Depression in Africa is nothing compared to the West

This piece is not about statistics, medical correctness, truth and facts. It is born from a light touch chat I was having with a young musician I jammed with last weekend. Jamming, for those not used to music jargon, is when we musicians play for fun. In Jamaican English (“patois”) it means celebration.

The legendary Jamaican singer Bob Marley composed Jamming, allegedly inspired by a jam with Stevie Wonder. Wonder himself created Master Blaster inspired by Bob Marley. Jamming to musicians, is akin to blogs for writers. Catalyst. A writer without a blog these days resembles a bird minus trees to fly, perch and nest.

“We are jamming...

To think that jamming was a thing of the past...”

Marley released the song in his 1977 Exodus album. Jamming is not a thing of the past in 2017, it seems.

So?

I was jamming with this young terrific musician. I used to teach him ten years ago and now he has mushroomed into a multi instrumentalist managing horns, kit drums, guitars and bass. We toyed with jazz standards, Latin, reggae and African. Of course without missing Malaika, the celebrated, melodic East African ballad.

Melody is the secret of great songs.

Most people across the world do not even understand the Swahili lyrics. But still love and enjoy Fadhili William’s 1962 classic. There are many others, though. Girl from Ipanema (Antony Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, Brazil, 1962), Summertime (George Gershwin, USA, 1935), etc. Masterpieces of melody.

We skimmed through new stars (Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars) and hip-hop material. Eminem, Kendrick Lemar and J Cole (“These last two are considered the cream of serious hip hop at the moment,” the young artist, called Skat, explained) and ended with a celebrated rapper called 21 Savage.

Pause for a minute.

21 Savage?

I am from the era of Miriam Makeba, James Brown, Elvis Presley, Fela Kuti, Remmy Ongala, etc. I don’t recall names like Badass and Crazy. I guess in the seventies Punk and the Rolling Stones was considered poetic. But “Savage”?

21 Savage is quite popular.

“I am a savage to these niggas, but to her I am gentle.” (Feel It, 2016)

Pop into young people’s parties across London. You will experience bobbing and silent shuffling, happily, to 21 Savage. I am picturing old horses of my teenage generation “bumping” in 1975 if you can picture, disco. Come the 1980s and 1990s and there was soukous, reggae, kwasa kwasa (ancestor to ndombolo), salsa and lambada.

Music styles and genres evolve, nonstop.

Man. How did we end talking about depression then?

I casually asked Skat why is music not nurturing an ambience of fun and relaxation, anymore?

Music has a huge “psychological” role in society.

Features in all aspects of life, birth, marriage, death, birthdays, work, travel, parties, etc.

How come more depression in rich countries?

Why are so many people relying on medication to sleep, build an appetite and even tablets to have sex and general joy?

Skat laughed: “Don’t tell me you do not have depression in Africa with all the suffering and poverty, Uncle!”

Skat was right.

However, here is a society with nice, clean houses, cars, restaurants, strict laws and high standards of education and yet sadly there are frustrated folk. Africans have depression, but it is from economics and general physical misery.

“There must be something,” Skat said, putting his horn (saxophone) down.

“What something?”

Skat: “Dad and I went to visit family friends in the Caribbean last year (he still lives with his father after his mum passed away), and everyone knows how to enjoy themselves. These people do not have much, but they talk, shout, laugh. In the town we were staying (two of the Skat’s family members are expatriate teachers), everyone says hello, everyone talks to everyone. It feels like fun, work and play. I thought it was the loveliest life. Come back to London...Hey! I get into a bus, everyone stuck to their phones! I remember in a bus in the Caribbean it was like chatterboxes. People chatting away most of the journey. Bus is full up, sometimes it is scary, you think it shall overturn, but who cares? Walk along London roads, you cannot just talk to anyone. You have to be careful. People resemble statues. It may even be considered rude to talk to strangers. I am not surprised we get depressed.”

Skat hit the nail.

Quite common to hear someone died in their own huge, expensive house. That they lived alone in their old age. Single women. Single men. Lonely people. No one knew they had died for even a week and beyond. Add the cold weather. Not rocket science that folks get depressed. Human warmth, speech and interaction are so quintessential and healthy for all living species.