Africans' Childhood Remembrances Of Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens' 1987 Hit Song "Kazet" ("Gazette")

Gallo Music, Sep 16, 2020
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Statistics as of July 16, 2023 at 11:03 AM EDT
total # of views = 5,603,342 total # of comments = 1,554

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Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest revision: July 24, 2023

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of South African music group Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens's 1987 Hit Song "Kazet" ("Gazette"). 

This post also presents some comments from Africans about their childhood memories of that song. In addition, this pancocojams post includes a few comments from Africans that are iabout the song "Kazet" ("Gazette") itself.

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

These comments help to document how -prior to the internet- many people throughout Africa were familiar with certain recorded songs from other African nations even if those songs were in languages they didn't understand.

This is in contrast to how - prior to the internet- most people in United States weren't familiar with music from other nations, and particularly weren't familiar with non-English language songs from within the United States and from outside that nation.  

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.  
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/mahlathini-mahotella-queens-south.html for a 2013 pancocojams post that presents information about Mbaqanga music and showcases four YouTube videos of this South African music group.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2023/07/african-memories-of-singing-made-up.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "African Memories Of Singing Made Up Lyrics In Their Own Languages For Yvonne Chaka Chaka's 1988 South African Song "Umqombothi" (African Beer")".

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These are some of the comments from the discussion thread for this embedded YouTube video that refer to childhood memories of Mahlathini & Mahotella Queens' 1987 Hit Song "Kazet" ("Gazette").

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR7UbvhVT8g

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Commenters from some nations outside of Africa (particularly from Colombia, South America) also shared their memories of this song. 

Numbers are added to these comments for referencing purposes only.

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2021

1. @vikelpedro2381, 2021
"May 2021, listening from Angola🇦🇴

This song reminds me my childhood. I am proud of being African. Thank You Africa 🌍🇿🇦🙏😊🤗"

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2.  @wilsonnyadzo3993
"Used to watch this song back in Zim on Ezomugido. Real music 🎶"
-snip-
"Zim" = "Zimbabwe"

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3. @suleimanosman9739
"What a song we really enjoyed such music frm RSA those days here in Kenya. When music was real.

Viva Africa Our Motherland"
-snip-
"RSA"= Republic of South Africa

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4. @etibadamedame3390
"I listen to this song since childhood when I didn't even understand the lyrics! Much love, what a memory from childhood still watching in 2021 in Ghana the heart of Afrika💝💝💝💝💋"

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5. @patienceqibi8880
"There's no a Congolese who is over 30 years  old and  say that l don't this song"

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6. @blacknegro7890
"Lol it's all over Africa bro.In Cameroon in the late 80's going into the early 90's I think it was hit"

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7.@dlelolelo1352
"I was 12 years old every day I listen that in Congolese radio the song reminded me my youngest"

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8.@bdkeita71
"I love so much South African music even if I don't understand the words"

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9. @mishacknthane1060, 2022
"It is a song about massive development that is happening in gazankulu in limpopo, he says there are buses we should celebrate"

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10. @kundaieddie756
"Anyone to translate the message in this song for me"

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11. @ronnymorwaswi6941
"He is signing about Gazankulu known as gazet a former homeland in Apartheid South Africa."

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12. @sarahmofolo1057
"Mahlathini use to drive our granny's mad...I'm lucky to have known him personally and his brother...He use to come at home and yes not beer but he was drinking umqombothi..."

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13. @kinanamorisho3263
"I remember listening these song when I was young in Burundi and asked my brother where are this song come! and told me from south Africa, the said I wish to be there,and he told me there is big war pple are dying, and I said but why they still singing,,, I will go there...then "

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14. @123naenaee
"Reminds me of my childhood 😭 in Tanzania 🇹🇿"

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15. @ichicarodan6931
"Mine too 🇹🇿🇹🇿"

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16. @cassyhenry3384
"Let’s just be honest asilimia kubwa ya hii Nyimbo hatuielewi ila tunaipenda"
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Google translate from Swahili to English: "Most of these songs we don't understand but we love them"

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17.@samtinpeter453, 2022
"@cassyhenry3384  😁 kweli kabisa... Mimi naipenda vibaya ila hata maana yake sijui"
-snip-
Google translate from Swahili to English: "really... I like it badly but I don't even know what it means"

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18. @cassyhenry3384, 2022
"@samtinpeter453  😂"

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19. @prosperysp
"Hello Africans! Hello everyone! Am Rwandan, am African, am a human race! I love this song, have been listening to it since my childhood... Best memories.... Anyone who may tell me briefly of its message? Thank you!"

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20. @ngmn5402, 2022
"Not word for word. The song is about deep rural place called 'ka zete ' in SA that started to have modern development and freedom then. They were happy to have bus transportation, food markets and connections with rest of Africa."

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2022

21. @sashawambura
"Growing up listening to these beautiful African music..1980s to 1990s here in Tanzania...more than beautiful memories..thanks for music Libraries.."

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22. @demeoo
"Oh my goodness!! There's this song, and then there's this other one by Yvonne Chaka Chaka (Weh ma zame wofonkonboti)... In Cameroun, You couldn't go anywhere without listening to either, it was insane."

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23. @dominiquebala2475
"Early 80's Dakar /Senegal this music 🎶was a bomb at those party.

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24, @germaineguilavogui5681
"Mahotella music ,this music is the one of the best  in my child hood ,i really like ir my Mother ,and my sisters ,from Guinea Conakry"

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25. @proudlyo1125
"I still don't know what  to say since I'm overwhelmed by all the memories I have from my South Africa.......Now that I no longer live in SA......it's so difficult to deal with the flashbacks"

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26. @ishakakargbo9128
"My uncle would play this every morning 🇸🇱"
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"SL"=Sierra Leone

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27. @cyfndobobonaberi2291
"Still remembering my childhood days. South Africans should stop Xenophobia. much love from Cameroon"

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28. @michaelmasamba9536
"grew up between malawi and zimbabwe these songs were fire still are"

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29. @josephabah5707
"I'm truly late 😪 2022, but this was my childhood 😭 music way back in Bauchi State, Nigeria."

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30. @freddyugzofficial5598
"I don't know the language but I felt in love with this song since when I was a baby, much love from Uganda 🇺🇬"

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31. @henrykasiryemalcom3277
"Who doesn’t know this song and from Africa 👏🏿👏🏿 .. am a ugandan but this song was played like every day at home, am a millennial"

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32. @boazomido2373
"I grew up listening to this song in rural Kenya. Its ingrained in my brain. Always special to listen to"

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33. @emmanuelmukisa9302
"THUMBS TO THE PRODUCER THAT MADE THIS MASTER PIECE ……AFRICA TO THE WORLD 💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾"

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34. @blacksunangel636
"Good old childhood memories from this song...God bless Africa.🇬🇦🇬🇦"
-snip-
"GA"= Gabon, Central Africa

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35. @CarAccessoriesStore
"One of the best good old South African songs. My husband is a Tanzanian and he loves this song. It actually reminds him of when he was doing his last year of matric in his country. It used to play on the radio in his country, Tanzania, then."

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36. @kingjumong1195
"Memories that will never be forgotten in South Sudan 🇸🇸 and Africa at large.. ❤❤❤"

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37. @zablonmasau6275
"I remember the first day I travelled by train from the place where I was born and grew up to Dar es Salaam city, I was listening to this song. I was with my class mate by the name John....it was being played almost at every railway station. It left me with everlasting memories!"

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38. @rannydewah8549
"Grew up with this in Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 ts still fresh up to now what a timeless song"

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39. @franckvincent5190
"I am from Togo and I specifically looked for this song to remember my childhood. I don't even know the lyrics and didn't understand the English parts as a kid because I only spoke French back then, I just like the good feelings it creates in me ..."

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40. @em6744
"This was one of my  best childhood  song🥰👌 🎵still my favorite. Love from Liberia 🇱🇷"

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41. @honoresangwa1000
"This song reminds me my childhood in the '80s when I grew up listening to it because my uncle used to play it at home during Christmas. It was also aired on national TV. Much love from Cameroon"

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42. @m.b.kamara1162
"This song invokes vivid pictures of old times even though I'm just  24 yrs as I type. Yet, listening to it reminds me when I was much younger at our village at night our elders did play this song. So whenever I listen to it those memories return!!

@  Sierra Leone, West Afrika"

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43. @giquelconcko9889
"I remember this song i was just a kid in Congo Brazzaville"

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44. @mugaberoberttibeitu5452
"Up to now this song is being played in many night clubs in uganda"

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45. @pascalkotoka9501
"Grew up to this music in Togo. Not even understand the language 😅🤣"

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46. @agustinohizza1395
"I rember 1993 from Tanga Tanzania my village one TV"

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47.  @bantutoonz
"Back again, 27 july 2022🙂 in Africa, Southern africa, RSA, Soweto, Dlamini, next to chiawelo aka Gazankulu where da song is from😎😎😎😎"

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48. @varsitystudents5276
"He was singing in Xitsonga language"

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49.@mwesigyejoram4087
"We really enjoyed these songs when we were still young and a few well to do people had radio cassettes of one speaker in our villages👍"

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50. @sandrovasconcelos3010
"I'm from Mozambique now living in Portugal and still listening this music, good old school, we used to dance this during 80's in our party's"

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51. @ksgrmdsdl2383
"All the way from Kenya. This song reminds me of my early Childhood late 1990s and early 2000s. I used to hear it almost everyday in KBC Swahili Service. I never new the name. Glad I found it."

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52. @suzannemongo4997
"À l'époque où cette vidéo passait à télévision camerounaise j'avais 5 ans et elle est restée graver dans ma mémoire"
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Google translate from French to English: "When this video was on Cameroonian television I was 5 years old and it remained etched in my memory".

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53. @k-dash_thenextbigthing6594
"Timeless hit

#proudlyTsonga

#proudlySouthAfrican"
 
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54. @verdemocambique9941
" "AFRICA, LET'S CELEBRATE...NOW WE HAVE BUSES AND TRAINS...WE ARE DEVELOPING" 

For those who don't understand the lyrics..."

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55. @ooluta7578
"Used to watch this on Music Time, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation...waay back in the early 90s! Love that I can find it here on demand!"

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56. @moyomnqinekilerose
"😁😁😁😁😁we used to sing our lungs out and I can't believe we were singing it all wrong 🤦🤦 Zimbabweans gather here who know what am talking about,,,we used to sing something else on the chorus there 😁😁😁😁"

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57. @kv43baby13
"Seeing people from all African countries say these songs are childhood memories, shows how connected we were as Africans through music, not even knowing the lyrics translations.

God Bless Africa 🌍🙏🏾🙌🏿💯"

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58. @rannydewah8549
"100%  true"

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59. @emmanueltafirenyika3613
"Absolutely ! 👏 I’m from Zimbabwe and we grew up listening to South African music, without understanding a word 😂"

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60. @steve-carolbobo4997
"Ivory Coast every saturday and sunday in the 80's and 90's on national tv this song 3 or 4 time at least"

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61. @franckvincent5190
"I am from Togo, grew up in Gabon and I specifically looked for this song to remember my childhood. I don't even know the lyrics and didn't understand the English parts as a kid because I only spoke French back then, I just like the good feelings it creates in me"...

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62. @jerryi3493
" @steve-carolbobo4997  Congo kinshasa during nineties every Sunday on tv with Yvonne Chaka n other South Africans and some west Africans music"

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63. @jerryi3493
"@franckvincent5190  same as you sometimes it’s even better to understand nun, the song become more legendary"

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64. @evanskirangi4664
"In Kenya, 1990s, we used to enjoy these songs, and even tried to sing along, although we didn't understand a thing that was said, or we ourselves said."

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65. @kofiansah7151
"From Ghana.This song has so much vibe and energy in it and it is really a true sound of Africa.Yes of course it reminds of our childhood days."

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66. @jerryi3493, 2022
"@tvs9978  same connection we all had even without understanding because francophone as we where, we could only get the vibe.."

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67. @peacepeace8662, 2022
"Yes, one here from the Gambia🇬🇲"

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68. @kelvinmutethia476, 2022
"This was my Kenyan childhood song .every single day"

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69. @trictrac02, 2022
"From Angola with love. This song doesn't only represent cultural panafricanism but also political panafricanism. Throughout mid 80s to early 90s we're fiercely engaged in a hot war with the apartheid regime is SA. We had ANC and SWAPO (Namibia's  independent movement) military bases in our territory. I vividly remember countless times we danced though this song convinced of the righteousness of our cause and victory.  The confraternity was amazing. One day uur unity will prevail. One love"

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70. @yusub2543, 2022
"1988/1989 partying in Dakar. I was 19 years. Absolute gem this track"

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71.@jupe9388,2022
"Kenyan🇰🇪 & Haitian🇭🇹 here and I 100% grew up with this music, dancing, singing along, without even knowing a word. 😂🤣 You just felt it in your spirit. Definitely unforgettable childhood memories and I still listen till this day."

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72. @zaitunjumakeji4120, 2023
"African music belongs to every African in the continent the may not understand the languages but it's sounds African and it's for us. In Uganda if people don't understand the meaning of the songs the  add their words in it and keep going” …

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73. @abrahammuchina9174
"Indeed indeed ,I find this true ,Long Live Africa ,,,,From Kenya"

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74. @marumoemmanuel8741
"I remember the excitement of seeing my late uncle on TV, he's the one on the keyboards... Rest in peace Aobakwe Ralph Mahura"

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2023

75.. @bettybasirika4704
"Am glad I found this song 35 years ago in Uganda, it played on every radio station upto now......good memories"

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76. @theresao2469
"I remember when this song came out! We were living in Botswana at the time. This version is a cover of Obed Ngobeni & the Kurhula Sisters' 'Ku Hluvukile Eka "Zete" in 1983. Ngobeni's song was also covered by Lizzie Mercier Descloux 'Mais où sons passées les gazelles?" In 1984"

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77. @ambrosebarigyethetrucker
"Iam Ugandan by birth now in Maryland-USA but I find myself playing all these 90s and 80s songs in my car because it is the music that raised us..I remember as kids in our village sitting to watch our black and white tiny TV with a show called "Music Africa" by Mike Makamazibu and this song got locked in my brain because I didn't know the title.One day when I typed Yvone Chaka Chaka's umqomboti in my YouTube music playlist,this song was the second on play..As I talk I am watching the video on YouTube in my living room😅.

My life is all about old school music😊"

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78. @dandymusic254
"From Kenya 🇰🇪 I was a little boy when this song was playing on radio like everyday, i didn't even know lyrics the language but what i know is music brings people together..... 🇰🇪 KBC radio"

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79. @eugeniomonjane7829
"I am from south of Mozambique 🇲🇿,  this music bring me good memories, especially my grandmother, she liked this kind of South Africans Music."

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80. @jamesp346
"Rwanda television used to play this song a lot when I was kid!! Big love from 🇷🇼"

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81. @jeanmagloiremihyndou
"Je suis au Gabon depuis toujours j'écoute cette belle chanson ça me rappelle beaucoup de choses !.
-snip-
Google translate from French to English: "I have always been in Gabon listening to this beautiful song it reminds me of many things!."

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82. @franckwilliamkoffi6475
"Childhood memories … From Yamoussoukro 227 logements 🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮 … GOD BLESS AND INSPIRES MORE ARTISTS THROUGH THE AFRICAN CONTINENT 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 PEACE!!!…"
-snip-
"CI" = Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast, West Africa)

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83. @saabajoe
"Crazy how I even remembered the name of this song to search for it 😊! Dang!! Talk about a song stamped in my childhood memories in Senegal! 🔥"

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84. @abrahammuchina9174
"From Kenya ,this is African Identity ,African Music ,African Ryhtmes, African Style.......and All Sub-saharan and all Africa relate to this as an original.

This is classic African Music that can represent all Sub-Saharan Africa.

Close ur eyes add the volume ,listen to the drums,the guitar,the rythym,and how the singers interweave in the song

Africa,Africa,Africa,Africa......Yes  Beloved Africa .....Yes....Long Live Africa"

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85. @Guildeteuton
"I was hearing this when l was kid in Dakar Sénégal. I never knew that song were singed in SA."

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86. @ousewinter4574
"Not understanding a single lyric but it grew with us deep in Uganda. Thank you South African you are forever indebted by your communication contribution through music."

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