia past,was a small place with limited interaction between all the human races scattered all the habitable places on the earth's surface.However,this never existed forever.The curious nature of men for adventure,business,conquests-amongst other vanities of life,opened the world as people learned to navigate the seas to far flung places and others traveled the land in long distance trade.With the advent of cutting edge technologies in transport  and communication,the world has shrunk  into one tiny place where expressions from different cultures around the world no longer remain the preserve of its creators but become the property of the whole world  once they are  disseminated to the rest of the world that care to appreciate them.

Like many of the 21st century citezens,I've come to appreciate many cultures that I've come to interact with; music included as one of such cultures' expression.As such, I listen to all sorts of music right from my own people's Benga to Country Music from the far West.

The beautfil Faith Hill

Tim McGraw

One of the outstanding Country music artist whose art has always held my heart is Tim McGraw.I first listened to one of his latest release,the song "Meanwhile back at mama's" on 98.4 capitalfm from his second studio album "Sundown Heaven Town" featuring his wife Faith Hill and I stopped whatever I was doing to listen to it.Tim's powerful voice is good as ever and teaming up with his wife Faith Hill does gives the song an elegant,cosy and powerful statemnt.The arrangement of its easy beats and the skillfull strumming of the guitar and the narrative lyrics fill you with nostalgia you end up searching your own heart for those memories you haven't checked for a long time and the realities of life it is fast to engrave in the mind than the attention you pay the beautiful melody of the song itself.

The song is a product of experience thus rich in style and rhythm.It is beautiful.You gotta listen to it.Find it on mp3skull.com.