Rising Malian artist Rokia Koné has released another new video titled ‘Kurunba‘. The song will appear in Koné’s upcoming album “Bamanan“.
On ‘Kurunba’, Rokia sings about the difficulties faced by women later in life after they have raised their husband’s children. In some cases, they can find that they are shut away from society. “This is a story of a particular woman who was freed from captivity,” explains Rokia. “And on the day of her daughter’s wedding she sang this song, and the same people who had tried to lock her up were transformed into dogs and flies. It’s like a curse.”
As a member of the pan-African group Les Amazones d’Afrique, who campaign for gender equality, women’s issues are a regular theme in Rokia’s songs. She says: “We cannot list all the problems women face. Lack of access to education for girls, conjugal violence suffered by women in households, rivalry amongst co-wives, and more besides. I call on men to get involved in works that protect and make women happy.”
In the video for ‘Kurunba’, Rokia enters a London nightclub as an apparition among a gathering of some of the city’s most talented young contemporary dancers, who react to the song’s uplifting spirit. ‘Kurunba’ was directed and choreographed by Zambia-born dance artist Kennedy Junior Muntanga.
Buy Kurunba or Koné’s upcoming album Bamanan
Author: World Music Central News Room
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