Black Motion – Pula Yana Ft. Spice Drums, Tlabzin, Thabo Roy Mabogwane, Mpho Thobejane, Kabelo Maphotla Koma & Phuti Mahlaba Matlala

Pula is Setswana for rain, and the title points to rain falling. For a farmer, a trader at an open market or a family waiting on a good harvest, that is great news. In Botswana the word is even used as a national greeting and as the name of the currency, which shows how much it is valued. The album carries the same word in its name, so this record feels close to the heart of the project.

What I like is how the idea works at two levels. On the surface it is weather. Underneath it is hope, relief and the feeling that a dry season has finally ended. We understand that in Nigeria too, when the first rains arrive after months of heat and the whole neighbourhood seems to breathe out.

The record shares its theme with the album, Pula le Maatla, and the credit list includes Spice Drums, Tlabzin, Thabo Roy Mabogwane, Mpho Thobejane, Kabelo Maphotla Koma and Phuti Mahlaba Matlala. Pula Yana feels like a centrepiece, the track that puts the album’s central image into words.

It suits a cool, cloudy afternoon, when the air is heavy and everybody is hoping the sky finally opens.

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