I have a new addiction (I might be late) but it’s too good not to
share.
My love for music is just immeasurable; you might already know this if you
have been following my blog updates.
‘’Write me a love song,
send me a letter….tell me you love me’’
My fav extract fromLove Song~ Timi Dakolo
Wooooooiiii… it touched me!!
Well to start off the best thing that happened to me in this month
of June so far was my subscription to Sky TV and I must say I am lurrving it. Imagine
coming from Virgin Media which is a major reap off. Reap off because it’s
expensive and no good value for money. The diverse number of channels I
get on my Sky TV brings one big smile to my face. Too bad people are deprived
of such due to the position of their houses…..Oh well. (I actually think they
should get this sorted, they are losing customers)
Anyhooo….I am not a Sky rep, let me get on with what I have to
tell y’all.
Normally while I’m in the kitchen or around the house doing chores, I like the blaring sound of music, I
actually do love loud music because loud music is just life!! Turning my TV on (I
think it was BET…Virgin Media don’t have that! :P ) I then went on to the kitchen to cook my
dinner. Not too long, I heard this smooth modulated voice streaming all the
way from the sitting room to the kitchen. I quickly wiped my hand and dashed
into the sitting room.
Guess who was there breathing life through my TV? ….. Timi Dakolo!!
Singing one of his hits ‘Love Song'. People, the song I fell in love with was Love
Song!
Timi Dakolo
Wait for it… I have never heard any of his music nor his
name before but his music was speaking to me. I couldn't help but take a seat
and get lost for a few minutes in such awesome talent.
Now this is what good music should do to you. Music must be so
good that it draws you in, connects with you on another level and get you lost
into it so much that you forget all your worries in the process. (Even if it’s
for a swift second) The power of good music is tingling to the soul; it makes
you crave for more and sends all your senses into rebellion.
This fine dark chocolate of an African, Timi Dakolo who has the
voice of R. Kelly and strangely resembles Tinie Tempah in a very appealing way was
born in Ghana but originally from Nigeria. He started singing at the tender age
of 12.
Love Song By Timi Dakolo
In the video for ‘Love Song’ He wore a black leather jacket which
was strategically left open to confuse the ladies, exposing all his glorious
six pack (is it just me, it’s getting pretty hot in here…phew) It’s all good, Timi can confuse us all he
likes, we’re not complaining.. :) The sad news is ladies, he is off the market :(
He is indeed a good looking guy and this was definitely a bonus to
the video which I absolutely loved. Timi Dakolo put so much emotion into this
song that you can’t help but feel like falling in love all over again. He was
touching a special place in my body with his voice, I won’t lie. A brilliant
love song by a beautiful human…ahh my friends, it doesn't get better.
Love is such a strong emotion and this was beautifully conveyed
through his song ‘Love Song’
Loved it, absolutely loved it! All I can tell you now is that song
is on constant repeat till further notice.
Music too sweet!
Hey what are you waiting for? …hit YouTube up and get addicted
like me, I’m sure you’ll like it (I've got good taste, you see ;) hehehe)
Just when i was about to give up on Sierra Leone music and boom! I
stumbled upon a video on Facebook that just restored my faith in Sierra Leone
music. My people there is hope.
Yes my faith has been restored. On this lazy day, right under my duvet on a
cold winter’s day my faith was restored and I hope it’s not the last I hear
from her.
The song which inspired this blog post is called Boss/ Koro koro which was
produced by the record label Diamonds from Sierra Leone (DSL) and beautifully sung by Esther
Sesay featuring the creative Alieu Bio who is better known by his stage name G Money
The Royal Emp’.
We all know what boss means but Koro koro in our local means not afraid of
anything or strong. It could mean seen with a clear vision in a way you can’t deny. I
stand corrected but I think the meaning differs depending on the context in
which it’s been used. However the song is about women’s empowerment, women’s
independency and women being in charge. I love the whole concept of the song
maybe that is why I am so drawn towards it.
The beat had my curiosity but the level of talent in the song, to be precised her voice caught my
attention. The voice behind the song, Boss/Koro Koro is the talented Esther Fatima
Sesay who is an 18 year old R&B singer from Sierra Leone, did you hear what
I just said….she is from the Lion Mountain. In fact both talents on the song
hailed from Sierra Leone. Esther Fatima Sesay writes and arranges all her songs and for someone who’s never been to any formal song or lyric writing course, I’ll
say she is absolutely brilliant. That's not all, she has 2 official videos out already and 6 songs online, all at the tender age of 18!
Now wait till I tell you all about this talented chick. She attended the
Limount College, graduated 2 years ago and came out with the second best O’level
results. She didn't just stop there, she went on to pursue a career in
accountancy and she is currently enrolled in ACCA (Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants). In the words of the CEO of DSL Mr Alie Forna, she is brains too and i can't help but agree. Esther is all beauty,talent and brains.
Esther Fatima Sesay - Beauty, Talent & Brains
Do you feel inspired already? I do because she didn't allow music to stand
in the way of her career pursuit. She does have her wits about her and for that
I say Bravo and keep it up.
Once the fame gets into your head and the fortune starts greeting your
pockets, people get easily distracted. We see it every day, artists release few
songs and by the time you know it they've forgotten about all their other
pursuits and the fame and fortune just overshadows everything else. Few years down
the line they are back to square one where they started. If you take a close
look at some of the successful musicians that we listen to, they’re all doing
bits on the side, they don’t just sing. Example of such would be Jay-Z and Beyoncé.
I listened the song once and I pressed replay….the second time I was humming
and by the 3rd replay I thought I was Esther for a minute. That’s how I
knew I just stumbled upon a rare thing….good solid Sierra Leone Music.
Not forgetting due credits to G Money…his raucous voice just added that extra chilli and maggi
seasoning to the song which just gave it that extra humph and left me yearning for
more (Yes we are still talking about music....hold tight) hehe
More importantly I watched the video and I saw zero nudity, heard zero vulgar
language and saw no wanna be gangster orwanna be pop star….Just raw talent. It is a
decent video which I can comfortably give to a ten year old to watch to. Do you
know how hard it is to find a PG13 music video these days?
Boss/Koro Koro ~ A DSL production. Video directed by Nick Asgill
Even the rapper was well dressed which i admired; no boxer on show, no grills... (I hate
that piece of metal) or baggy trousers running down towards his ankle or bling-bling
to blind me. African music videos that conform to the American lifestyle irk my
soul. This video was refreshing and as I am penning this down it has been on a non-stop
repeat. (I think I need to stop)
While I am at it I might as well highlight my favourite part of the video
which was at the beginning when Esther was entering the board room with fellow
colleagues all suited and booted. I absolutely loved that scene. It was a mile better to watch than the usual booty shaking that normally greets me when i first click on music videos.
I must applaud the production team Diamonds From Sierra Leone (DSL), including Nick Asgill who
directed the video for such refreshing 4 minutes of my life.
This is an exemplary video which I think (well i hope) has set the pace for other artists…nudity
and vulgarity is not the way forward. You might come across hard at first but
when all that is stripped away people are going to need to see the real talent
and there would be none. Nowadays it’s like everyone is sworn by nudity. I know they say sex sells but don’t be fooled it does have an expiry date.
I used to love Sierra Leone music and I still do but over the years I have
slowly grown out of it. Maybe I just grew up or maybe I am getting old but I don’t
think there’s enough competition to fire up the creative side amongst the
artists or maybe the focus is on the wrong agenda. I believe your music must
inspire, motivate and revive. When I listen to a song, by the end of that 3 minutes or
more I shouldn't feel the same way I was feeling when i started listening to the
song in the first place. I must feel revived, motivated or inspired. If your
music is not doing any one of the following then I think you have failed as an
artist.
I want to abuse the replay button when I listen to your songs Sierra Leone
Musicians…so for the love of music please step up! Think outside the box and while you are at it, think of your listeners for we are your audience. We are in Africa and we are Africans for crying out loud, when you write your songs look around you and be inspired, stop singing about girls, money, fame and power. The American artists give us enough of that, when we come home we want to feel like we're home. If you shadow your focus
with the unimportant things what are you passing on to your listeners? Think
about it.
Having said that, I wish Esther all the very best in her future endeavours and truly hopes she
continues towards the direction of her dreams. I would be looking forward to
more masterpiece production from DSL and the team.
Mama taught me to say thank you. Therefore i must acknowledge Mr Melvic Greene as this blog wouldn't have been possible without his help. He is slowly becoming my go-to guy and never gets tired of my disturbing texts regardless of the time of the day. I appreciate your tolerance and time.
I would also like to thank the CEO of DSL, Mr Alie Forna who took time
out to satisfy my curiosity by answering my 1,001 questions. I appreciate your
time.
Esther forgive me for stealing your picture off Facebook. :)
Disclaimer:
I do not know the artist Esther Sesay and this is not a favouritism post. If I see a
talent worth appreciating I waste no time in doing so. As they say,give credits where one is due. This is solely based on
my personal taste and judgement on the music industry in Sierra Leone. .......and i hope you all enjoyed your Easter holidays and had a better one than i did. I was right under my duvet seen that Mother Nature is acting like she's on drugs. With snow in spring.... I'm baffled but music makes everything better and Koro Koro was just the remedy. Till next time....xoxo
