galaxy

13 Monday Jul 2015

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african in america, african poetry, cultural, historical figure, identity, khafre, leadership, national identity, pan african

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1976 soweto riots, africa, african national congress, african union, afro, america, apartheid, bheki mlangeni, biko, black panthers, black power, civil rights, corporate prisons, dirk coetzee, dollar, dona richards, floyd mayweather, frank talk, freedom, g.o.a.t, galaxy, kareem abdul jabaar, kobe bryant, malcolm x, michael jordan, muhammad ali, ostrich, parcel bomb, sankara, solomon mahlangu, tiger woods

If I sang you a song
A song from your hymn book
Wrote mindless lyrics
A summer anthem
Pretended all was well
Became an ostrich
Like the rest of you
A parrot of the status quo
Aped mainstream society
You’d love me
Throw panties on stage
Download my music
Purchase my books
Follow me on social media
Stay glued to my reality show
Lucky me
If I learnt to shut up
Grew big fat ass
Entertained plastic surgery
Bleached my beautiful Nubian skin
Danced like I was on the moon
Altered my mind set
Betrayed my conscience like rap
I’d be a star
Walk the red carpet
Pity I am not interested
So keep your façade
For I am a child of hip hop
A movement of consciousness
Reaching out to a glorious history
Toiling for a greater future
Cos my red carpet is a glorious path
Colored with the blood of loud mouths like myself
People who chose to speak their minds
Educated niggers
Smart natives
Who irked the comfort of the powers that be
Died for the cause
Maybe they’ll send me to the gallows
Like Solomon Mahlangu
Send me a parcel bomb
Like Bheki Mlangeni
Or a drive-by
Hit me on the drive way like Medgar Evers
Or I could fall at the hands of a Judas
Like Sankara
Malcolm
Cos they always get one of us to get to us
If you sell out
How much is the price of your conscience
Just enough to buy you pseudo comfort
Tell them to pay you in gold bars
Cos the Dollar is paper money
Tell them I’ll be waiting my turn
Doing my best to meet that fateful day
When it’s my turn to water the tree of freedom
Like too many to mention
People whose names were written on bullets
Better to die a better man
Like Sobukwe
Cos when I look at Tiger
Jordan, Kobe
Mr Money himself
I see a dearth in talent
Better to be enslaved against your will
Some are slaves of the almighty dollar
Investing in the enslavement of their people
I yearn for the greatest of all time
Abdul Kareem Jabaar, Muhammad Ali
Superstars from another galaxy
Icons who left a legacy
Champions of our struggle
Who never forgot their people on their way up
Principles have no price

knox mahlaba
Author – Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit
Copyright © 2015

Afro-Optimism

06 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african in america, african writer, bob marley, citizenship, cultural, ethnic identity, history, identity, khafre, national identity, revolutionary poetry

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1976 soweto riots, africa, african union, afro, amazon, Amazon author, america, anger, anthology, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, biko, black panthers, black power, books, civil rights, colonialism, dona richards, drama queen, frank talk, freedom, great zimbabwe, historically black colleges, john carlos, khafre, kings and queens, kunta kente

As Africans we need to start looking within for solutions and stop doubting our existence and perspective. Our spirituality did not arise through contact with foreigners but arose from our deeper consciousness!

knox mahlaba
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african praise poetry – izibongo

11 Tuesday Nov 2014

Posted by nativedrum in africa, african, african author, african in america, african poetry, african writer, articles, blogger, cultural, ethnic identity, historical figure, history, identity, indepedent author, indie author, leadership, national identity, opinion piece, pan african, poetry, self publishing, social commentary, tradition, tribal identity, writing

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africa, ancestors, apartheid, Back from the Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, biko, clan names, frank talk, freedom, funerals, geography, heritage, history, isindebele, isixhosa, isizulu, lineage, mandela, martin luther king jr, mlk, nat turner, nelson mandela, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, poetry, praise poems, praise poetry, rainbow nation, richard sherman, robert sobukwe, sesotho, setswana, siswati, southern africa, struggle, thomas sankara, tributes, weddings

Izibongo is an Nguni term literally meaning ‘clan names’. In SeSotho it is referred to as Dithoko, in SeTswana as Diboko and in SePedi as Diretho.

African oral poetry, the izibongo, are ancient praise poems which are a popular indigenous oral tradition in Southern Africa. Traditionally, it is used to praise kings, queens and all royalty; praise poetry is an essential part of our essence as African people.

It is the vessel of our history, our cultural heritage and our reference point on how to express ourselves.

Africans in general rely on praise poetry to identify themselves because many Africans have clan names which form the basis of our identity. These clan names are bound together in sequence or hierarchy relative to geography, history, lineage and major historical events.

Praise poetry is used to compile and narrate the history, heritage and lineage of a people, family, a nation, etc.

During the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa this ancient tradition was revived and widely used for protest poetry at large public gatherings.

This ancient tradition is also used to praise and celebrate the legacy of individuals of note and record events of great importance – battles, wars, famine, floods, marriage, births, deaths, arrivals of foreigners, freedom, etc.

Excerpt from a translation of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela praises:
It’s a dream of the dead
It’s a dream that people thought would never come true
People have cried till they gave up
How many souls are under the ground?
How many corpses because of Mandela
Mandela Mandela
Mandela Mandela…

In my recently published book, Back From The Dead: The Rising of an African Spirit, I have included three praise poems dedicated to Nelson Mandela (Caught Forever), Martin Luther King Jr (Schooling Us) and Steve Biko (Urban Legend).

I have also written tribute pieces to celebrate the legacies of Thomas Sankara and Robert Sobukwe, and I am currently researching Nat Turner with the intention of writing a tribute piece based on his contribution to the struggle for freedom for all.

Praise poetry is often used to invoke the presence of the ancestors in healing ceremonies, funerals and weddings.

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