Marriage is not about marriage – it is about power. It is about who is considered valuable, and what human interactions are sanctioned by society. Marriages can be the source of joy and support, but they can cause a pain so deep, the heart never fully heals.
If you enjoy the power of belonging to a dominant traditional class and you fully enjoy the institutions of marriage, it is useful to actively to investigate your relationship with this power. The thing that gives you joy, may also cause other great suffering.
This is a playlist that features songs about weddings, marriage, heartbreak, and love. These songs are some of the songs that inspired us, made us think, and made us cry as we were building this volume.
Date your fada – Was one of the first entries to the list. Ebony a Ghanaian songstress sings “if you break my heart, I go date your fada.” I love the bravado in her tone, the defiance. She knows what she wants and she isn’t afraid to say it.
Find d boy – “Moma says, you gon fin d boy, I never find d boy, but I found my lover.” Toya is defiant for her love. She is a South African singer, pianist, dancer and performer from Zululand, based in London, known for her signature music genre called “AfroRave”, infusing techno, drum&bass and beats with Zulu lyricism.
Todii– A human rights activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Southern Africa Region, this is Mtukudzi’s most famous song about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Here in both Shona and English, he describes how the epidemic has devastated the social fabric of kinship relations and urges audiences to formulate a collective response to the epidemic.
Balencies– Chika raps “And the whole world is conversating ’bout your waist line, and mental health days make you guilty, ’cause you waste timeI’m fighting everybody demons, but can’t face mine” In this song she contemplates balancing her new found fame with her mental health struggles.
WAP – Some folks criticize this song for being too vulgar, others think the song is an ode to female empowerment and sexual liberation. No one is alking about how dope the writing is. The word play, the punchlines, and the incredible delivery. Cardi B writes, “head game is fire, punani Dasani” “I let him taste it, now he diabetic” In the middle of the incredible poetic delivery she offers a critique of gender roles “I don’t cook, I don’t clean but let me tell you how I got this ring (Ayy, ayy)”
