After 5 years out of the musical scene, Awadi comes back with a highly political album calling for young generations to continue to fight for their sovereignty and independence.
“Quand on refuse on dit non” – When you decline, you say no – is the last song released by the well-known and uncontested Senegalese hip-hop singer, Didier Awadi. Part of the eponymous album released on February 1st, 2023, “Quand on refuse on dit non” echoes young West African and Senegalese people’s claims for economic and political sovereignty. According to Awadi: “ The young people who are on the streets today, they first say no to the system that is there, which manages them, and they want to be free. I think that “When we refuse, we say no” is the title that fits better with the news of the moment.”
Awadi denounced previous colonization :
“Pendant des siècles la vérité il n’a fait que ça Violer, tuer, piller, voler, brûler, il n’a fait que ça Nous, nos pères, nos grands-parents, ils ont vécu tout ça”
–
“For centuries the truth was all he did Rape, kill, pillage, steal, burn, it’s all he’s done We, our fathers, our grandparents, they’ve been through it all”
and the still ongoing dependent economic relationship between western African countries and previously colonizing powers :
“Mais qu’est-ce que tu crois, t’attendais quoi il va s’y cramponner
Déléguer les routes, les trains et les aéroports
Et tu t’étonnes encore qu’on arrive jamais à bon port
Déléguer l’information, la data et le téléphone
Les gars te manipulent, anticipent et te conditionnent
L’eau est source de vie on peut pas la déléguer
Energie, pétrole et gaz il faut les contrôler
Ton territoire c’est ton armée qui doit sécuriser”
–
But what did you think, what did you expect, he’s going to hang on to it!
Delegating roads, trains and airports
And you still wonder why we never get there
Delegating information, data and telephone
Guys are manipulating, anticipating and conditioning you
Water is the source of life, you can’t delegate it
Energy, oil and gas must be controlled
Your territory must be secured by your army
He called for Western African countries to ensure their own security and fulfill duties related to sovereignty.
Quand on refuse on dit non
L’indépendance il y’a des sacrifices à assumer
Quand t’es responsable y’a des devoirs qu’il faut assurer
–
When you refuse, you say no
Independence comes with sacrifices
When you’re responsible, there are duties you must fufill
After 5 years out of the musical scene, Awadi comes back with a highly political album. “When we refuse, we say no” is not solely an album. It is a multidimensional artistic project including music, cinema, and photography. In the musical section, after five albums, Didier Awadi returns with an opus of 12 titles inspired by events affecting several West African countries including Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and even his country, Senegal where people express their need for sovereignty in monetary and security terms, explained Didier Awadi.
Still, Awadi’s message has generated a fierce debate within the musical scene and the general opinion. In fact, images of the short film associated with Awadi song depict white people as slaves beaten by black “masters”. But Awadi has justified and explained his artwork to clarify his intentions: “For me, it’s not about showing the possibility of reverse racism, but it’s about making others understand what Africans have felt and continue to feel. I want to show that we’re all the same. White people suffer just like we do, it’s not a racial issue”. It is a way for Awadi to show that suffering is universal, that it has no color or race, it can be felt by all humans, whether black or white.
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