Female artists + My Ongoma = Unity My Ongoma media in partnership with majority of Namibian female artists take a stand to fight against society evils through a ten track album and a road show.The female artist’s revolution
Where words fail, music speaks
Music is a great tool used to get the message across and that is what My Ongoma Productions aim to do with a ten track album.
Imagine Sally Boss Madam singing about ladies embracing their natural beauty and how young girls should be content with their body features, and get this, on the second verse we have Chikune “mundu wandje” saying the exact same, but with a little bit of Kapana spice to make it nice! Oh, how glorious will it then be if we bedazzle it with a chorus by the very vocally powerful Ann Singer echoing more than how we should be more bullet proof and take a stand against any type of abuse because why – we are soldiers in this game!
All your imagination is made possible by three very dedicated Namibian music producers and businessman Antonio (Antonio’s Arts), Glo (Mr Gulo) and Arafat with the support of Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL), with the aim of uniting Namibian artists and the nation at large with music under the label My Ongoma productions. The word Ongoma in many Bantu languages is a drum and drums back to the day the drum was used as a communication tool in many cultures. “With that definition, My Ongoma is here to be a communication medium and at the same time unite Namibians,” says Mr Gulo. The three producers will work with Namibian female artists on a ten track album which will be finished by end of this year. So far over 15 female artists have signed and agreed to be part of the project, which already started and the first track is done titled “Don’t Let It Go”featuring Ann Singer, Adora, Promise and Monique English. Some of the topics that will be tackled are issues such as domestic violence, tribalism and rape, just to mention a few. Arafat says that over the years Namibian artists haven’t been united and there are minor “beefs” that they are still hung up on, which is heartbreaking. “With this album, we hope to unite the artists, that is the core purpose of our project and we want the female artists to empower Namibian ladies and girls at the same time. If the artists on board are not willing to unite and work together, we will let them go,” said Arafat. After succeeding with the females, the producers say they will also look at a project for the male artists. The main target is for the project to have a road show within all 14 regions, one by one, and have the artists connect and meet their fans.
The album will be off many genres and there are songwriters onboard including Mr Gulo. The producers all stressed about how teamwork is not something Namibians are good at and that with this album, they plan on getting everyone onboard and engaged. “I just came from a meeting in South Africa and I was amazed at how united the music industry is that side. I was so disappointed when they told me that the reason why Namibian music hardly makes it on international market is because of the disunity in our territory. If we want Namibia to grow we need to start with the mothers of the nation. Let’s stop pointing fingers and start helping others, [this is where] we go wrong. It’s all about the future. There are small girls looking up to the artist and this is a very big step in that direction,” said Arafat.
For those who are interested, the album launch will be held on 25 November at the Zoo Park in WIndhoek and everything is already in place and booked. The album will be a full package and the producers will hopefully have two music videos out before the launch. The album will also be sold at an expectable price since the motive is not to make money, but rather to unify. “We spoke to some corporates and video production companies and they are ready to jump on the wagon and help maximise the success of the album and the road tour. Companies are more than welcome to join forces and help My Ongoma become a hit,” said Antonio. The female artists are very excited and they can’t wait to start working together. “I don’t know about the others, but I’m very excited to be working with people that have been in the industry a bit longer than I have so I can’t wait to get into the studio and start recording. I’m also very keen on how the songs are going to turn out, since we are different artists with different ideas and voices,” says songbird Ann Singer. Chikune said she’s looking at the opportunity as a learning experience and is eager to see how their ideas as artists will match up to deliver great music at the end of the day.
June Shimuoshili