Today I want to dedicate this column to One Blood. Their song, ‘Warakata’, is arguably the biggest song in the country right now.
Whoever wants to dispute that is probably just bitter. In the words of Ongoro Nomundu… Let’s celebrate each other, and honestly I am going to give credit where it is due.
Here is the key question: How did One Blood, a traditional Oviritje group manage to get every Surukus, Tjavanga, Kamati and Robert to dance to one song in every corner of this country? Allow me to tell you how they managed that feat.
I’ve been on this platform for years preaching the art of presenting a simple product. Namibians hate an overly complicated song. Namibians love to dance.
Namibians love it when you can connect with them on their level. Namibians want to sing along. Namibians don’t really care if you’re big or not. Namibians will accept your song and elevate it if you speak to THEM!
The song (‘Warakata’) is simple. The song is straightforward. The song is crossover a song. People from all walks of life can dance to it. People from all walks of life can sing along to it. Disk Jockeys around the country can play this song at ANY event and EVERYBODY is bound to go crazy!
Radio presenters have since the beginning of time always told artists one thing: “If the song is good, it will sell itself”.
‘Warakata’ is not an incredible song, but it is a good song, and it is doing all the work for One Blood. One Blood has been getting gigs and will continue to get gigs for the rest of the year just to perform that one song. Ogopa’s Sula once said that one song is all it takes to cause havoc.
That can be you but nooooooooooooooooooooo, you want to talk about how cool you are with girls, alcohol and weed mos. That can be you but nooooooooooooooooooo you want to be over emotional on a song mos. That can be you but nooooooooooooooooooo you only believe in making music for Windhoek mos.
That can be you but noooooooooooooooooo you want to copy from the Naija style mos. That can be you but nooooooooooooooooooo you want to copy the South African style mos. That can be you but noooooooooooooooooooooo you are too cool to speak to your OWN people mos.
The reason songs such as Kaptein’s //iris, Kalux’s Netira and D-Square’s Egeero have gone viral is because it speaks to Namibians. Like K-Bozz once said, get your numbers at home before attempting to hit the international market.
You cannot get your numbers by targeting the international market. International audiences will never respect you if you do not have your numbers at home.
What does One Blood’s incredible feat for an Oviritje group say about Namibians and music? That local is STILL lekker. It will not change anytime soon. Do not be fooled by the Naija, South African and American sound flooding the market.
Until the next loop, we say “GMTM”!
Song of the week: DUH! Obviously One Blood – ‘Warakata’
Flop of the week: Dr Alfons ‘Better than Life’NSK is a professional MC. For bookings, email naobebsekind@gmail.com@naobebsekind (twitter)