Uganda’s GNL Zamba releases new album ‘The Spear’
What you need to know:
- The US- based GNL Zamba, says has spent 3 years pouring his personal and spiritual journey of growth into this album, which is to be released at a time when countries are grappling with the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic and divisive elections.
Kampala. Uganda’s hip hop artiste and Lugaflow pioneer GNL Zamba has this week released his latest album titled ‘Spear’, one that calls for triumphs in personal growth and collective solidarity.
The US- based GNL Zamba, says has spent 3 years pouring his personal and spiritual journey of growth into this album, which is to be released at a time when countries are grappling with the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic and divisive elections.
According to Zamba, ‘The Spear’ ties Uganda’s past together with present life in America, introducing an inspirational, creative vision of a future.
“The future is ancient. I want the whole world to sonically and spiritually travel back to their shared African origin,” says GNL.
He adds: Here is where all the answers lie. Most new Africans have never been to this shining through obscurity Come let’s gather the tribe Vibe in the spirit of Ubuntu we come alive. Liberty, freedom we subscribe Joy and the rhythm we prescribe Africa. It is hidden in a dimension only open to those with the gift to look far back enough that they can see the future.”
According to him people across the world are waking up to something new.
“People are longing for more connection, more love, equality and wisdom. Many are realizing now that what you actually need is thriving relationships and community to stay functionally sane. We’re asking: Are we just tools for data mining, or where is this all going? We’re seeking a level of consciousness that improves us as human beings. It’s time to go back to where it all began,” he says.
The new album weaves together different styles of music, with its roots in HipHop, including a body of Ugandan traditional music samples, and wings of rock music and punk.
The 11-track album features drums by Tony Austin, who has performed with Kamasi Washington and Lauryn Hill among others, and bass guitar by Dante Pascuzzo from the Grammy winning band Quetzal.
The Spear is a battle between dualities - chaos and peace, love and activism, past and present wrestling to strike a balance so the listener may find personal serenity and social actualization.
The album was produced at L’Atelier Studios Los Angeles by Fly Tucker, includes 11 tracks riffing on themes of African heritage, social change, personal and community empowerment. The opening track ‘Africa’ is an empowering call to action, recognizing the shared African heritage of all people and challenging listeners to find answers in their common roots.
‘Black Caesar’ is a hard hitting HipHop track, while ‘NRG’ is a spiritual, futurist love song. ‘Black Red Yellow Blue’ introduces traditional storytelling, but the story blends reality with a vision of the future.
‘Sweet Uganda’ (Star Taffa) brings the musical style full circle back to sampling Ugandan music in a HipHop track, just what GNL is celebrated for.
The title song, ‘The Spear’, draws on African (Bakiga tribe) dance tradition and calls for unity. ‘Zamba the Great’ on the other hand relays a typical contemporary HipHop sound, while ‘Zim Zim Bombo’ is based on a traditional Ugandan nursery song, coming back full circle once more to find empowerment in African roots.
GNL (Greatness with No Limits) Zamba rose to fame a decade ago in Kampala when he captivated the country with his unique concepts of storytelling, by building bridges that married tradition and urban culture through a series of EP and album releases including: Riddles of life Koi Koi (2009), Speaking Vernacular (2011), Uganda Yaffe (2013), I Am Zamba / Ceasar (2014) and Dreaming in Colour (2016), as well as many singles.
GNL Zamba’s lyrical skill sparked a new youth movement that brought HipHop from the underground to the mainstream in Uganda.
With his captivating stories and mastery of MC rhyming in the local Luganda language in a style known as “Lugaflow”, GNL defiantly put local languages in spaces where colonialism had robbed local populations of their indigenous pride.
His debut album Riddles of life Koyi Koyi was a crusade of activism, as he often said “our Languages are our wealth”.
