Akinsanya Anikulafo Mwanza beat his first drum when he was two years old, and since that day the rhythms have invoked a passion in him rarely seen among children so young. He beats the drum consistently these days.
Known simply as Akinsanya in family circles, the boy, now 5 years old, regularly sticks to his drums. His eloquence is remarkable at that age, but he is still learning what his relationship is with the drums. For now, he beats them, they awake and people who watch him walk away with an experience.
“It came to him naturally… I didn’t have to say here are these drums play them,” his father, Priest Mwanza recalled. He reasoned that the boy was likely to find a connection to some musical instrument because of how he raised him and his older sister.
Music, like books, is important in the Mwanza household and Akinsanya has been surrounded by the voices of reggae icon Bob Marley, Senegalese singer and guitarist Baaba Maal, the famous Afro singer Fela, and South African singer Miriam Makeba among others.
“I listen to Baaba Maal, Fela, Michael Jackson even Sparrow,” Akinsanya told The Scene during a recent interview. Initially shy, he sat quietly while his father mentioned how much the music he was exposed to has shaped the direction he is now taking. He is a huge fan of the singer, Fela and within a few minutes Akinsanya was chatting about his favourite songs.
The song, “Basket Mouth” by Fela rolled off his lips easily. He explained that it reminds him of someone his neighbourhood, particularly the lyrics, “Basket mouth wan start to leak again”.
Afro pop sounds are, “his music”, he said, and it is also the kind of music that allows him to beat his drums with a certain freedom. Akinsanya still has much to learn about drums and strengthen his craft, but at his age; he is pretty good.
The drums were close by as he sat with his older sister, Abasede Bejde Fabayo Mwanza, and rattled on about his love for Jackson’s songs. He happily reported that he can do the moonwalk, and that he is currently working on a few other moves which the singer perfected.
Though he is yet to understand Guyanese history the names Walter Rodney and Forbes Burnham are familiar to him. Akinsanya has have heard of them both and he has also listened to speeches by Martin Luther King Jr, and Marcus Garvey among others.
His bedtime stories are the tales of African women who have ruled in their own lands like Queen Kiya; Queen Nefertiti and Princess Hatshepsut. Akinsanya loves Hatshepsut’s story because, “she was the woman who became king”. She was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt and for Akinsanya; her story is an important one.
Priest Mwanza said he is raising his children so that they could understand their culture and their history. He said certain music is not allowed in his home, namely dancehall music and certain kind of soca music. “That is not the kind of music I want them to listen to,” he said.
He said they would listen to R&B music sometimes and they are also exposed to folk music. Mwanza noted that most of the folk music they listen to at home is not played anywhere in the country, and that it was only recently at the launch of the International Year of People of African Descent (IYPAD) that he heard one of the songs by the Korokwa Singers.
Akinsanya was also part of the official launch of IYPAD as part of a group which his father organized for a sacred drum chant. His performance wowed the capacity crowd; as he sat there beating the drum, his head was moving with the rhythms and at times, his eyes were closed.
There were a few moments during the performance when he stopped to rest his hands, visibly tired then he start again with a burst of energy. He remembers the event, but is more willing to talk about how much people praised his performance.
Akinsanya and his sister offered to play the drums for this reporter, which they did beautifully, and they also performed a song in the Yoruba language. Shortly after that, the two went inside and emerged with an acoustic guitar. With the guitar strapped around his tiny frame Akinsanya was soon rocking to a Michael Jackson number and his sister, with cordless mike in hand, was belting out the lyrics.
According to the father, he has no routine for his children when it comes to music. He said that it is what they do when they have free time. “They read history books or listen to speeches sometimes and it is not like its routine, or I have a structure in place,” he added.
The literature including works from Rodney is not forced upon them, the father said, noting that if they like it they would show interest. He said there are times when they would look at the material and turn away.
Akinsanya is still far off from goals, but he has a feeling that drumming is in his future. He has his own drums which are often close to him when he is home and sometimes, at any hour when he is feeling the vibes, he plays them. (ianaseales@yahoo.com)
