The festive season is a time for families and friends to come together, share special moments, and have tons of fun! This year is particularly unique as many have been living apart, and connecting with family and friends matters more than ever before. But, what’s a festive celebration across Africa without music and dance? On Friday, 4 December, Boomerang will release the last four songs from the second edition of the Boomerang Tunes playlist, sung in English, Pidgin English, and Swahili.
Kicking off the fun fest is Furaha!!!, a Swahili composition by Hugh Davidson and Nekoye Ommeh. Hugh and Nekoye are both accomplished artists in their own right: For the last fifteen years, Hugh has been writing and recording music professionally and has also performed in and produced for bands during this time. “I had a blast! It’s really fun being more playful with music. There was also the added benefit on working on songs in isiZulu and isiXhosa, so I got to work on my language skills a bit more as well,” commented Hugh. Nekoye Ommeh is a Kenyan artist and academic who has showcased her work in different corners of the world and launched her debut album entitled ‘Baba Speaks’ in 2010. “These new Boomerang Tunes are really sweet and authentic, and it has been a whimsical experience creating them in conjunction with Boomerang in location-specific languages, allowing more and more kids across Africa to play and learn in their mother tongue,” added Nekoye.
On the 11th and 18th of December, Boomerang will launch Best Friend (Nigerian Pidgin English) and Going to School (English), composed by African music sensation Zinnia Basame. Zinnia stated, “Working on the Boomerang Tunes project felt like going back to kindergarten and learning how to be a kid all over. It took me on a journey to the softest part of my heart, and that felt really nice. It was great working on it. ”The ‘Overload’ hitmaker, who is of Cameroonian and Nigerian descent, is no stranger to the world of arts, coming from a musical family. Her mega-hit produced by Nigerian artist and vocal coach, Muno, has bagged five awards across the continent. “Language is definitely a compass when seeking to respectfully navigate different people and cultures, so yes I truly believe these are major steps in representing Africa’s diversity,” Muno says.
To close off the festive marathon, and in the spirit of togetherness, My Big Family, composed by South African, Thendo Emmanuel Ramulondi, will launch on 27th of December. “Working on the songs was challenging, but exciting at the same time,” explained Thendo. “The challenging part was to put myself in a child’s shoes and to create something fun and happy in line with Boomerang’s vision. But knowing that the music I’m creating had the potential to make some children happy was fulfilling. ”The music bug hitThendo, who is an electrical engineer by trade, at the age of 10 when he was first introduced to keyboards. The versatile Thendo now composes radio jingles and score music for storybook readings and has also become a household name in the South African gospel scene.
Following the successful launch of the first four songs in isiZulu, isiXhosa and English in September, the new fun, playful, and easy to remember sing-along melodies, performed by local five to seven-year-old kids singing the tunes in their authentic languages, will be added to the playlist on Boomerang’s YouTube channel and website from Friday, 4 December.
So why not let your little ones sing and dance along with Boomerang Africa this festive season, and don’t blame us if these catchy tunes get stuck in your head..
