Apart from Azania with Nkosi Sikelele Africa and Zimbabwe with Simudzai mureza wedu weZimbabwe* (formerly Ishekomberera Africa for those with long memorys what other African or Carribean nations actually have songs which sound like the people there. When sports tournaments come around and I hear these colonial leftovers... sounding like poor mans Wagner or some other Euro inspired rot my stomach turns. Why no African songs? Shouldn't the Trinidad and Tobagoanthem be a calypso jam? Shouldn't the Jamaican anthem be a reggae tune? Why does Nigerias anthem sound like it could be Polands or Belgiums? What's going on? confused3 We got independance (allegedly) and kept hold of these horrid sounds?




*I might have left some proud nations out. Please let me know. I'm aware there is an African American anthem seperate to star spangled banner btw.

DrunkMonkey,

I can relate to your post. Since I've been in this world, I have never pledge to the United States flag, even when I stood, you have never heard me recite it/and I still refuse to do such. I just found it to be a meaningless piece of cloth that were forced to fly. When I see that flag, all I could think is the inequalities that are taking place in the states, the many " forefathers"who forced,owned and brutalized slaves.Even our constitional rights are depleting. You can't even burn the flag without being prosecuted( and just to think if our country was so free, we should have the right to do what we want with it). In general , it's a flag that I cannot relate to.

DM

look at the dates that these places got their independence....



I'd bet that these locally produced music forms were not fully accepted by the mainstream of that country until much later....much like hip hop here in america..the older and more established people of the countries probably looked down on reggae and calypso as the music of the poor....at first...

and you figure that......the anthem is in the language of the former colonizer.....for no other reason than it is the official language of a place with (often) many different languages spoken........the chords...arrangments are often in style of the former coloninst also.....



Country that got their independence later would tend to have a national anthem more in tune with local flavor.....

They could still change em and adapt now. Surely other people must be as annoyed with them?

I admit "Nkosi Sikelela" comes top of any African Anthem, i ever heard, "Simudzai Mureza well i got a bit of ????"

Watched the Jamaican one recently, and...... actually no comment.