Sunnyman, Sevena, and A-Mac Don: The Faces of Young South Sudanese Music in Australia!
Sunnyman and Sevena the Governor and A-Mac Don: The Faces of Young South Sudanese Music in Australia!
By Kur Wel Kur, Australia
February 18, 2015 (SSB) — Uniqueness in fine art and music sells to us regardless of our ages, occupations or localities. When I first saw the Aboriginals (the first people of the land, Australia)’s art, I thought their paintings were just bunches of dots and zigzag lines without any meaning but its (Aborigines’ painting) richness in portraying the past and contemporary life, makes it an original and unique kind! Uniqueness comes rarely whether in art or in music and when it does come, it hits us hard, so talking about it, becomes a priority!
Today, Sunnyman, Sevena The Governor and A-Mac Don’s uniqueness dribbled on my writing journal. As much as I love movies, music stands side by side with drama (acting) in my mind; after I discovered them (music and drama) hand in hand, it didn’t surprise me because their bonding doesn’t equate to that of married couples but to that of identical twins whose their DNA reveals nothing different of each other except their fingerprints.
The era, 21stcentury, has become a century of modification (alteration/ copy and paste) and faking of everything; music is not exceptional. Everyone tries to hold a microphone but nothing comes out that touches the wretched souls. Without melting the souls of their fans, wannabe musicians sold no record (album) because a fan pays for a service well delivered not half done one.
However, Sunnyman, Sevena The Governor and A-Mac Don set the bar high! These kids migrated to Australia in their early teens; this means that their abilities to express their wills in English rank high but these kids submerged in their native language, Dinka. True heroism comes out in humility of embracing one’s self, one’s roots and one’s situations.
Their terminologies (words choice), organised melody, harmony, rhythm, rhymes flow in a pattern (a gauged music that has met the standards). Regardless of their ages, their concepts and philosophical ideas radiate out of their music in the highest level. For this reason, their music becomes transcendental and it creates mental images in audience or fans’ minds.
At this stage, I call upon you to examine Sunny man’s music by throwing “Cieng” (relationship) on the stage of what makes a music a good music; Cieng, an album whose Sunnyman aka Angui Wech Kelei, Sevena The Governor aka Gai Wal Nyok and A-Mac Don aka Aluong Majhok Mac Aluong, have collaborated in its production !
My cousin, Angelina Tequila Diyee informed me about the release and arrival of “Cieng”; I asked her a copy to listen if originality will roll out of it. To my satisfaction, the African’s therapeutic sound sent the healing waves to my nerves. I sequentially listened to the 18 songs in the album to identify the hits (according to me). I believe track 1 (Sarina featuring Governor), track 3 (Nyajarim= naughty girl featuring Young Low and Governor), track 7 (Cu dong ee no? =a question to parents who prefer suitors from villages over suitors from the western countries), and track 5 (Meth ee man thic = featuring single parents and their kids) stand out. Otherwise, all his (Sunnyman) tracks in the album are oasis of good feelings.
He (Sunny man) has definitely pacified the worried souls, demoralised hearts and has reminded the forgetful minds of parents to remember the youth in diaspora and allow them to marry the well cared for, village girls. Though Sunny Man set some songs in a youthful desires so they carry a raw, coarse language and nastiness of boyhood, he satisfied the targeted fans.
Their music opens the learning grounds for kids especially Dinka’s kids because English has corrupted their minds. They (kids) communicate their messages in English even at home with grandmothers with little understanding of English language. Sunnyman, Sevena the Governor and A-mac Don use modern instruments and music software to create their appealing beats so kids gravitate towards their (Sunnyman, Sevena The Governor and A-mac Don) music. Therefore, the kids take interests to learn their mothers’ tongue (Dinka).
The community has a responsibility to support these musicians who are supporting the community through their music. I believe if every household buys an album or attend concerts; they (musicians) will do better and our language (Dinka) will live because children own the history and language;without them (children), the history and language are useless.
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