Alpha Steppa & Wellette Seyon - Balance (Steppas Records)

Seyon werkte eerder al onder andere samen met Russ Disciple, Ras Kush van Black Redemption en Dan I van het Italiaanse Imperial Roots, maar maakt met deze 'Balance', 12 vocal cuts en evenveel dubs, haar langspelerdebuut. Onder het motto: "Patience is the mother of a beautiful child!" (een Afrikaans gezegde), trok het duo daar ruim tijd voor uit, want het hele proces nam maar even zeven jaar in beslag. 

Seyon blijkt een begenadigd tekstschrijfster, die er steeds opnieuw in slaagt om op een simpele en poëtische manier toch stevige pleidooien neer te zetten. 

We lichten graag enkele voorbeelden uit de tracklist. In de stevige opener 'This Revolution', waarvoor ze zich duidelijk liet beïnvloeden door Gill Scott-Heron's 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised', trekt ze van leer tegen "salonrevolutionairen":

This revolution
This revolution

This revolution won't be televised
They'll be no lock dressers on hand
To keep your natty looking bonified
With jojoba and shea butter blends
No make-up artists running at your side
To make you look hot, fresh, in demand
No stylist providing one of a kind
Crocheted ice, gold, green crowns and tams
No kente cloth - Itiopia inspired designer ware straight from motherland

You won't need that custom-made bling, Iya
No iced-out ankhs or 14-carat gold bands
Dem vanities gon burn up in the fyah
And all that's left will be your righteous stand

This revolution
This revolution

This revolution won't be civilized
Intellectualizing while you're sipping on wine (hmmm)
Sitting back, legs crossed while you proselytize
Over gourmet meals dining by candlelight (mmmmm)
This revolution won't be irie vibes (Irie I…One love)
Smoking that kush while you chant pon the mic (no, no, no)
No sound system 8 speaker boxes high
No laptop DJ saving your life

This revolution won't be publicized
Calling all rebels busy behind the scenes, yeah (righteous)
No red carpet or afterparty vibes
The taste of revolution is bittersweet
Won't be announced on air or streaming live
This ain't no contest for popularity

This revolution
This revolution

We have to know just what we're fighting for
We have to know just what we're working towards
We have to know just where we're coming from
We have to know exactly who we are

If we gon win this battle, I say
If we gon make this world a better place
If we gon stand up to hypocrisy
If we gon make our people free-ee

This revolution
This revolution

In titelnummer 'Balance' belicht Seyon dan weer het belang van evenwicht, evenwicht tussen man en vrouw, alfa en omega, kennis en wijsheid. Ook het poëtische woordenspel van de hypnotische, door Alpha & Omega geproduceerde, stepper 'Real Eyes Realize' is zeker uw aandacht waard:

So many fighting
With what they want to be
Instead of facing I&I reality
Like love and hate
Like peace and war
For balance to exist
There must be opposites
I don't wear rose-colored glasses
No I don't want to be colorblind
For I love the skin I'm in
Accept that which is different
I must clear vision
I must good sight
I must have real vision
I must real eyes

I must true sight
So I can realize
Real eyes realize
Real eyes realize

I won't sing a song of one love and unity
And forget Africa and Africans aren't free yet
Black is the bass, white is the echo
Shades of gray resonate
The spectrum only elevates
I won't participate in fantasy and lies
I third eye won't allow it
Too many fought and died
Speaking truth to power
I use I voice, can't waste no time
If we're to liberate with freedom chants
And bring the light

Oh, we must have clear vision
We must good sight
We must real vision
We must have real eyes

We must have true sight
So we can realize
Real eyes realize
Real eyes realize
… 

En dan is er nog 'Ganja Tune', maar dan wel eentje met een andere insteek dan u wellicht gewend bent:

They say a chalice a day keep the doctah away
Well can you prove this?
We haffi tell the whole story about the herb
If I&I endorse it
The ganja is a blessing from di earth
Don't forsake it or abuse it
I said I wanna sing a different kinda ganja tune
Kinda song that u never knew

I want to sing a different kinda ganja tune
Every song the same, nothing new under the sun and moon
I wanna talk about how we must build the nation
And how the ganja gonna fund the education
Of our youth that we sending to failed institutions
An how we gonna use the ganja for bettah solutions
For uplifting the community and the resurrection
Of a people who ah suffer poverty, indoctrination
For my people, this system don't have no good intentions
And I know say that the herb is the healing of the nation
But I&I nah get nowhere smoking away our problems
While the profits go to government and greedy corporations

Ah me nah wanna hear the same ole ganja tune
Or how much the ganja smoke ah make the man dem swoon
Sounding like you love the ganja more than you love your people
Ganja is for liberation not for sedating the sheeple

A chalice a day keep the doctah away
Well can you prove it?
I said we haffi be the herb connoisseur, yeah
If I&I ah use it
I say the ganja is a blessing from above
Don't forsake it or abuse it
I said I wanna sing a different kinda ganja tune
Kinda song that you never knew

Don't wanna hear another song about the high grade makka
Unless we talking 'bout how high we gonna trade stock options
I say, put down the spliff and lift up level, brick and mortar
And set the foundation for Selassie I sons and dawtas
Decriminalization, yes, we need fi legalize it
And keep the poor from unjustly being penalized still
Ganja-smokin' ain't for every man or every woman
How can I&I use the sacred herb from top to bottom?
The stem, the stalk, the branches and leaves make healthful tonic
Not just the flowers and the buds which some callin' da chronic
Medicinal healing, boom economy it offer
But yet routine rolling can cause unfavorable outcomes
I beg your pardon but me nah jump on the weed bandwagon
Rastafari is ah movement so we nah gonna stay stagnant
And if we use it wisely, enough philosophizing
Time fi Rasta mansions come together and start organizing

Met 'Black Woman Civilisation', geproduceerd door Dub Dynasty (het samenwerkingsverbond tussen Alpha Stepper en Alpha & Omega), krijgen we nog een ode aan de zwarte vrouw, en in 'House Of Vanity', een duet met de Koreaanse Smiley Song, schakelt Wellette zelfs even over op het Amhaars (een Bijbelcitaat uit Jakobus 2:14: " Broeders en zusters, wat voor zin heeft het te zeggen dat u christen bent als dat niet blijkt uit wat u voor anderen doet? Kunt u door zo'n geloof gered worden?"). 

Besluiten doet 'Balance' met de betoverende liefdesode 'Like Dew', waarvoor we opnieuw in Ethiopië blijven, want de titel van het nummer is geïnspireerd door het Ethiopische gezegde: "You are like dew, even before it rains!".

Heerlijke spirituele trip en dan moeten die 12 dubversies nog volgen!