OUR MOTHER @59 

BY Moses Alankay Mansaray

Mama will be retiring next year, today we are celebrating her 59th birthday, mama has suffered so much, I can see the wrinkles in her face, the blisters in her hands and the scars all over her body, many of which are inflicted by her very own sons and daughters.
Our elder brothers and sisters that ought to have taken up the responsibility of looking after us and her, are not matching up to expectations.
Our beloved mum was blessed with illuminating beauty and elegance, she was admired by all her compatriots coming from the same clan to an extent that, she was the favourite of the numerous wives our former stepfather was having.

She suffered so many abuses in silent, she never complained because she was taught by our forefathers to be obedient and loyal.

Two of our other stepmothers and cousins to our mum (Ghana and Nigeria) were suffering the same abuses from our stepfather, this led them to seek for a divorce and they left the marital home we were all sharing.

A few years later, two of our elder brothers decided with other relatives that it was time for mama also to seek for divorce with the promise that they are of age and ability to look after our mum.
The whole problem started during the divorce hearing at the land of our stepfather, they disagreed and returned home divided, our selfish stepfather and his people took advantage of the situation and granted the divorced on very bad terms which are still affecting us to this day.
Mama was left empty!
Our beloved elder brother who was raised at our stepfather's homeland and who was insisting that the divorce should go on died shortly after taking up the reigns as head of the household.
Our other elder brother who was raised locally was very smart and crafty, after struggling with one of our other siblings, he finally succeeded to be the head of our new home, he entrenched himself to everything and other members of the family who were charged with the security of our household felt aggrieved, marginalised and ostracised, they forced the handpicked of our elder brother who has just taken over as head of the house to relinquish power to them, this struggle went on for so many years and many other unfortunate occurrences occurred during this period, our stepfather and some of his friends returned to mediate peace and helped us design ways to sustainable and mutual living, some of our brothers that connived with our neighbours to bring unrest were punished, banished and some are still in exile to this day.
We restarted in a very good footing but the selfishness of our elder siblings would not allow us to enjoy the remaining wealth of our mum.
Ebola came and killed many in our household and neighbours, shortly after, mudslide came, we had to spend the little we have to help those affected but were still stranded and had to shamelessly return to our stepfather like always to beg for assistance, our brothers are busy and bent on siphoning the money that was given to us as help.
Just when we think that we have survived all these and it's time for us to start rebuilding and moving forward, a strange sickness (Coronavirus) that has killed many in our stepfather's household and those of his friends and good neighbours visited us as poor as we are. We don't have where to turn to, and yet our brothers currently at the helm are exploring ways to benefit themselves.
Oh mama, I feel your pain, we the younger ones are hopeless about the future.
Many of us have finished school years back but we are still wandering around like idlers whiles our colleagues of the same age are prospering and excelling in other parts of the world.
Our pregnant sisters are dying before laying to bed, our younger siblings are passing away before they are five years of age.
You were respected by many for your discipline in education and resource management but today all we see is corruption.
We have few of our siblings that are trying to regain your past glory but the corruptible forces against them are sometimes too hard for them to withstand.
As you retire next year mama.... 😭😭😭😭😭 (burst into tears) unable to end.
*I love you mum even at 59.*

*Your son, Moses Alankay*

Vlogging: A Virtual Market Space for Our Sierra Leonean youths

What if I told you that Ghana and Nigeria are winning in the ongoing battle of rap supremacy between our own Hip-hop heavyweight and the rest of the OGs across Africa? Would you not be quick to jump into conclusion accusing me of betrayal unto a country fellow-- Kaodenero? Yes, you would. Especially so when I am the same guy who was taunting him and his fans yesterday and unto today afternoon when I finally decided to forgive and forget his folly. We are starting fasting tomorrow, and we should forgive ans forget.

I however want to tell you that this post is not about Kaodenero, or any of those rappers he's lyrically fighting with. Rather, this post is about our youths in general, but especially Sierra Leonean youths.

A few days ago I wrote a piece asking that people cheer up Kaodenero's project for both its market viability and the chance to promote the African culture and awake its people to a renaissance movement. Well, today again I want us to give a critical insight into the project as a whole and evaluate our gains so far.

But here are a few things you should know. Once more, this is not a piece about Kaodenero or any rapper, but a piece for us the African youths, especially Sierra Leonean youths. Kaodenero is a business man. His every move is a well calculated one. And he is set to upgrade himself, hence, he is packaging his career for the international market since the gains at home have not been huge, and worst still it seems to be getting more derailing in recent while. But he's not relenting anyway, he thinks he has something to offer the world: his talent, and he is making a through. He's now social media sensation across Africa, especially among Hip-hop lovers.

I however am concerned about the way Sierra Leoneans (especially his fans) have been partaking in the whole project. They can be seen in almost all social media platforms discussing about Kaodenero. They hit the like button more than any other nation; they make the most comments; and they share the links more than all others. They basically are loyal to the core. But hey!!! What if I am to tell you that that's not how to win this battle, would you mind taking your time to read this piece in its entirety just so you can understand my point?

Well, to make matters simple. I want us to look at it from a business perspective and not just about the hype. Don't get distracted. You are letting a market opportunity escape you. Don't just cherry pick punch lines and retorts to amuse fans or provoke the other side. But take your time and observe how the other guys are playing it. Observe how they have assumed panel of judges over the matter. They are the ones who administer the Facebook pages we like to partake in the discuss; they are the ones administering the YouTube accounts that analyse the Lyrical battle; and they are basically the ones making money out of it.

Whilst they are monetising it, we are expensing on it. We simply cannot fathom the market viability the beef is opening up. We are mere cheerers and not chairing it. How many of us know that Video blogging (sharing videos on social media such as YouTube) is a payable business for many people across the world? Few, hu? Well, what you are looking at is Ghanaians and  Nigerians reaping the financial benefit from our so called battle of supremacy whilst we sponsor them.

Since the battle of supremacy started I have never seen a shared YouTube link administered by a Sierra Leonean MC or promoter. All I keep seeing are Ghanaians and Nigerians administered links followed by Sierra Leoneans. Do you think those guys are doing it in order to promote our music? No! They are taking ownership of the project and capitalizing in your non- entrepreneurial tendencies to make fortune. That critical thinking is what we have lacked as a people. We do not think business in our every interaction. The Nigerians are peculiar business people. They are smart because they look at almost every situation as a business opportunity, and they reap the gains. We have a lot to learn from these people.

Hey! Don't get it twisted!I am not against the Nigerians and Ghanaians administering those accounts, I am only bringing this to your attention so that we know how to win a battle beyond points to coins; and beyond bars to banks. We should pay attention and observe how the game is played. The game is a virtual reality game, and there are internet savvy guys who are set waiting for the slightest move triggered by anyone to create an internet sensation to get views and likes so they get paid.

But just how does one get paid with a YouTube account?

YouTube pays video bloggers (basically, people who upload videos on their YouTube account for public consumption) on the basis of "Cost per impression (CPI)". The CPI is a metric used by YouTube to determine or gauge the amount of views and subscribers a vlogger can reach as per ad (short for advertisement) on every video uploaded. Hence, vloggers can go all out to create an engaging and interesting contents into their accounts to get more subscribers and viewers. Once they hit 10,000 views, they are up to making a pocket money because then they can share ads into those contents which viewers may watch. The lowest you could make as per 10,000 views is $2, and you can make more by simply sharing more engaging contents. So you now see how this Kaodenero thing is not just about the bars and lyrics but the market viability for vloggers.

We need vloggers in Sierra Leone. It takes great effort and patience to make a fortune out of it, but once you get the numbers, then rest assured you can get the pay. Make interesting contents and share it to friends and ask them to share them across. We do not need Ghanaians or Nigerians to always appreciate just how well our guys are doing, we can do the same here. We can appreciate their songs and videos and make them follow us as well. They are over 150 million population. That's a huge market for youths. Since we don't have the MTV or Trace, we can use YouTube to spread our stories across. We can draw their attention to what we do here as well. We do not have to sit by and watch them take the market gains of it whilst we clamour our lyrical prowess. The game is far bigger than Kao and Sarkodie. Kao has done his role, he's brought their attention to us, let's take ownership of the project and serve as members of the panel of judges.

So once more, I ask we become critical of unfolding and give a different looks into issues. Think business and invest your time in building your career and to business...

©Amadu Wurie Jalloh
® Students Analysts and Writers Network
®The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation

The Making of an Empire: Hip-hop King-Kongs across Africa Battling for Supremacy

Say what you may, but I assure you the beef thing between and among our hip-hop King-Kongs are yielding a market  viability.
KaoLastingKingDenero, Sarkordi, Lyrical Joe, Khaligraphy Jones and all those entrapped in this lyrical tug-of-war game are  working on a big project: amalgamating the hip-hop industry and fanbase of Africa for their own good. The diss and lyrical confrontations should be cheered up by fans across the continent. It is helping in widening the listenership of their lyrical proclivities and opening up an industrial space for hip-hop across Africa. This gives a hope to musicians from smaller countries with small fan base compared to those of Nigeria and Ghana. 

Gone are the days when the best selects of our nightclub DJs are Western Hip-hop and R&B songs. Today, more than ever, African artists are touring across the continent. Their hustle is intensifying in the continent. Their followers on YouTube and other platforms are almost matching their counterparts in the West. They are making big featurings and are blending the Caribbean Culture with our culture as well. This fuse of cultures has created what I could refer to as Raggae mutants such as the Dalas Bantan, Stone Boy, Whizkid (Starboy), PatoRanking, Starzee, Timaya, etc... These stars are technically repatriating their African fans. The same is happening in the R&B world (Banky W, Morris, 2 Baba/Face, Tiwa Savage, Adama (Foday n Linda fame), etc...).

But beyond the expansionism and Economic viability this project is going to yield, the Afrobeat is also helping bring to recognition the diversity of culture in Africa. It's no doubt promoting the rich African cultures. The international performances are acknowledging those facts. Our musicians and artists are now more confident to sing and perform in their local parlance and ethnic languages. The world cannot resist the thrilling sounds of Diamond Platinum (Swahili), Drizilik (Krio), Sidiki Diabate (Bambara), Internet man (Themne), Fatako (Fula), Takana Zion (Soso), Sarkordi (Twi), Olamide (Yoruba), etc... They are basically in a renaissance movement to revive the almost dying African cultures. They are also helping break the myths surrounding Africa rustic lifestyle and poverty popularized by Western media. Their musical videos are opening doors to African tourism. They are showing the rising middle-class lifestyle in Africa. They are basically telling the world that Africa is not only about the savannas and jungles and primitive lifestyle. Africa is rising and we should invest our resources to opening more doors.

What can be done to realize the benefits of this project?

Well, DJs, show promoters, and our media houses should follow the trail of the industry and coordinate efforts to organize bigger, more diverse, and truly African entertainment awards to raise the self-esteem of our artists and musicians and create job opportunities for more Africans. The continent is home to approximately 1.3 billion people. The continent is poised to overcome Asia in becoming home to the largest labour force by 2040. No prospect could have shown any clearer. Any delibrate move to invest in this project will naturally lead to a boost in the general Cultural and creative industries (fashion, music, art and craft, film and cinematography), and eventually the tourism sector. Countries and entertainment stakeholders should coordinate efforts to amass these opportunities for the betterment of the continent. The Ecofest Show by Kabaka Multimedia Entertainment (KME) is one such examplary move. Musicians and entertainers from across the continent are giving the opportunity to perform in a single stage. That project should extend to promotion of awards. The political will is utmost in realizing the success of such occasions and projects.

©Amadu Wurie Jalloh
®The Emmanuel Ivorgba Foundation
® Students Analysts and Writers Network
® Fottal Organization