Every trip should have a soundtrack, so we've asked CJ Fahey with Nat Geo Music to select artists from their catalog whose songs will inspire you to get going.
In two years working for Nat Geo Music I've seen thousands of music videos from all over the world and "Azania" by South African rapper Zoro stands out as one of my favorites. "Azania" is an alternative name for South Africa used by African nationalists beginning in the late 1970s. The catchy beat and colorful imagery belie lyrics that speak to the struggle of people living in townships in a country with a history of racial oppression:
"Hunger, crime, AIDS is finishing us / We're diminishing / They're laughing at us ... Azania / We grew up hard / We grew up hard."
Zoro himself grew up in the township of Guguletu outside Cape Town and from an early age identified with resistance to the apartheid regime. In 1989 he was shot by a policeman while trying to stop a fight and was paralyzed from the waist down. Through determination and faith he regained the ability to walk after one year in a wheelchair.
South Africa is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010. If any of you are lucky enough to travel there, you'll probably hear some great music along the way. Just don't assume that every song with a catchy beat is a lighthearted dance tune.
[Video link]
In two years working for Nat Geo Music I've seen thousands of music videos from all over the world and "Azania" by South African rapper Zoro stands out as one of my favorites. "Azania" is an alternative name for South Africa used by African nationalists beginning in the late 1970s. The catchy beat and colorful imagery belie lyrics that speak to the struggle of people living in townships in a country with a history of racial oppression:
"Hunger, crime, AIDS is finishing us / We're diminishing / They're laughing at us ... Azania / We grew up hard / We grew up hard."
Zoro himself grew up in the township of Guguletu outside Cape Town and from an early age identified with resistance to the apartheid regime. In 1989 he was shot by a policeman while trying to stop a fight and was paralyzed from the waist down. Through determination and faith he regained the ability to walk after one year in a wheelchair.
South Africa is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010. If any of you are lucky enough to travel there, you'll probably hear some great music along the way. Just don't assume that every song with a catchy beat is a lighthearted dance tune.
[Video link]
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