No, You Can't Take My Soul Away

Prayers answered.

Moments, swimming in the despair.Waiting for the sun. Cold.
Don't want to wake up.
Prayers answered.

Every time I've fallen as far down as possible

God answers.

Tonight it was in the form of:

Nneka

She got on the stage and my girl Sahra said to me, "She's like a prophet!"

I wasn't so sure off the bat, but I was completely convinced by the third or fourth song.

Not only is the woman beautiful, her spirit shines so bright. She has so much hope and sings, calling the strength of the people to move forward and to be united. It made me so happy to see a young woman of color from the Third World, so unique, so confident, so spiritual, and so clear about her mission and her message. They're there, so many, but we hear and know so little about them!

Her set was so on point. It wasn't just artistry. It was a prayer -a retreat. While I don't remember the exact set list, each song was a message. Here are some of the highlights:

• She opened calling to the spirits in the dark.

• Showing Love: "It's about giving love, showing love, doing love, living love, making love. This is the major issue."

• Kangpe/Strength: The strength of women -"As you know God no give you anything you no go fit deal with."

• Walking: "We belong to God....we can't give enough."

• Suffri: "Suffri, suffri with my soul. Don't you tamper with my soul."

• Uncomfortable Truth: "You talk about peace. Put it in your mouth -the same mouth you use to declare your bombs. Your system is a joke, no heart in it. It's choking us to death. We living in decept...Love ain't what you are talking about on TV. Love ain't what you practice it to be. Love ain't the Love that you are giving me. Love gotta be something you cannot compare anything to. Let us make a change. Why can't we turn the page? Lord, make us able. Without you, we are totally unstable."

• Vagabonds in Power: "Do they break my heart? Do they break my pride...make me suffer? Do they take my soul away? Vagabonds in Power!" (There is no way I can do this song justice.)

• Come With Me: "Come, let us be truthful -surrender our pride...Take my body, take my hands, take everything you created. Take your riches, take your money, take everything, but not my experience, no. No, you cannot take my experience away. No, you can't take my soul away. No, you can't make me go astray, cuz I know where I stand."

• Heartbeat: "You throw stones, but you see that I am human, I am breathing, but you don't give a damn. Can't you see my heart is bleeding? Can you see the pain your causing? Do you feel my heart is beating? ...Lord..."

• God of Mercy: "...And when I'm down and broken, I pray so hard to get out the depression. Oh God of Mercy, I appreciate thee. And when I think that I'm alone, you carry me and make me strong"

I appreciate her questioning of the systems and injustices that exist. Her message about colonization and the relationship between Africa and the West (and for me, the whole Third World) is clear. She calls to those people in power, to us, to take responsibility for our actions, for the blood and spirit that we steal and kill when we make unjust or hurtful choices.

At the same time, she emphasizes the need and existence of hope, the need to move forward with with knowledge of the past, and the need for spiritual strength for the everyday battles that we endure.

Like I said, prayers answered.

If you don't believe me yet, check out this lovely interview with Nneka, on Reelblack. There is one part where she talks about how worried she felt about taking money for her shows. She says, "I felt like I was a pastor that was taking money to preach the word of God." Then, she goes on to cite a Bible verse that helped encourage her, "Do not reject the fruit of your labor, when it is honest, when it is done with honesty and purity." The fact that she hesitates about her role and her calling as a singer showed me the humanity of true artistry.

Another interesting point in the interview is when she discusses her song, Heartbeat. She describes it as a "relationship song" with Africa and the West -really well done. I'm always curious to hear what artists are/were thinking when creating their work. Welp, here it is:

So, if you don't know, know you know!!! Get on that!

P.S.-The last two photos are from my homie Melketsadek, who is a talented artist himself. Check out his work at Baobab Studios!