Examples of African Happy Birthday Song
Life is all about ups and downs. We experience both happiness and sadness occasionally. Furthermore, we do not have control over most of the things that trigger these emotions. Such emotions are involuntary. We can not laugh when experiencing excruciating pain or cry rivers when experiencing a moment of happiness. Our reactions are meant to match these emotions. Anything else is unnatural. We can never control how we react, at least for the first few seconds after hearing or experiencing something. Even if a person develops a tendency to do so, his facial expressions may not allow it.
For example, If a person is in danger, he might not cry out of fear, but his forehead would be sweaty, and his heartbeat would be unusually fast. Similarly, if a person feels excited, he might not be dancing around with joy, but there would be brightness in his eyes. We cannot control such expressions, but there are some things that we can do. For example, if someone’s birthday is near, we can plan to make that birthday his happiest and unforgettable. Among all the things that we can do to increase his birthday spirit, one is birthday music. Birthday songs are heart-warming, which helps in making one’s birthday even livelier.
Birthday songs play a crucial role in one’s birthday. With different regions come different cultures. People of each culture have their birthday song, but commonly people from all over the world sing “Happy Birthday To You” to the birthday boy/girl. African people have always been culturally distinct. Their culture is uniquely rich and diverse. Africans have their Happy Birthday Songs. Here, we will dig into that and some African birthday music that made its spot in the music industry.
Conception
The African music that you know till now might be different. You may have known that African folk music is all about playing drums carved from the trunks of trees. You may have also learned that the Africans are all primitives and the African tribes play music in the jungle. No. That is not it. African music is very diverse. Now that the World has developed, African music has evolved too. We will introduce you to a whole different kind of African music. So let’s get started.
Introduction to Birthday Songs
Birthday Songs are the songs that people play or sing on one’s birthday. The lyrics of these songs may mention birthday candles, birthday cakes, and birthday celebrations. Artists try to make Birthday songs catchy. They think of simple chord progressions such as C, G, Am, F. Birthday songs are usually in the key of C. The verses are shorter and contain more rhymes.
Another thing to make the birthday song catchy is to make the chorus repetitive. There is a good chance that the song would get stuck in the audience’s minds. Birthday songs are constantly upbeat to give a happy vibe, so they do not use sad instruments like the violin.
The African Music
African traditional music is very diverse. It covers various genres like Jùjú, Fuji, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and Afrobeat. African music is usually accompanied by musical instruments like the tambura drums, xylophones, thumb piano, and djembe. African music has also influenced American Music. In other words, Many singers and songwriters with African backgrounds have influenced Hollywood and the famous song and music videos in the industry. In addition, Some notable African-American music names include Beyonce, Michael Jackson, and Kendrick Lamar.
Significance of Birthday Music
Birthday music plays an essential role in a birthday party. It increases the spark of joy in the person whose birthday is celebrated. A person does not feel the birthday spirit unless his friends sing it to him. Moreover, music also helps ease one’s mind. It enables the mind release serotonin, a brain chemical that induces happiness. Birthday Songs are often catchy, which helps in making the mood of that person better. It will not be incorrect to say that without Birthday Music, birthdays do not feel like they should. Birthday music is as essential as the cheese topping on a pizza.
Impact of Birthday Songs in African Culture
In Africa, music is a social activity, and almost everybody participates in it. Music highlights the African Values and traditions with a melody. The African people celebrate many events in which they play music. One of these events is the birthday. Birthday music is an integral part of African culture. African Happy Birthday music stands alone in the music industry. They are of their kind with a little chaotic vibe. In other words, African songs are livelier than others of this kind. Without a birthday song, the Africans consider the birthday celebration incomplete and less tasteful because birthday songs play an essential role in African Birthday Events.
Birthday Celebrations in the African Culture
Firstly, most African countries are economically poor, and the African continent is underdeveloped. There is political instability, war, and famine in many African countries. Most of the African population is primitive. Secondly, They live in tribes and do not even consider remembering one’s birth date.
Thirdly, Other people in the countryside are either too poor to celebrate and hold events, or maybe they are too disturbed by the problems that they cannot even think of celebrating something. Nevertheless, there are always people in a community who create happiness even in chaos. Some people of this kind are in Africa too. They have a different ideology. In other words, They try to find joy in the pain to get their minds off some things. Know more about how do you say Happy Birthday in different languages?
Examples of African Happy Birthday Songs
Here are some of the best African Happy birthday songs that we are proud to share with you:
1) It Is Your Birthday by LekanA
It is an extraordinary birthday song. Lekan released wrote this song in English.
2) OMO OLOJO IBI by Gmarx
is a soft and unique birthday song. The vocals of Gmarx are remarkable in it. This song contains prayers and good wishes.
3) Birthday Song by Don McLean
It is an RnB birthday song. It’s written in the English language. Don McLean released it in 1972, and it’s 2 minutes and 37 seconds long.
4) Birthday by Destiny’s Child
It is a pop song that the girl group Destiny’s Child released in 1998 and had American composers. Despite being so old, it still is one of the most popular birthday songs. It is 5 minutes and 14 seconds long.
5) Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder released this song on her album “Hotter than July” in 1980. She used this song to promote a campaign for making the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr’s birth a national holiday.
6) Happy Birthday by Sunny Neiji
This song is in English and some major Nigerian languages. Reportedly, it is also popular in Nigeria.
7) It Is Your Birthday by LekanA
Williams released this song back in 2013 on his album “Happy.” It belongs to the Soul, Pop genre.
8) Happy Birthday by Masaka Kids Africana
It is a Dance/ Electronic Song. Masaka Kids Africana released it in 2019 on their album “Let’s Praise.”
9) Happy Birthday by Harmonize
This song was released back in 2020. It is 3 minutes and 13 seconds long.
10) Happy, Happy Birthday Baby by Tune Weavers
This song belongs to the rock genre. Weavers released this song in 1994.
11) Happy Birthday Satchmo
A swinging Happy Birthday in the style of Louis Armstrong’s “Satchmo.”
They are called Afropop. And there is not only one type but are several types available. Jazz, Rock, blues singer, Religious song, and many more.
GRAMMY-winning band Toto’s African-American music “Africa” is the best song ever made.
The intro is solid gold. The music video is great. Have African-American composers.
The drumbeat, the keyboard, and the little flute thing are perfect.
Music of Africa is the basis of many kinds of musics that exist today in the world. Today almost most of the famous and popular music that we hear has some roots in African music. Jazz, blues, rock, etc., have African roots somehow.
In the aspect of traditional music, Africa hosts thousands of rhythms, uncountable types of percussion and drums, and many kinds of musical rituals and traditions, like the tradition of griots or the healing ceremony of Gnawa. With the hosting of many tribes, this music and genres still exist in many different ways.
“Africa” is a song recorded by the American rock band Toto in 1981.
The song was written by American composers David Paich and Jeff Porcaro. The soft rock song’s lyrics talk about the themes of love and location.
40 years have passed, yet this song is still going.
Conclusion
In conclusion, every culture has its own identity. Not just different religious points of view and traditions but also other kinds of art. They have different fashion, dance, and music. Moreover, it is of different styles of music, one of which is birthday music. Economically, South Africa is an impoverished continent, but that does not keep the people from celebrating special events. They somehow manage to cheer up their loved ones on their special day by singing African Happy Birthday Songs. This is a beautiful way of not just celebrating one’s birthday but also keeping their cultural identity instead of intermingling it with other cultures of the world.
