Following the wide acceptance and success of last project, singer and songwriter Hembadoon, is out with a new single entitled, Kule Kule Hemba Ayem, a track off her upcoming album project that she’s currently working on.
Written and fully rendered in her native dialect, the title of the song, according to her, translated loosely, means ‘Patience is better than hastiness’ or in street lingo ‘To go small small better pass to do gra gra’.
She stated that the song is written as a conversation from one woman to another, encouraging her through her situation in domestic and emotional violence as experienced in relationships and marriage, spurring her into self-love, self-confidence and control over her affairs, with the hope that all the efforts at healing will add up and everything will be just fine one step at a time.
Her words: “The song’s lyrics are in my native dialect, Tiv, and it was inspired by my interest to craft and export cultural music, in the manner that artistes from other African countries do, firmly believing that we are not limited in Nigeria to three major languages alone.”
She pointed out her musical influences to include Grammy award winner, Angelique Kidjo, Youssou N’dour, Femi Kuti and other world acts who have positioned themselves using their unique sounds derived from the cultural music they export.
“Language is such a unique gift that when infused in music, brings out a rich rhythm, you see how people like Tubaba have creatively infused Idoma, and sometimes, Tiv, into his songs. Those are my best of his offerings.”
Other artistes who have also used the not so common languages include Jeremiah Gyang, who is exploring Taroh in his songs. There is also Datala, a cultural artiste from Jos, who has served as massive influences as well.
“I feel like language is our essence and its expression is just so special. I have always admired the way other Africans have come to use their languages in art and exported it to us despite our lack of understanding of what is being said. I have also dreamed of one day, making such music, and positioning my own tribe on the world language map in the same way Swahili, Zulu, French and Mandarin are listed along with Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.
“I think the time is now and I’m excited to see what the response will be like. It will probably take time, but I see it catching on, I will keep exploring this as my music grows,” the singer enthused.
After years of working behind the scenes as public relations personnel for record labels, artistes and public figures, also as a business development executive in various corporate capacities since her first ever single released in 2003, Hembadoon is set to release her album project in 2021
She currently lends her expertise in a Lagos based international distribution company as Artiste & Label Services Director, where she oversees distribution enhancement and artiste repertoire.
