Roberto - Eponaba (Zambian R&B music video & comments with partial lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post includes information about the award winning Zambian R&B singer Roberto and showcases a video of award winning Zambian R&B singer Roberto's 2013 song "Eponaba". This post also includes selected comments from this video's discussion thread, including information about the song's meaning and partial English translation of the lyrics.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owner.

Thanks to Roberto's musical legacy. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this YouTube example.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ROBERTO
http://africamusika.com/singer-roberto/ http://africamusika.com/singer-roberto/
Roberto, 2014 Zambian music awards best song writer and best R&B album winner and 2009 song of the year Winner. Roberto is a Singer/song writer/radio personality .Roberto is proudly African and is an established radio personality and musician and has becoming more and more that well known face in the media/entertainment industry.

8 Years ago, you would have walked into a Room and shout out Roberto and people would have looked at you wondering why you are screaming out someone’s name, This time around when you walk the streets in Zambia or walk into a CEO’s office and mention ROBERTO, people in the room would nod and agree that Roberto is Zambia’s finest Music export, boasting a total 13 Number 1 hit singles from 3 Albums, Roberto is Zambia’s Number 1 R&B / Afro Pop singing artist....

2013 Was an amazing year for Roberto, producing songs like Good Woman, Eponaba which have proven to be great hit singles both locally in Zambia and in Africa, receiving 3 Nominations at the 2013 Zambian Music awards"...


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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Roberto - Eponaba (Official Video)



Roberto ZambiaTV, Published on Oct 27, 2013

@RobertoZambia Latest Single Eponaba is Roberto's 13th Number single, Eponaba means 'Am There'
-snip-
Sound in this video doesn’t begin until .038

-snip-
Here are selected comments from this video's discussion thread. These comments are numbered for referencing purposes only:

1. wisi takondwa, 2014
"Zambia's most consistent RnB artist.. love the song and the video's on point!!"

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2. Memory Mwape Kunda, 2014
"Am in love already! good Picture quality!! its a Bomb"

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3. Miss Mwamba, 2014
"I'm loving this song!! Roberto mukali mwe
'Sinifuna vogabana no no no' #RealTalk"

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Reply
4. Emmanuel Phale, 2015
"what does 'Sinifuna vogabana' mean?"

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Reply
5. DeLarryfication, 2015
"+Emmanuel Phale means i dont want to share you... I am there(Eponaba)"

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6. Emmanuel Phale, 2015
"Can somebody please help with the translation of this song. What does it say"

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7. Wanjiku Mungai, 2015
"This sounds similar to Kiswahili at some points (eg. unikumbuke wakati wa wama??..-- is that what he's saying at 1.26? ) it's so confusing! :D Anyway, made it here because I heard Amarulah on Kenyan radio and couldn't get the track out of my head! :)"
-snip-
"Amarulah" is another song by Roberto. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGmlXawab_Afor a video of that song.

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8. Mariana Muhia, 2015
"Me too I think it's swahili"

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9. Mariana Muhia, 2015
"Roberto please I need the lyrics of this song.... I just love it... Kindly please.... Love from Kenya"

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Reply
10. Larry Mondoka, 2015
"+Mariana Muhia Basically saying his woman/wife/girl/fiancee or whatever you will call her should not forget that EPONABA (I am there)"

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Reply
11. Mariana Muhia, 2015
"Mmmhhh so Eponaba means that... I thought it was a name of a person.. Lol....Thanks Larry I appreciate"

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12. DeLarryfication, 2015
"I figured I'd help y'all that need lyrics, atleast just the chorus.

Wila Laba Uko Waya Eponaba (Meaning dont forget where ever you go that am there)
Ba Boss Bakufune Eponaba (Meaning when your boss hits on you dont forget I am there)
Naba Nzako Uba Uze Baibe Eponaba (Meaning Tell all your friends that I am there)
Sinifuna Vogabana No No No No (Meaning I dont want issues of sharing you NO NO NO NO)

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13. Sam Lincoln, 2015
"Whatever language this is, it sounds a lot like Swahili. One love from Nairobi, Kenya"

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Reply
14. Wanjiku Mungai1 year ago
"+Sam Lincoln yeah that's what I thought also!"

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Reply
15. S, 2016
"+Sam Lincoln It's a mixture oof two languages, Nyanja and Bemba ;)"
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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Zambia
"Zambia has several major indigenous languages, all of them members of the Bantu family, together with English, which is the official language and the major language of business and education.

Indigenous languages
Zambia is widely claimed to have over 72 languages, although many of these might be better regarded as dialects. Some of these languages have a long history within Zambia, while others, such as Lozi, arose as a result of 18th and 19th-century migrations. All of Zambia's vernacular languages are members of the Bantu family and are closely related to one another.

Seven vernacular languages have official status. Together these represent the major languages of each province: Bemba (Northern Province, Luapula, Muchinga and the Copperbelt), Nyanja (Eastern Province and Lusaka), Lozi (Western Province), Tonga (Southern Province), and Kaonde, Luvale and Lunda (Northwestern Province). These seven languages are used, together with English, in early primary schooling and in some government publications....

According to the 2000 census, Zambia's most widely spoken languages are Bemba (spoken by 52% of the population as either a first or second language), Nyanja (37%), Tonga (15%) and Lozi (11%).
In some languages, particularly Bemba and Nyanja, Zambians distinguish between a "deep" form of the language, associated with older and more traditional speakers in rural areas, and urban forms (sometimes called "town language" or Chitauni, such as Town Bemba and Town Nyanja) that incorporate a large number of borrowings from English and other innovations.

An urban variety of Nyanja is the lingua franca of the capital Lusaka and is widely spoken as a second language throughout Zambia. Bemba, the country's largest indigenous language, also serves as a lingua franca is some areas."...

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