Track of the day: ‘Kurunba’ by Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee

The song ‘Kurunba’ is a powerful example of resistance and denouncing the customs of exclusion faced by women when they have finished raising their husband’s children. In some patriarchal societies, once her children are married, the wife’s role in the family is diminished and often results in the arrival of a co-wife. If she rebels against this, she could be branded as ‘crazy’ and isolated from society.

“Kurunba tells the story of a particular woman who was freed from her isolation,” Rokia explains. “On the day of her daughter’s wedding she sang this song, and the same people who had tried to lock her up were transformed into dogs and flies. It’s like a curse.”

As a member of Les Amazones d’Afrique (the West African musical collective who campaign for gender equality) women’s issues are a regular theme in Rokia’s songs.

“We cannot list all the problems women face,” she says. “Lack of access to education for girls, conjugal violence suffered by women in households, rivalry amongst co-wives, and more besides. I call on men to get involved in works that protect and make women happy.”

In the video for ‘Kurunba’, Rokia enters a London nightclub as an apparition amongst a gathering of some of the city’s most talented young contemporary dancers who react to the song’s high-energy, uplifting spirit. It was directed and choreographed by Zambia-born dance artist Kennedy Junior Muntanga.

BAMANAN by Rokia Koné & Jacknife Lee is out on February 18, 2022 on Real World Records and is available to pre-order on CD and double LP (with accompanying lyric & photo book). ‘Kurunba’ is out now on all digital platforms.

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