You are just chilling in Egypt, preparing for the funkie, when you hear distant rumors of a playlist being created. The clansmen are looking for bangers to carry you through the Red Sea. Songs with rhythms that complement the beating of your heart as you march through the seabed.
You know a song that will do just that. Eshi, which means “yes” in Amharic, serves as an affirmation throughout the song and the journey.
Wakati wangu, can you see imefika- Eshi.
You don’t understand the rest of the language, but the rhythm, the rhythm! You don’t know what this song is doing to you or what it is demanding of your body. You try to shake it to the max; there’s a glitch; you even try to anguka nayo, wapi!
Then, your body starts to move on its own. First your head bobs, then the ancestral rhythm takes over, and your feet start to stomp the ground. The song is communicating to your soul. This must be what speaking in tongues feels like- but for dance.
The Maasai chants that follow call for some movement around the neck region. Suddenly you find yourself unleashing some ancient Ethiopian legwork with some rare technique of claps straight from Rwanda- is this legal? Isitoshe, the sonic waves are massaging and warming parts of your heart you didn’t know existed. The light is finally coming in. The drums put a little swagger in your step and loosen your waist. You can’t help yourself!
The fish like what they see. They line the walls, cheering you on. They know a man on fire for a mission when they see one. Even the ones who’ve been pretending they can’t breathe air step out to escort you to the finish line.
You think about Pharaoh; you are no longer a slave. And by God, you will fly.
Nimeamua nimeamka nimekubali nitapepea- Eshi.
Nilinde ewe Mola nilinde nisije kama nimetapakaa – Eshi.
You get to the shore. Suddenly the tilapia is choking, so they have to take him back to the water. You look at that picture: the divided walls, Pharaoh in the distance chasing you with all his might, and the fish running back to the water. What a sight!
Eshi ends with an exhale just as the walls collapse. Burying Pharaoh, giving life to the fish and freedom to you. Victory!
Eshi is the third single of the new Kenyan-Ethiopian producer duo called Jua. They’re creating a pan-African sound called CHIKKA, based on the 6/8 rhythm found in many African cultures. They then fuse this ancestral rhythm with modern production. Jua connects East and Southern Africa through the Maa, Swahili, and Sesotho languages. The producer duo features Kenyan songstress Silayio, Lesotho rapper Morena Leraba, Kenyan drummer Tony of Sarabi Band, and Mozambican mbira player Muhamago.
Ultimately, the song is a celebration of being African and of being guided by faith. At its heart is the idea that we are children of the water, moving through life guided by faith, ancestry, and something greater than ourselves.
By the time August 2027 finds us just about to cross our Red Sea, Eshi has to be one of the songs booming in that playlist. Ama namna gani?
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