Decolonizing the Mind Through Song

For post-colonial African musicians, decolonization became an imperative. Singing in one’s native language was not creative expression alone, but also a reclamation of indigenous culture and identity. In Decolonising the Mind, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o makes a case for African literature to be written in African languages. He also points out that singers and musicians have resisted mental colonization by retaining indigenous musical practices while promoting innovation: ‘These singers pushed the languages to new limits, renewing and reinvigorating them by coining new words and new expressions, and in generally expanding their capacity to incorporate new happenings in Africa and the world’ (1986:23). This article explores emphasis on African languages by African musicians as a form of agenda setting in communication as theorized by Scheufele (2000), focusing on the performance practices of ‘Mama Africa’ Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) and more recent artists influenced by Makeba. By making introductions to her songs and explaining the Xhosa culture in the context of Apartheid, Makeba primes her audience to hear the lyrics she sings as formed from intelligible language instead of alliterative nonsense. For many African singers since, singing in one’s native language (and other African languages) has become an intentional act of decolonisation and a recognizable signifier of pan-African identity for African audiences. This article studies performance choices, including singing in Xhosa and Zulu, and their significant impact on future musicians, the robustness of African languages and cultural identity formation.