Cool Stuff no. 3: Africa

We have explored many cultures so far but one of the most exciting to me is African culture. Throughout school I found myself intrigued by African culture, specifically because it was so headstrong that it greatly impacted and changed the culture of America when slaves were first brought from the Africas to the Americas in 1619. In my middle and high school history classes, we didn't specifically study the music of the African culture, but more of the songs created by those that were displaced America. Because of this is was very cool to learn about the roots of the people who created the songs that we learned in class.

When researching countries south of the Saharan desert I immediately took a liking to Cameroon! Simply because it is very similar to my name! So, this led to my first question! "What is Cameroon's most popular music?"

     Mr.Leo is the most known Cameroon artist. He is an urban artist who has been named the best artist! I listened to some of his music as well as watched a few music videos and I found them very entertaining! I don't really know of an artist in America that I can accurately compare him to, but I really enjoyed his music. Most of it was upbeat, and since it is in French and English, I could pick out some of the pieces of his music. Most of it was love music, for example, Jamias Jamias is about how it is never too late to love and how he would die for the person that he loves. 


My second question was brought upon when I got my research results from the first question! What language is used in Cameroon Africa?  
    FRENCH AND ENGLISH are the main languages spoken in Cameroon! Although it is reported that there are at least 250 languages alive in Cameroon, but since French and English are the official languages, they are used most often. A whopping 83% of the population is of French descent and only about 17% of English descent (and this number is also decreasing with time). Since there is so much diversity of language, communication is hard between the general population, very few citizens speak both French and English, and some speak neither! The country really strives to become bilingual but it has been deemed a difficult task. 

This information was obtained from Wikipedia! 

My last question or topic of interest is: What are some of the more traditional instruments used in Cameroon music? 

    - Tom Tom's (among other drums)                 - Castanets 
    - Jingle Calabashes                                         - Tuning forks 
    - Tamboruines                                                 - Balaphones 

*Of these instruments, found the calabashes most interesting! I have a video of it attached below! Also, all of this information (Excluding the video) was obtained from the website: Music in Africa!

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY! 


Comments

  1. faith sidesOctober 4, 2020 at 2:01 PM

    Great post Cameron! I think that is really cool how you found a type of music that is similar to your name. The only type of music that ever uses my name or is in relation to my name is gospel music- but I am cool with that. Those are some pretty cool calabash's too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gracie Crocker :)October 5, 2020 at 8:10 AM

    I love how you connected the type of music to your name, I wonder if there is any Graacie or Graciee music out there lol... the music was super up beat and for sure put me in a better mood while I was listening to it! Great blog as always :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. EmorieOctober 5, 2020 at 8:17 AM

    Really loved your interest in Cameroon! I liked that you included statistics about the language spoken in Africa. I had no idea that 83% speak French, but only 17% speak English. I loved that you included the different types of instruments in Cameroon, and that you took a liking to the artist, Mr. Leo. I listened to his song, and it was absolutely beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Grace MontgomeryOctober 6, 2020 at 6:08 AM

    Hey! I love your blog so much, I thought that the first song that you put was so interesting and I loved his voice so much. I really appreciated that you put the translation in of the name of the song. The calabashes is a very interesting instrument, I noticed that one of the musicians is only really using his fingertips on the instrument which I feel like you do not normally see when watch a drum being played.

    ReplyDelete

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