About Ngagara
This music was recorded in a run-down cinder block building in Ottawa's Lower Town by a band whose roots cover the planet. It's as Canadian as snow on the Ottawa River, as African as we could make it, and as global as anything in this century.
Popo grew up in Ngagara, a neighbourhood in Bujumbura, Burundi made up largely of Rwandan and Congolese expatriates and refugees with a unique blend of Central and East African languages and cultures. (The nickname "Popo" was given by a Congolese neighbour. Lupopo was a Congolese football team). It was here that Popo began to listen to sounds from all over Africa and beyond, and he still hears with the ears of Ngagara. There is a flavor to his music that comes from the streets of Bujumbura and the hills of Rwanda, and from what he carries within of his homeland's history and traditions.
In the studio you would have heard Swahili, Kirundi and Kinyarwanda alongside French and English, and a musical vocabulary drawn from Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Outside, it might have been winter in Ottawa. When you walked through the door in the cinder block wall, you were in Ngagara.
This music is dedicated to the memory of Kelly Ann Barker, Basharat Zahoor, John Lee Hooker, Kadisi, Eric Murefu, Juma Rutima, Arthur Kabunda and Neil Sturton.
Lyrics & Song Descriptions
1. Ma Afrika
you rich Africans | stop putting down the poor | to build only for your own vanity, | what is the good of that? | to build for others, that is progress | poor Africans | your little place is better | than the big place of your rich friend | and a bitter truth is better than a sweet lie | don't worry | we all come and leave this world the same way
2. Ganza (Triumph)
the billy club is banished | the Belgians have left | the English have left | the French have left | the last king of Rwanda ended our own feudal subjugation | let's not perpetuate that of the colonialists | be triumphant o Africans | let's tear down the barriers ...
3. New Orleans
first the French said c'est chez nous | then the English said now we're stronger than you | the Indians stand by helpless chanting who will save us | and everywhere I see the faces and tribes of Africa: ibo, beti, mongo, songhai, luba, fon, yoruba, ashanti ...
4. Mbaye Uwande (Where Do I Belong?)
This song is for anyone who might feel out of place in society: immigrants, the homeless, all those who feel excluded and ignored and who suffer in silence
cast off like refuse in a strange land | where do I belong | why am I left out alone | where do I belong
5. Urugendo
Urugendo means a voyage. This is a song of praise and gratitude about traveling and seeing the natural beauty of Canada ...
big rivers and little rivers | the spine of the mountains | rainstorms, sun showers, mighty, mighty trees | the sky covered with stars | and a place where the sun never goes down | o mother who bore me | what can I give you | how can I thank you | o lucky me
6. Vyaraboze (It's Rotten)
Based on a work song. Dockworkers might sing this while moving garbage out of the way, or you might hear people singing this while pushing broken car.
it's rotten, it stinks | that stubborn noise in your brain | that colonialist garbage | let's dump it where it came from | those who divide us | those who brought segregation | let's go dump them where they came from | they came from Europe | from the Vatican | from France | from America | from Belgium | and some came from Africa | let's go dump them
7. Turaje (We Are Coming)
we are coming | hang tight | when we were all in the forest | when we were all poor | we helped one another like brothers and sisters ... | how come today I seem to be your enemy | just because I won't cheat the poor | brother, money is not bad in itself | but earn it honestly | you thieves with full bellies have eaten our wealth | you hasten your own end | watch what you do | your children wander homeless | your days are numbered | we are coming to get you
8. Kizimgara
Kizimgara is a ghost. Kizimgara can not be bribed, flattered or even befriended, but if you try to do good, Kizimgara will help you. If you do bad, Kizimgara will punish you.
and when you are afraid of Kizimgara | he will come to visit you | and when you try to befriend Kizimgara | he will come to visit you | and you will be sorry | Kizimgara has no mercy ... | when you see a blind person | don't laugh | Kizimgara will come to you | and you, master, don't laugh when you see a lame man | some day it could be you
9. Umurimyi (The Cultivator)
the job of the cultivator is to work the land | to grow sorghot, to grow sweet potatoes, | peanuts, casava, rice, potatoes, yams ... | the cultivator's land is the source of our wealth | our life, our strength, our hope | you government people should help the cultivator | instead of hindering him | help him distribute and share the produce | and feed the people
10. Funguka Macho (Open Your Eyes)
A bus carrying civilians was ambushed by rebels in Bugarama, Burundi. My friend Arthur Kabunda was among those killed.
pardon, pardon monsieur president | pardon, pardon monsieur rebel | pardon, pardon monsieur chef d'armee | pardon, pardon monsieur chef de milice | why do we kill? | why do we kill the innocent? | why do we kill? | why do we kill our children? | tell me, after your war | who will pay for all the suffering? | tell me, after your war | when you have killed everyone | whom do you think you will govern? | open your eyes
11. Hutsi
Until the strife of recent decades in Rwanda and Burundi, Bahutu, Batutsi and Batwa lived peacefully side by side for centuries, sharing one language and culture.
hutsi, hutsi, hutu tutsi, hu | twahutu, tutsi hutsi, who? | hello | good morning | hugs to you all | love and respect to all
The CD is distributed by Global Village - CBC Records, Les Disques SRC
Buy it on-line at their web site
