There are people who would belittle Kanibal’s artistry, impact and importance at every turn when he was alive. These people would at every turn question our fixation on the phenom that is Kanibal. I experienced these people as close as my work circles. I saw Facebook posts trying their level best to belittle Kanibal’s brilliance. One went as far as challenging me to list “one song that went national”. Guess what? These are the same people who dropped RIPs all over the place when the news hit that Kanibal passed on.
These people were on radio leading tributes and kamastag re-calling the life of Kanibal. We live in a weird society honestly, where no one can ever stand by their BS. Listen, if you were one of the people that thought Kanibal was some worthless trash in every aspect…stand by your truth. I am saying “were’’ because 99% of the people who belittled Kanibal’s stature when he was alive are now mos now kama on that RIP…” He was brilliant” tip. Yes, I believe that one is allowed to change position on matters. I was always of the opinion that if you can walk me through your logic, I am willing to analyse my stance and if found wanting, I will be man enough to change my stance based on the logic that was presented to me.
But in this case, screw that! screw whoever kamastag now wants to change their stance on Kanibal. Screw you if you were part of the clique that at every point would belittle Kanibal and now all of the sudden have a change of heart and stance by honouring his stature. I will respect you if you stand by your BS (that Kanibal-according to you was trash). When he was alive, I found myself in stupid, stupid debates about what this man has done for this industry. Debates about how this man has shaped the sound in this country. Debates about how this man popularised a genre frowned upon by corporate Namibia and broader society. In as much as one’s work must speak for itself…these people were hell-bent on turning a blind eye on Kanibal’s work and influence and simply slander the man’s artistry, impact and importance.
Kanibal was not perfect. Screw it…no one is. Matter of fact, in a heated debate with Kanibal a few years back, when he was still at Fresh and I with One FM, I criticised him for not wanting to open up to others when it comes to his production. I was of the opinion that he needed to open up to other brilliant minds to amplify his artistry. His music and sound ran the risk of sounding monotonous. Kanibal had a terrible habit of wanting to do everything by himself with his music. He produced his own beats. He wrote his own music and he was always uncomfortable with welcoming other creatives into his space of creation. He never liked the idea of someone writing for him. He never liked the idea of someone taking charge of his voice and sound.
Only recently did he start opening up. So yes…trust me, I know he was not perfect. But what you will not do is deny the man’s brilliance with both music and radio, hence why I would get so heated and touched by these people who say all the BS in the world about his artistry while he was alive and now riding on the RIP wave. This brings me to my next point…let’s celebrate brilliance while they still walk this earth. Let’s celebrate our own. Let’s amplify our own. When I wrote about DJ Soso the other week, everyone was making fun of it. The mere thought of celebrating our own tickles Namibians. It’s crazy! Kanibal…You were ahead of your time. Rest in Power King K!
Until the next Loop, we say #GMTM
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