Singing Our Unsung Heroes (Re)Membering Manu Dibango, Celebrating Cameroon Music

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nkwi, Gam.

Language:

English

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource 257 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Langaa RPCIG, 2021.

Summary:

This book collates thematic reflections on Cameroon music exalting Manu Dibango, one of the first-generation Cameroonian musicians, who bowed to Covid-19 on 24 March 2020. Granted his enormous contribution to Cameroon, African and world music, one would have expected that scholarly books and encyclopaedia of recognition would be written in his honour prior to his demise. However, that was not the case. Like many other musicians in Cameroon, seemingly nothing substantial has been written about Manu Dibango and his music, with the exception, paradoxically, of his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee. What exists on this towering and humble giant of Cameroonian and African superstardom is scanty and mostly in the form of grey literature. We must learn to immortalise our artists and popular intellectuals beyond their entertainment value and the photo opportunities that we have with them in their lifetime. The inspiration for this book was drawn from the conviction that one of the best ways of honouring and valorising Manu Dibango would be by taking the cue from his music and then collecting essays generally on music, its role and impact in Cameroon, Africa and beyond.

Contents:

The Talking Drums of Black & White Nightclub and the Musical Names of Gender Hegemony

Conclusion: Giving Peace a Chant and Chanting Peace a Gift

Chapter 7

Longue Longue: History, Identity and Music and the 2016 Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

Introduction: Origins of Music and history in Cameroon

The Evolution and features of Political folk-songs and music in Anglophone Cameroon.

Why Longue Longue-the Choice of Artist

How did we Get Here

Conclusion

Chapter 8

Epilogue: Which way Forward?

The Unfinished Business

References

Back cover

Historical Nexus of Francois Misse Ngoh's U go Cry in Post-Colonial Cameroon

Chapter 6

Singing, Dancing, Listening and Interpreting the Mimboland Unsayable and Unwritable: The Power of Music and the Music of Power in Francis B. Nyamnjoh's Oeuvre

Introduction

Interdependencies Between the African Novelist and the African Musician

Musical Conceptualizations of the Mimboland Social Crisis and Postcolonial Transgression

How the Grand Canarians Use Dissident Tunes to Sing and Dance Against the Official History of Beverly Hills

Styles-and Strategies-Based Instructional Model (SSBI)

Chapter 4

Lapiro, the Political artist: Chronicler of Cameroonians' Precarity

Conceptualizing Precarity

Lapiro: A Short Biography and Direct Political Involvement

Lapiro: A Religious Chronicler of Precarious Life in Cameroon

A Critical Reading of Lapiro

Chapter 5

Understanding Female Mobility in Post-colonial Cameroon History through Francois Misse Ngoh's U go Cry

Introduction: Biography of Misse Ngoh and the Objectives of the chapter

The Ethiopian Drought as a test of Manu Dibango's Generosity and his Love for Pan Africanism

Chapter Synopsis

Chapter 2

The Pan-African and Global Appeal of Manu Dibango's Music

Humble Beginnings and Roots of Manu Dibango's Music

Pan-African Appeal of Dibango's Music

Global Appeal of Dibango's Music

Chapter 3

Arrest the Music! The Rebel Art and Politics of Lapiro and Valsero: A Pedagogical Perspective

Toward a Pedagogical Canon for Music Instructors

Bloom's Taxonomy

Hermeneutic Model

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

About the Authors

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1

Introduction: The Eternal Relevance of Music in Society

Unsung Musical Heroes that Effortlessly Inspire

The Advancements in Science, Technology and Ever-Increasing Availability of Music in Our Everyday Lives

The Place of Music in Cameroon Scholarship

The Place of Music in African Scholarship

The Place of Manu Dibango in Cameroonian/African Music: Who is/was Manu-Dibango?

A Musician Beyond Borders

Manu Dibango's Sojourn in Belgium and How it Shaped His Career

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9956-551-09-0

OCLC:

1244621300