The Blueprint of Juju Xound Declaration

מילים

BURG CITY RECORDS In Poetic Collaboration with The JB StUDiOs presents: Juju's Magnum Poetrium: Afro-Juju Continuum Reactivation I. INVOCATION (Waffi) Oya, make we gather, make we scatter the shadow, Na the drum dey carry, no be borrow, no be shallow. Bass dey roll, soul dey stroll, whole world dey follow, Juju sound dey call from the hollow to the hallow. II. THE PEN THAT KEPT THE PALACE (for Chief Jacob Uwadiae Egharevba, Great Grandpa of Sunny Burgs and Juju) Chief Egharevba, the pen wey no dey bend, Wey write the long road so the story no end, Great Grandpa to Sunny Burgs, great Grandpa to Juju, friend Of the ancestors, the line wey the lineage lend. Ink na im drum, page na im ground, Every word wey e write na a witness, a sound. Wey no write am down go fall, go drown, But the Chief na the keeper, the crown of the town. III. IYOBA N'USELU (for Queen Idia) Queen Idia, Idia, wey stand, wey command, wey understand, Mother wey fight, wey light the night with a hand. Ivory face dey shine like moon for the land, Crown for head, steel for spine, na she plan, na she stand. Iyoba N'Uselu, the mother of the king, Every drum wey dey beat, na your name e dey sing. IV. JUJU'S MAGNUM POETRIUM (BRXB: Black Rhythm & Xoulful Blues, the Blueprint of Juju Xound) Blueprint, true-print, new-print, through-print, Pulse for the page, na the clue and the cue, print. Blues no be sorrow, na the borrow-back, the tomorrow-track, The moan wey turn to throne, the bone wey bring the back. Bent note, sent note, spent note, meant note, Testimony in the tone, na the quote wey dem wrote. V. THREE HANDS, ONE DRUM Magician BiNG for BiNGiUM Research, make the thinking shine, Celebrity Steve for SolidMove, make the build align, Sunny Burgs for Burg City Records, SHOWUP lift the line, Three hands, one drum, one design, one sign. Research dey spark, build dey mark, song dey embark, Super-App dey open the dark, na Juju leave the mark. VI. PROVERBS & PARABLE Igbo: Egbe bere, ugo bere. Let the kite perch, let the eagle perch. There is room for every wing. Yoruba: Àgbájọ ọwọ́ la fi ń sọ̀yà. It is by joining hands that we beat the chest. Strength is gathered. Akan: Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi. It is no wrong to go back for what you forgot. Fetch the old to build the new. Swahili: Haba na haba hujaza kibaba. Little by little fills the measure. Pidgin: Slow slow dey catch monkey. Patience is a trap that never misses. Parable of the Drum and the River (Waffi): The River tell Drum, "Your beat go end, my flow no dey stop." Drum tell River, "Na me dey make you dance for the top." River dey run, but na Drum dey tell am where to go, So the song and the stream na one: na so we grow. VII. AFRO-JUJU CONTINUUM REACTIVATION Reactivate the rhythm, reactivate the root, Reactivate the witness, reactivate the flute. From Benin to the blues, from palace to the porch, From Idia's ivory face to the guitar's torch. Egharevba wrote it down, the children play it loud, Juju carry the crown, the whole world dey proud. Dem Juju! Xound! Dem Xoul! Free! Continuum on, continuum be. VIII. THE TIGHT-CHAIN VERSE (Waffi, stacked hardest) Chain One: the "-ound" stack Sound dey bound, no dey drown, na the crown wey we found, Round and round the town, na the ground dey pound, Profound, renowned, no be noise, na the sound wey dem crowned, Juju for the ground, ancestors dey gather round. Chain Two: the "-ayo" stack Oya, no delay, make we play, make we stay, Na today we dey display, na the way, na the sway, Bass dey say "okay," drum dey say "hooray," Juju dey obey the beat, no dey stray, no dey sway. Chain Three: the "-eli" stack (the Xoul chain) Xoul wey dey feel, wey no dey kneel, wey dey heal, Real deal, no peel, na the wheel wey dey reel, Steel for the zeal, na the seal, na the meal, Blues wey dey kneel, rise and reveal. Chain Four: the Three Hands, tightened BiNG dey think, Steve dey link, Sunny dey sync, Ink to the brink, drink from the link, Research, record, rebuild, rewind, Three minds, one grind, one signed, one kind. Chain Five: the Ancestors' Stack Chief Egharevba, pen na im pride, na im guide, na im stride, Queen Idia, Iyoba, na she dey abide, na she dey preside, Great Grandpa wey write, Mama wey fight, Left us the light, the right, the might, the night turn to bright. Closer: the full-circle chain Round we go, flow we go, show we go, grow we go, Slow slow, low low, na so so, na so so, Juju sound dey go, dey glow, dey flow, Reactivate the continuum, make the whole world know. Dem Juju! Xound! Dem Xoul! We Heal the Streets Where violence dey, bring silence wey dialogue go balance. Where lonely dey, bring only community; where despair dey, bring air and prayer, song and belong. Healing no mean pretend say wound no end, na say: "We see the wound, we tune the tomb, we no go make am doom." We dey connect, we dey protect, we dey create, we teach, we reach. We listen, we glisten; we heal, we feel; we build, we shield. GOD IS IN THE WORK as AFRO-JUJU CONTINUES..