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The African subcontinent houses a
number of musical forms.
Swahili is the most commonly used language in Africa. It is the
official language of the African union and the national language of
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Swahili music is renowned in several
areas of Africa. It shelters people belonging to various religions.
The most dominant of which are the Catholic Africans and the Muslim
Africans..
Therefore African music is under a heavy influence of diverse
cultures. Swahili music is largely influenced by Indian, African and
Arabic music. It is most prominent on the island of Zanzibar, and is
also called “tarabu”. African culture is widely known for the robust
and feisty nature of its art and culture. Along with being
energetic, swahili music is also soothing and peace driven.
It is played in weddings and other aesthetic festivals. Adhering to
this age old tradition, Swahili music is played in collaboration
with musical instruments. It acquires its distinct nature largely
due to the background score.
The musical instruments that are used are stringed instruments and
drums. It provides a sonorous effect to Swahili music. The relaxing
music when played in the background defines the very essence of
African culture. Swahili music is most popular in African areas such
as Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia and Tanzania. Ras nas , fondly
known as Nasibu is a famous Swahili musician and poet who belongs to
Tanzania.
He has several kudos to his name. Nasibu has performed in front of
nelson Mandela and has shared stage space with big names such as van
Morrison, bob Dylan and Lou reed. Since Swahili music is regional in
nature, it was in the past extremely difficult to acquire. But
now-a-days there are several internet sites that allow Swahili music
fans to download Swahili music. These music downloads are absolutely
free of any apparent or hidden cost. This comes as a boon to Swahili
music lovers.
Some sites do allow people to download Swahili music. Music videos
of Swahili music are also available on sites such as www.youtube.com
. other music forms that are popular in Africa are hip hop, reggae,
benga, rock and roll and euro pop. The mixture of Arabic, Indian and
native African flavors in Swahili music render it appealing to
people belonging to all age groups.
Africa has for a long time now been a favorite tourist destination.
The African safari is popular amongst tourists that come from the
west. The difference in the ethnicity of the African natives and
that of the western population brings out a taste of excitement and
the urge to come home to the African culture. And this is best done
by listening to the famous Swahili tunes and understanding Africa
through its lyrics. Everywhere in Africa one is bound to come across
the distance sound of Swahili music. Since it has now become so easy
to download Swahili music from the net natives of Africa can bring
closer their memories of home listening to the melodious tunes of
Swahili music.
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