Us’Hlangu Semfene – Uyolalema Thuneni

The wording reads like it is addressed to somebody. Titles that speak to a person or a location have a particular pull because they suggest a story with characters, someone being told something, a journey ending somewhere. Thuneni, with its ending, has the feel of a place name or a family name, the kind of word that carries weight for people who know the area and curiosity for people who do not.

I like that kind of title because it does not try to explain itself. It trusts the listener to be interested enough to find out. In Nigerian music we do something similar, where a title drops a name or a street and the song fills in the rest, and the specificity makes the song feel lived in. A general title can describe any story, but a specific one belongs to its own.

Among the other songs on the album, Uyolalema Thuneni brings in a sense of direction and destination, and that is useful in a project that otherwise deals with love, mourning and family. It gives the tracklist some movement.

Records with a name or place in the title often become favourites for people connected to that place. Somebody somewhere will hear it and feel like the song was written about their own backyard.

Download MP3