How often does a music video make you shiver? This one def made me quiver a bit; in a good way though. Watch Fuse ODG’s newest video for his single, Letter to T.I.N.A, after the click.
First, a little context. Last month, Ghanian Afrobeats musician, Fuse ODG (who won the 2014 MOBO Award for Best African Act) was asked to do a remake of Bob Geldof’s Feed The World for a campaign meant to raise money for fighting Ebola on the continent. Though initially interested, he had concerns about how Africa would be portrayed and as it turned out, he eventually said no. In an opp-ed piece in the Guardian, he wrote about why he decided not to be apart of the project:
Saying no to Bob Geldof is one of the hardest decisions I have had to make this year. However, seeing what looked like the corpse of an African woman being carried out of her home on primetime TV when the video was premiered on X Factor crystallised my concerns about this strategy to combat the Ebola crisis. For me it is ultimately flawed.
A week before the recording of Band Aid 30, I received a call from Geldof asking if I would take part. I was honoured to be asked and, connecting with his passion for wanting to tackle the Ebola crisis, said I wanted to offer my support.
But I also had my concerns. I was sceptical because of the lyrics and the videos of the previous charity singles, and I worried that this would play into the constant negative portrayal of the continent of Africa in the west. Geldof and I spoke at length about this and he agreed with me on many levels, assuring me that we could use it as an opportunity to showcase the positives of Africa.
However, on receiving the proposed lyrics on Thursday – two days before the recording was due to take place in London – I was shocked and appalled by their content. The message of the Band Aid 30 song absolutely did not reflect what Africa is truly about and I started to question whether this was something I wanted to be a part of.
Fast forward to today, Fuse has released the official video for “Letter to T.I.N.A” (This Is New Africa), with lyrics that resonate with his message and the reason why he said no to Band Aid in the first place. Watch the Vertex directed video, below:
