Something I Miss

I miss how our entire family used to gather around the television to watch songs in languages we didn’t understand. Our dad’s music became our music for he was the DJ. Ever returning home with video tapes of his favorite songs. We watched alot of Lingala music, Oliver N’goma, Brenda Fassie, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and some Uganda music with time. I can still see Oliver N’goma singing Sherry on our small television screen. A song whose meaning I still don’t know. It’s one we watched countless times as a young family.

Looking back, our family was key on entertainment, with baaba as the Entertainment Prefect. Baaba loves music, thus we had a time for watching music and a time for movies. Just this year, I inquired of him why he loves music in languages he doesn’t understand. His answer was, “One never tires of listening to music in a strange tongue.” Along the way, we transitioned into watching trending Ugandan music. All this we used to do as a family when Baaba was home from work or over the weekend.

On my way from work last month, a Ugandan song was played in a taxi and it had the power to take me back countless years ago. Mesach Semakula’s Kabirinage would be that song.

We didn’t stop on music. Nigerian movies were also our thing. Several days a week Baaba would come home with rented tapes of Nigerian Movies. A few he bought for us but most he returned back to the library. When we are all together, we can still narrate some of these movies; Innocent Soul, Hour of Grace, Journey of the Dead, Power of Love among others. We grew to love Ramsey Noah and Genevieve Naji, Jim Ike and Omotola. We grew to dislike Chief Pete Edochie and Patience Ozokwor. Those movies captivated all of our attention. Baaba would tell us how we watch movies like we are ones that directed them, never blinking, never shifting. They had our full attention. It’s like we were paid to watch.

Thus our young family was united around the television. Though we don’t watch as much as we used to, we are still a household that gathers around Television. It will be on, with everyone in a world of their own. Television subscriptions are among the top priority bills at ours. Once in a while we catch one of those engrossing unending Africa Magic Epic Movies. Before any other genre, Nigerian Movies were our first love.

So I miss the memories we all created around the music Baaba loves and the movies he bought us. Now each one of us has differing television preferences. But if you want to know my Baaba is home, you will find the Television on watching itself with loud music booming around every corner of our house. It’s worse when the morning is still young or when one is trying to close their eyes in sleep. You have to just pull a pillow over your ears. He’s still a lover of music and he will always be.