Ngoma

It was a typical sticky, humid summer evening in 1991 and Afrikans percussion students of Dhati Majaliwa gathered. They gathered at the only completely Afrikan-American owned and operated vegetarian restaurant and bakery in St. Louis called LaPatisserie. They gathered for what they thought would be their first and only recital. Leaving the safety of the apartment above the restaurant, where the classes were held, these students ventured out to make St. Louis history.Added to their mix were several local Afrikan-American poets, singers and area activists who came to provide information on community affairs. No one knew what exactly to expect but all gathered to enjoy each others’ company. Somewhere around 8 O’Clock things began and before long there was cheering, clapping, laughter, head bobbing, shouts of “teach hard!,” foot stomping and dancing in the aisles. Ngoma was born and has continued since that day.Ngoma is in the Kiswahili language of East Afrika and means “dance and drum.” Its music spans the gamut of the Afrikan experience; jazz, blues, traditional Afrikan, reggae, Afro Latin, highlife and Ngoma’s own sounds-which they coined “Mississippi Valley Music.” Rich in texture, rhythm and pulse, Ngoma is an experience of lyrics, music, drum, dance and Songoetry (song and poetry). Ngoma is real and fo’real. It is a sharing of real Afrikan-American life experience, real feeling, real expression – “It ain’t no movie.” Enjoy, enjoy.
I created this profile using the Skize.com MySpace Profile Editor which is really easy to use. You can also check out their other selection of MySpace Layouts !