Never before have I known an artist in such a rich Luo cultural mix. The very first time I reviewed her part in the fashionable ONE Luo project that is taking this eastern African hemisphere by storm, I announced that this singer has her dholuo grammar upscaled.
Unlike other dholuo stars who chose one lingo and stuck to it, Eddah is wavering. Benga star Collela Mazee after migrating to the South of the lake turned his back on River Yala lingo. But Dholuo rumba giant Ochieng Kabaselleh unashamedly stuck to lower river dhoya (Nzoia) upon river Yala accent.
I had noticed this about Eddah. I pointed it out, but she let it slide. It is with this new hit scorching the airwaves that she twisted again in her lyrics. So, I quickly made a call to find out if she was under the influence of a resident tutor (Justice Richard Otieno Kwach jab at Khaminwa who was married to a woman from the mountain during the SM Otieno case).
She told me that she does not have a resident tutor. However, her mum is Nyalego. Her children are Kanyada clan, and she is Kanyamwa clan. For those new to Luo genealogy, Ancestor Nyada is a son of Ugenya the ancestor of Ugenya clan people. Nyada hang around Alego clan people. So, Eddah is a melting pot of Luo genealogy. In fact, she boasts of the three instalments of the exodus of Jok Owiny, Jok Ojok and Jok Omolo in her (ref Luo of Kenya book by Stephen Osieyo).
So as much as she is tortured in this classical mix, she is the future of the Luo community as clans will become a cocktail the more the north south divide becomes erased. Gone are the days of the clear marker of Luo Union FC and Gor Mahia FC.
In this latest song the give away was her insistence on Kaka Itima. She was easily found out because she slipped in the grammatical structure of preceding it with the prefix “Nyere.” In which case the next words should have been “Kaka Ituma.” Not “Kaka itima.”
Once she said “Nyere” then she had to stick to her maternal tutelage of “ituma.” Forget about the Kanyamwa itima. Unless she wanted to use the suffix of “owada.” However, I understand her predicament that the emphasis of a continuous tense in Luo grammar cannot just fit into the English structure.
How about the music? Just out of sight. To be honest anything by these young producers like Vicky Pon Dis is way ahead of my time. Sometimes light-years ahead of yesteryears.
The way the instruments are introduced are foreign and fresh to my ears of six decades of keen listening to music. Every instrument is carefully handheld into the song. Of course, they are hand played but you know what I mean. Take for example the introduction of the bass guitar and the foot drum. You just notice that “hey we have company here!”
Then there is this wicked guitarist. I don't know his name to pay him his due accolades. Somehow this guitarist was infected by the dholuo grammatically conflicted environment around him and took the cue of a conflicted song. So, like a Latino string guitar player he weaves his magic around Eddah with lightning licks so careful as if walking on eggshells. Sometimes running away, then coming back. This goes on for a while until Eddah exhausts her lines. Then the guitarist erupts with a full metal jacket. He punishes the steel wires, contorting the sounds, makes the guitar weep like a Jimi Hendrix possessed in a Luo song and trails the song with the sound of a wounded guitar whimpering in steel sounds.
The presence of producer Vicky Pon Dis seems to inspire a possessed presence from the audio-visual guys. Just to complete the scene this is a Luo man named Malik. I should be the last to complain. My own ancestral grandfather was a man called Waljak son of Ugenya. He was only nicknamed Kager (for Jo Ugenya Kager) because in 1600AD he led a rear-guard army that floored the great warrior Owiny Sigoma of Alego clan. Hence the adage, “Okoko manene okayo pier Owiny Sigoma.” (the male ant the bit the ass of Owiny Sigoma). As ja Ugenya Kager I am a descendant of Waljak Ochieng Ger son of Ugenya, I should be the last to question Malik's name.
Malik does a wonderful job here. For those who read the title of the song and expected a raunchy video, Tough luck. The scene locator picked a leafy suburb with Victorian structures and backdrop water scene to remind all that even though shot in Nairobi, the spirits of the River Nile people are at work. The dancing by Eddah is strait laced. There is nothing steamy about it. If you were watching the video expecting a steaming viewing like Tina Turners steamy windows etc., then I am sorry. It is a viewing strait laced from sex. Go elsewhere. And clever Malik shoots skywards. Something that even Elvis Pressley guys did not consider when shooting him from the waist.
When the song is tailing off and Eddah is walking up the stairs, there is nothing indecent here. That ladies and gentleman is a Luo love symphony in my eyes.
Before I go, I had a problem with the song. The song is about every little thing in newfound love. I loathe artists like Beyonce who tell fans to do one thing while they do the opposite. It is the reason I switch off when people do a rendition of the song, Ndaya by the great Mpongo Love (my only tiny gripe with Mpongo Love). Mpongo Love preached monogamy but was never married but had 5 children. That is not the point as she corrected me. Eddah explained to me gently but firmly that it is practically impossible for a woman’s heart to Love more than one person.
I think we are done here.
