INTERVIEW WITH UK’S NATIVE SUN – PART 1

While attending the Urban Voices 2014 music festival in Stockholm, Sweden, Freedom Beat interviewed the festival’s performing artists about their music, the political atmosphere in their respective countries, music of nonviolent resistance, and how their own music engages these issues.

Native Sun’s Legacy

Native Sun is a London-based duo consisting of bilingual rapper Mohammed Yahya, born in Mozambique, South East Africa and singer-song writer Sarina Leah born in London with Caribbean roots. Joining forces in 2010 Native Sun was born fusing Hip Hop and African rhythms with the aim of promoting a positive message of Universal Peace, Equality, Social Justice and Environmental Change.

Native Sun recently spoke with Freedom Beat and touched on a number of topics including their song “Legacy” as the foundation for their band, their unique stylistic combination of afrobeat & hip-hop, hip-hop as the CNN of the ghetto, and the role hip-hop played for social change in Senegal.

The origins of Native Sun’s song Suffer No More

What is the specific movement or campaign that you attach your group/band/song to?

Sarina Leah – We have various campaigns we feel connected with from social injustice to environmental concerns.  Many of our messages highlight the problems we can see and feel, whilst offering alternative ways and suggestions on how we can make a change individually and collectively.  We have a song called Summer Rain on our album “Indigenous Soundwaves” which speaks about climate change based on the impact of how man mistreats the earth by extracting her natural resources in large quantities for profit and power.  It is a reflective song, but really communicates that hope is now, hope is change, and hope is action in our everyday lives.  Overall we hope that whatever message we bring, it resonates into positive thinking and positive action.

What type of impact do you hope it will have?

Sarina Leah – Music being a powerful form of communication, speaks an amazing language which can effect emotion, which can then stir energy and move a person in various ways.  Because we feel and are affected by things sometimes without even knowing why, Native Sun really actively wanted to share a colourful palette in our music and offer an alternative universal sound which draws on a lighter fun energy, something children can enjoy.  Our hope is that we can inspire emotions, hope, smiles on faces, happiness, change within ourselves, for the better of mankind, and enjoy our time on the planet in peace with one another.

Brief description of the context that this music is placed? What’s the injustice?

Mohammed Yahya – Originally this song was inspired by the violent events that took place in my birth country Mozambique shortly before the Arab Spring period.  The protests were against the rise of food prices such as bread which was raised by 50%.  This became a massive problem especially for the vast majority of the rural population who are forced to survive on less than US$1.25 a day and lack access to safe water, health facilities and schools.  Unfortunately, globally it didn’t get the media coverage it deserved and even though the protesters were peaceful they were met with violence by the governments. Police left many injured and some dead, therefore I felt it was my duty to share with the world what was taking place in Mozambique.