Music Around the World: Angola

The next stop on the Audio Aesthetics World Tour is the Central African nation of Angola. With the Atlantic Ocean to its left and the nation of Zambia on its right, Angola has a lot of history, a lot of culture, and a lot of good music to listen to. Now for our quick Info Dump:

-Capital City: Luanda

-Official Languages: Portuguese, Chokwe, Kikongo, Kimbundu, Umbundu

-Government: Unitary dominant-party presidential constitutional republic, currently under the leadership of President João Lourenço

-Declared their independence from Portugal in November 1975, ratified their current constitution in January 2010

-Land Area: 481,400 square miles (22nd largest nation in the world)

-Population: 31,127,674 estimated as of 2020 (46th largest nation in the world)

-Religion: 56.4% Roman Catholicism, 23.4% Protestant, 13.6% other Christian denominations, 4.5% traditional faiths, 1.1% other affiliation, 1% no religious affiliation

-Drive on the right side of the road

Traditional musical styles to Angola include Kilapanda, Semba (cautionary tales or everyday stories with witty lyricism), Kizomba (slower, sensuous party/dance music), Kuduro (uptempo, danceable, and high energy), and Rebita. The nation has a history of its musicians being targeted during the battle for independence from Portugal, so a lot of well-known musicians from Angola have political themed songs in their repertoires. As with many of the other countries I've highlighted so far, I knew next to nothing about Angolan music and didn't know what to expect from it, but this week has been a lot of fun researching and listening and I'm super excited to share my finds with you.

Não Me Toca by Anselmo Ralph (written by A. Ralph, N. Klasszik)

Anselmo Cordeiro, better known by his stage name Anselmo Ralph, was born and raised in Angola before moving to the United States to attend college in New York. An R&B and Kizomba artist, he has released nine studio albums and multiple singles since 2004. As I notated above, being a Kizomba artist insinuates that Ralph typically leans toward a more romantic style of song. Não Me Toca (Don't Touch Me translated from Portuguese) was featured on Ralph's 2012 album A dor do cupido (translated to Cupid's Pain). The song definitely has an R&B feel to it while mixed with the Kizomba sound to create something a little different than American ears may be used to but will probably still like quite a bit. A rough translation of the lyrics to English from the original Portuguese is below.

And you said I was innocent, baby/And it wasn’t that man you said you were/But your jealousy put cotton in your ear/I told you I loved you and you clueless/I was called a donkey for dancing to your song/But I didn’t care and I dedicated myself wholeheartedly/And the rest of the world I didn’t want to know/I made you my world and I did everything to see/Even if it was a smile on you, it was already good/My phone and email, you had the PIN/I gave you a thousand reasons to trust me/But none of that was enough for you/So now don’t touch me, I don’t wanna kiss/Don’t touch me, I don’t want to know hugs/Don’t touch me, I don’t want to know about your love/So now it doesn’t touch me, I don’t want to know if it does so well/Don’t touch me, I don’t want to know if it’s so bad/Don’t touch me, but I’m always the bad guy

Mona Ki Ngi Xica by Bonga (written by J. Barceló de Carvalho)

José Barceló de Carvalho, better known by his stage name Bonga, is an Angolan Semba singer and songwriter. Born in the Bengo province of Angola, he has seen a 49 year career and released 31 studio albums even while being exiled to the Netherlands in the early 1970s for speaking out on behalf of Angola's independence from Portugal. Mona Ki Ngi Xica (translated from Kimbundu to The Child I'm Leaving Behind) was featured 1987 compilation album Angola. I really enjoyed this song a lot from the super chill guitar to Bonga's really smoky sounding vocals. A rough translation from the original Kimbundu is below.

Attention/I’m in mortal danger/And I’ve already warned you/She will stay here and I will go away/This child of mine/Evil people are after her/This child of mine/On a tide of misfortune/God gave me this offspring/That I brought into the world/And she will stay here/When I am gone

Angola Avante by National Anthems Orchestra (written by M. Alves Monteiro, R. Vieira Días Mingas)

The national anthem of Angola, which translates to Angola Onward in English, was adopted by the nation in 1975 after it achieved its independence from Portugal. Composed by Manuel Alves Monteiro and with lyrics by best-selling Angolan writer Rui Alberto Vieira Días Mingas, the song makes references to the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and encourages the citizens to continue moving towards the future for the good of the nation. A translation of the lyrics from the original Portuguese is below.

Oh Fatherland, we shall never forget/The heroes of the Fourth of February/Oh Fatherland, we salute your children/Who died for our Independence/We honor the past and our history/As by our work we build the New Man/Forward, Angola/Revolution through the power of the People/A United Country, Freedom/One People, one Nation

Boda by Paulo Flores (composer unknown)

Paulo Flores is another Semba musician from Angola who sings in both Portuguese and Kimbndu. The father of four is the peace ambassador of the capital city of Luanda and has released 15 studio albums since 1988. I wasn't able to find a lot of information on him or on his song Boda, which features Chico Flores and was featured on his 2015 album O País Que Nasceu Meu Pai (The Country My Father Was Born). This song was a fun bop to listen to, though, even if I couldn't find a good translation of the lyrics.

Muato Wa N' Ginjila by Teta Lando (composer unknown)

Alberto Teta Lando was an Angolan musician of Bakongo heritage. Born in Mbanza Congo, he performed in both Portuguese and Kikongo language throughout his career before he passed away in 2008 due to cancer. He's well known within Angola and Portugal but not as much outside of those countries, which is a shame because Muato Wa N' Ginjila was really fun to listen to. I was not able to find a good translation of the lyrics, but it's definitely worth a listen anyway.

Reza Madame by Titica (written by A. Abdizzy)

Titica was born Teca Garcia in the capital city of Luanda, Angola. The Kuduro musician chose her stage name, which is the Portuguese word for "worthless or useless" as a sort of clapback to the abuse and hatred she was subjected to as a transgender woman. This song was not necessarily my favorite that I listened to all week, but mainly because house/club type music isn't exactly my favorite genre no matter who the artist is. Titica definitely does the definition of Kuduro justice, because Reza Madame (or Pray Madam) is very upbeat, very energetic, and very easy to dance to. Featured on Titica's 2018 album Pra Quê Julgar (To Judge in English), a rough translation of the lyrics from the original Portuguese is below.

I peak one point, always moving them/Butt is great, Godzilla type/Forget the hook, fish with grenade/Any language, I am spoken cat/Today, hardness doesn’t settle/He kept an eye on the bud until it slipped/Nobody holds me nor catches me/Bang after bang until the bag gets jealous/I’ll make you stay faithful without you having to open a church/Eye that gourd, the other gourd, the other gourd/Brute mendocapis, brute mendocah/Look, I’ll have/Okay, is caring/Okay, is caring/So see you, kiribá/So see you, kiribá/Kill baby, kill/Kill baby, kill/Pray madam, pray/Pray, madam, pray/Pray madam, pray/Pray madam, pray/Kneeled, have to pray

Sofrimento by Waldemar Bastos (written by W. Bastos)

Mona Ki Ngi Xica was probably my favorite song this week, and Sofrimento (Suffering in English) was my second. Waldemar Bastos was a Fado/Afropop musician born in M'banza-Kongo, Angola. He ended up emigrating to Portugal in the early 1980s to escape the civil war for Angolan independence and released 6 studio albums in his 38 year career. Sadly, he passed away just a few months ago in August 2020 due to cancer. Sofrimento was featured on Bastos' 1998 album Preta Luz (Black Light in English), and a rough translation of the lyrics from the original Portuguese is below.

For what pain, why hate so much/If we are brothers that we have, that we have, that we have to hold hands/Look at the suffering, look at the suffering that comes from within our land is dying/Look at the torment, look at the torment that comes from within our land is suffering too much

As always, my hope for you is that you found some interesting, intriguing, and enjoyable new music to listen to like I did. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!