E' Ya Ka Ka

Today's Groove comes from Buckshot LeFonque- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Buckshot LeFonque is not an artist. This is a group project led by Branford Marsalis. You may be wondering, How does the title of the blog post relate to this song? You might be questioning the pronunciation. Well, it's phonetic. That's the only way that I could break down Fela Kuti's cadence in this song. What can I say. I just like the groove of this song. With Maya Angelou and Fela coupled together in this piece, is genius. The first time I heard this song was on WCLK radio, Clark Atlanta University's radio station. I was on my way to class, well I was in the student parking lot, listening to this song. Let's just say that I was late to class.

Let's fast forward many years later, I was on my way to Walmart. Also, listening to WCLK, and this song enters into my life again. Once again, I sat in the parking lot to finish out the song and listen for the artist. The announcer FINALLY stated the name of the artist and group behind this song. The mental note was made, and I began my quest on collecting this song for my ongoing music collection. I imagine this could be played in the Apex Museum in Atlanta or behind the next black documentary. Personally, I've played this as a warm up song in my dance classes. It was also, a technique sequence song for my ballet and modern dance students to follow across the floor. The candence E' Ya Ka ka inspired my movement for my classes. This song was used to gage how my students could feel the music and flow with the groove. It always allowed me to see where their hearts were musically. You see technique can be taught to anyone but dance is the expression of the soul. Yes, I was a dancer and Choreographer.

The rest is history. Take a listen.