ALBUM REVIEW: MISIMU- POETRY BY GUFY

 

Recently, Kenyan young and enterprising spoken word artist Gufy launched his album Misimu online. Misimu is a Kiswahili word for seasons. The album has five carefully chosen poems that have been performed in the most compelling way. Right away from the background music to the delivery, the poems ring nostalgia and pain that has always been the signature of the oppressed. They tell the story of Kenya’s post-election Violence to the present day fallacy of recycling leaders that clearly rings a bell to countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Kenya. 

The first piece on the disc is called Hardships na silence. The piece has enough punch lines to cause what English based Jamaican poet Linton said, ‘this revolution shall not be televised.’  The lyrics, with lines like; “tutakashifu uongozi mmbaya lakini tutawarudisha kwa power, wao hao ndio wanaotuletea madhara. Kama lugha ya mama sio sawa hakuna vile tutahusiana.”  Loosely translated to, “We condemn bad leadership, yet we still elect them into power. If our mother tongue is not same, there is no way we shall relate.”  Gufy delivers the message that runs through the poem. The poem is a stark reminder that, everything the common people suffer, is because of their complacency. He further reminds his audience how corruption isn’t about government losing millions but the common man/woman losing billions in the name of buying cheap justice.

The second poem, love exposes the intensity of technology and how human interaction has been reduced to software designed emotions. He uses the imagery of love to stare at technology and rebuke human complacency.

The next piece, ndimi tamu (sweet tongues) cuts deep into the wound of reality when it digs out the ignorance of the masses. It lets the audience bleed at their own folly when the electioneering year beckons and politicians like a swarm of bees migrate from the comfort of the August house to parade the streets with more lies and more promises which pile upon the earlier promises.

Meanwhile, the second last poem deviates from the scathing remarks of one to three poems and fills the air with a prayer and appeal to the deity. With words like “I wonder who proposed that wages of my sins be charged against the mercies of king.” Gufy prays to the almighty ends biblical allusions.   

The last poem, misimu, sounds more of an autobiography of the young and talented Gufy also known by the name Oscar Oger, born 23 years ago.  Gufy is a film production graduate. In poetry and performance, he started his performance at a tender age of 5 in Nakuru. It will be at the age of 13 that he started writing pieces.

He has had tremendous success and was crowned the 43^rd poetry slam champion. Furthermore, he is currently the MC of the famous Slam Africa Poetry in Kenya. He is also the founder of an event in his hometown Nakuru called Upgrade Poetry. The poet runs a successful blog called www.ogerooscar.wordpress.com.

With such a compelling 25 minutes collection, Gufy reminds his fans various introspective issues that go unnoticed as human beings constantly see the speck in their neighbours’ eyes. He pours his heart out in a rather bitter and nostalgic tone which creates a mood of self-reflection.  The mixture of Swahili and English makes the poems easier to consume with both young and old audience without consulting youth for the difficult sheng (Kenyan slang) words. He has specifically made this collection for all ages and nations which can understand both Swahili and English. The album sells in the neighborhood of $5