Nnekea is a wonderful AfroGerman singer songwriter. I think she would prefer me to describe her as a Nigerian artist residing in Germany, though. But this is how I perceived her and how I interpreted her music when I first heard her fantastic album a few months ago.
When I first discovered her through a friend I was surprised about her total commitment to the African cause in her music. As a child of a German mother and a Nigerian father I had interpreted her to be like most AfroGermans, i.e. having a German upbringing.
Not Nneka. She was born and raised in Nigeria. And not just that, she grew up in Warri, in the Delta region of Nigeria. A place in Nigeria where the terrible consequences of the oil industry for the local population is undeniable. She has seen all this with her own eyes as a child and teenager and now expresses it through her art.
Nneka came to Germany as a 19 year old and settled in the city of Hamburg. Although she stated in an Arte interview that she does speak German, she prefers to do her interviews in English. A language she feels more comfortable with.
Last year Nneka released a n album on which you will find a list of wonderful tracks ranging from genres like hip hop, reggae, soul, afrobeat and more. Her great voice brings you deep lyrics about globalization, love, Africa, poverty, identity, … it all feels very much authentic.
This summer she could be seen on many festivals throughout Europe. I saw her live at the Nice jazz Festival in the south of France. She was the first act of that day. Just her, a drummer, a bas, a guitar and a synth.
She brought us a perfect and heavily emotional set with not only songs from her album but also new tracks. She caught the audience right through their soul with music most of them never had heard before. The intensity and honesty she brought in her songs was so beautiful it made me think of the video’s I had seen from Bob Marley concerts; Nneka is very real and makes music that literally comes from the heart and the soul.
I advice everyone who loves good soul music to check out what she does. Several videos and interviews can be seen on YouTube. And here your can read an article from the Daily Telegraph in 2006.
Nneka - Heartbeat
Geüpload door FourMusic. - Muziek video's, interviews met artiesten, concerten en meer.
Loving all your artist finds... most I'm not at all familiar with, so I appreciate the introductions. Keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
It's interesting that you identify her as AfroGerman, despite the fact that Nneka identifies herself as Nigerian. Why are you forcing what you perceive to be Nigerian (or not) on her? Surely this is an example of how African/black people have had other people's perceptions forced upon them as seen throughout history?
ReplyDeleteCan't someone who is Nigerian produce this genre of music or must they simple stick to original African rhythms?
And why is it so surprising that she is so committed to the African cause??
Zorita, you misunderstood me. Before I knew who she really was I thought she was a Black German girl (I could see she was half white, half black, and I knew she came from Hamburg, nothing more). So yes, I have drawn conclusion too fast based on my knowledge of other AfroGerman artists who define themselves as such. Therefore I was surprised. Knowing her history afterwards made it clear to me that she is more Nigerian than German.
ReplyDeletePlease don't misunderstand me, i don't want to categorize her in any way. 'Afroeuropean' is not even a category, it's a reference point. She is just a Nigerian girl with a German mother. But that doesn't really matter. She just makes GREAT music!
And don't get me wrong, I know Nigerian music and African music at large and know it's not just drums, please! Keziah Jones and Wale Oyejide to name just two ...
I'm sorry if my post gave the impression that I have a stereotyped idea of what people are. That wasn't my purpose at all. I just wanted people to discover Nneka.
Take care
actually Nneka's mother is not white German woman, her mom is a biracial Nigerian and her father is a black Nigerian
ReplyDeletei changed that in my article. thx for the info, in the daily telegraph it's mentioned that her mother is half German. I don't know more about it, and it is true that it actually doesn't matter. It's just me who was focused on that issue when I first saw her.
ReplyDeleteit's definitely so that she defines herself as Nigerian, so who am I to say anything about that? She is a Nigerian singer living in Hamburg, Germany. And I love her sound!
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ReplyDeleteVery Good Article Thanks For sharing!
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