Black Motion – Ngonyama Ft. Spice Drums, Imacsoul, Tshwane Gospel Choir, Mr. Mercedes, Thabo Roy Mabogwane, Mpho Thobejane, Malusi Menzi Dlodlo and Mercedes Mahlatse Boshego

Ngonyama is Zulu for lion, and in South Africa the animal stands for strength, leadership and royalty. Many of us here in Nigeria feel the same about it. We put lions on flags, football crests and the walls of compounds, because the animal says power without needing a speech. Calling a record by that name sets a high bar before the first second.

The credit list is where this one gets interesting. Spice Drums, Imacsoul, Tshwane Gospel Choir, Mr. Mercedes, Thabo Roy Mabogwane, Mpho Thobejane, Malusi Menzi Dlodlo and Mercedes Mahlatse Boshego all appear beside the South African duo. That is a crowd by any standard. A gospel choir sitting inside an album that otherwise lives in dance territory suggests the project wants to carry spiritual weight too, and the word lion fits that, since strength in many African traditions is tied to faith and ancestry.

Ngonyama is on Pula le Maatla, whose title in Setswana speaks of rain and strength. The two ideas sit together comfortably, one gentle and life-giving, the other bold and commanding.

It suits the morning you walk into an important meeting, or a night when you need to remind yourself that you are bigger than the problem in front of you.

Download MP3