{UAH} Pojim/WBK: INSIGHT: Musician whose influence still goes on - Magazines

http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/magazine/INSIGHT--Soften-spoken-artiste-with-lasting-influence/-/1840564/2711142/-/bdlhyi/-/index.html

INSIGHT: Musician whose influence still goes on

Dar es Salaam. People of my generation will always remember Paul Simon and his music associate Arthur Garfunkel. They were a very extraordinary duet just like the late Don and Phil Everly aka Everly Brothers. Simon and Arthur caught my attention after the release of the film The Graduate in 1967 and the evergreen sound track they produced. From that time onwards they become another of my favourite artistes.

Even when they went solo I still followed them and enjoyed their music. They did hit billboards, entertained a lot of fans and even other artistes reproduced their work into serenading instrumental music. And then suddenly in 1986, like a tsunami in the Kalahari Desert, Simon, a cool, soft spoken artiste, hits global headlines with his new album "Graceland"!

At that time I was a broadcaster with Radio Tanzania's External Service, whose mission was to project Tanzania outside our borders, promote African unity and support the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. I heard the news as presented by foreign media that Simon had discovered "South African music". What! I was exasperated and when the call was made by the ANC to boycott "Graceland" I responded to the call and banned Simon in all my programmes. How arrogant can he be!  

The anti-Simon campaign maintained that he defied the UN Resolution, which prohibited interaction with the colonial apartheid regime in sports and artistic expression.

To make matters worse Simon was exploiting these innocent South African artistes! And that he had bought from famous South African renowned artistes like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and was supported by distinguished artistes like Harry Belafonte and Paul McCartney!

There were protests everywhere. In 1986, we did not have the luxury of the internet and information was almost one way. It was not easy to balance information especially with artistes inside South Africa. All you heard was condemnation. I got to listen to the Graceland album in 1988 from the late Prof Seth Chachage, who had bought it from somewhere and smuggled it into Tanzania. Fortunately, for him the immigration officer did not know about Simon or the ban of the record.

I love music and so I listened to all the songs and was mesmerized by the blending of the South African and Western music in such a way that I had never heard before. I was impressed by this piece of art. I said to myself if only the Western media had said Simon was promoting South African music and sharing the platform with the African artistes, may be things would have turned out differently.

I had a feeling that Simon had been wrongly crucified and that I could swear nobody could buy Makeba! But since I didn't have the other side of the story I just enjoyed the music quietly boycotting the ban and feeling like traitor, just like all those multinational companies from the US or Europe that did business with apartheid South Africa ignoring the UNO resolutions.   

After I had long left Radio Tanzania I accidentally watched on TV a preview of a documentary "under the African skies" which was dedicated to Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) who featured in the song with that title in the album "Graceland". I saw this elderly guy speaking, just to realise it was Simon! The little I heard indebted me to write this article. I heard Simon say a friend of his gave him a cassette which had a South African song and that he played it over and over again when he was driving his car. Finally, he made a decision to go to South Africa and work with these gifted musicians. He asked for some advice from Harry Belafonte, who supported him, but warned that he must get permission and clearance from the ANC.

Simon said he did not see the logic of asking the ANC because as an artiste he was not partisan, he just wanted to interact with fellow artistes. He did not like it that artistes were always treated as if they worked for politicians.

He made his own arrangements from inside and outside South Africa and went down to South Africa, where he met some great artistes, composers and producers. He was attacked left and right for defying the UN Resolution, the ANC and other governments which had boycotted South Africa.

He stubbornly went ahead until his mission was accomplished inside apartheid South Africa and then returned to the US to do the mixing and editing with his producer. After that he dared make tours to several cities with all the artistes promoting the album, taking part in media interviews and letting his South African friends get a taste of freedom, many for the first time.

In 2011, he went back to South Africa to meet his friends and celebrate nearly 26 years of Graceland. Giants like Joseph Shabalala of the Ladysmith Black Mambazo said "When I was told Paul Simon a white man wants to see me I was curious and afraid at the same time. I had never been called by any white man before, but when he stretched his arms and hugged me I called him my long lost brother. He was very simple and sincere. There was no colour between us there.

We enjoyed ourselves like artistes." When interviewed artistes said they were not partisan and their music was for the motherland, they wanted the world to hear their music and voices. And for sure they spoke louder than politicians on the evils of colonial apartheid.

During one interview Simon said "Artistes are always treated as if they work for politicians just because politicians have the power and the money. Warriors and economists also want to dominate artists because artistes fall at the bottom like other citizens".

Simon pioneered this wonderful fusion of afro and western music and boycotted UN Resolution for a good cause. Now we know he never intended to exploit anyone as it was claimed.

There is more exploitation of the African intellectual property today than ever before. Scientists, producers, filmmakers, researchers are today openly and legally exploiting and feeding on the impoverishment of our people and corrupt officials who make it possible for them to exploit freely.

I do not know Simon personally, but I salute him today for the seed he planted in 1986. I apologise and ask for his forgiveness for misunderstanding his mission. He learnt early in life that people as people were innocent, but its politics, militarism and economy that made people turn against their own!. He made his point!

Marie Memouna Shaba is a Tanzanian socio-economic analyst in the context of Cultural Heritage

INSIGHT: Musician whose influence still goes on - Magazines
http://www.thecitizen.co.tz/magazine/INSIGHT--Soften-spoken-artiste-with-lasting-influence/-/1840564/2711142/-/bdlhyi/-/index.html‎

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