Thursday throwback: Joshua Baraka’s Nana finds global audience

Thursday Throwback Music Review: Nana - Joshua Baraka

Tomorrow was Joshua’s first single, but Nana was the song that got our attention because it had crossover appeal (he already had his niche fans, of course). It was produced by Axon, whose government name is Godfrey Mukwaya.    

 
Nana wasn’t just a breakout hit, it was a cross border hit that effortlessly put Baraka on the map; he hasn’t looked back since. It was released about three years ago, but Baraka has been putting out hit after hit that it seems like he has been around forever.

So technically this is not really a throw back review. It is another look at a song we really should have given a closer look but didn’t, three years ago. Seeing as Jousha Baraka is currently on a country wide tour, it seems practical to take a peek at when he blew up.

The track used two industry rules that are older than time: it had an insanely catchy hook, and a wildly addictive groove.

Back when the name Joshua Baraka first had folks mentioning his name, it sounded like he was simply a trend, one that would fade as fast as he had exploded.

He was dismissed as a one -hit wonder who had simply figured out a formulaic approach to music that appealed to social media audiences. This was an absurd conclusion, of course (and I think I may have used those words myself).

It eventually emerged that he not only had an ear for a good hook but was pretty effective at the back of the house, playing piano and guitar while laying the tracks he sang on. This caught everyone offguard.

We had a bona fide musician on our hands, with rather unusual vocals. He doesn’t sound like anyone in our industry – he has a more cosmopolitan quality to his voice, which also explains why he has blown up so effectively on a regional and international scale. Baraka sounds global.

This is why Nana worked so well. Both Baraka and Axon came up with the song that was at home in Ibiza, Kampala, Nairobi, New York, London and Sydney.

Baraka might be Uganda’s first truly global musician.