Danny Kubuya raps in Swahili. “If I were president I would make those who have nothing feel valued”
, takes to the stage wearing red sneakers and a blue cap turned backwards. He raps in Swahili. “If I were president, I would make those who have nothing feel valued.” “Yeah,” his backing group intone as they jiggle from side to side. “I would teach the people to look after our nation’s riches.” “Yeah,” repeat the boys behind him, slicing the air with outstretched fingers. “I would stop women from being raped.” The audience of three nod in approval.
That is partly because they are grounded in bitter experience. If Danny were president, he sings, he would plant more cassava so that nobody in Congo has to go hungry . He would bring electricity to a country where less than 1% of the rural population has electric light. He would stop the fighting in Rumangabo, a village where his aunt and cousins live that has been intermittently attacked by looting militia for over two decades.
From the moment Danny uttered his first rap, Mr Rubenga saw his potential. He had been roaming one of the shabbiest bits of Goma with another band member, Etienne Hodari, when they encountered a posse of street kids. “First we bought them drinks and biscuits, then we sat in a circle and asked them to sing or rap something for us,” says Mr Rubenga. “They were not shy, they like to think of themselves as gangsters.” Danny started showing up to the weekly classes.
Yet the country’s problems, exacerbated as they are by predatory and inept leaders, have provided inspiration for generations of lyricists. For their part, Life Song say they want to use music to “tap into people’s consciences”. One of their raps reminds the audience that those who sleep rough are really “just like us”.
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