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2. Rhythm and Reappropriation in God’s Bits of Wood and The Suns of Independence
- Temple University Press
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2 / Rhythm and Reappropriation in God’s Bits of Wood and The Suns of Independence Throughout time, music and rhythm have served as important strategies for subverting and reappropriating authority, particularly in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, during which time diverse musical genres— including jazz, punk, rap, and other forms of popular music—have played a role in challenging aesthetic and sociocultural conventions in locations around the world (see Berger and Carrol 2003; Born and Hesmondhalgh 2000; Mattern 1998; Pratt 1990; and Yankah 1997). Serving as points of connection or commonality among diverse peoples, rhythm and music can function as powerful devices that unite people in their struggles against political, economic, and hegemonic authorities. Theodor Adorno describes music as a “formative force” that creates “binding experiences,” even in its most abstract and fragmentary forms, and that encourages collectivity in that it “says We directly regardless of its intentions” (Adorno 1997, 167), while simultaneously promoting individualism. A creative, expressive form of pro-activity or pro-activeness, the power of music manifests itself in a multiplicity of ways, fostering a dynamic rhythmic force that connects and empowers individuals, affirms their autonomously constructed identities , and inspires them to question and to pro-actively resist repressive regimes and social agendas. Not exclusive to the domain of music, this power is also affirmed through transdisciplinary rhythmic phenomena as perceptible in linguistic, poetic, and biological forms (among others). As Henri Meschonnic maintains: “Comme la collectivité est rythmique, le rythme engendre la collectivité” (Meschonnic,1982, 649) (Just like collectivity is rhythmic, rhythm engenders collectivity). In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, West African rhythm and reappropriation / 63 musicians have used their voices to speak out against economic exploitation , political corruption, and social injustices, spreading their messages to a global forum through live performances, music videos, and audio recordings . Ivoirian reggae artists Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly have emerged in recent years as prominent critics of European and American overinvolvement in African affairs. In doing so, they have become vocal advocates for African autonomy and Pan-African unity. Blondy has earned notoriety throughout the past decade with his 1998 song “Armée française” (French Army), in which he orders the French army to leave the independent African nations of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gabon, Djibouti, and Central African Republic, among others (Blondy 1998). As the song begins, Blondy commands : “Armée française, allez-vous-en! Allez-vousen de chez nous. Nous ne voulons plus d’indépendance sous haute surveillance .” (French army, get out of here ! Get out of our home. We no longer want independence under high surveillance.) Later in the song, Blondy proclaims : Nous sommes des États indépendants et souverains. Votre présence militaire entame notre souveraineté, Confisque notre intégrité, bafoue notre dignité, Et ça, ça ne peux plus durer Alors allez-vous-en! [We are independent and sovereign States Your military presence undermines our sovereignty, Confiscates our integrity and scoffs at our dignity, And this, this can no longer last So get out of here!] Although the song was recorded five years prior to violent exchanges between France and Côte d’Ivoire in 2004, the song quickly became an anthem for young Ivoirians who were frustrated with the French response to civil unrest in their country. After a failed coup d’état attempt on September 19, 2002 (when rebel factions from northern Côte d’Ivoire attacked government and military installations in Abidjan, Bouaké, and Korhogo), France increased its troop levels in Côte d’Ivoire. As tensions mounted between the northern and southern regions of Côte d’Ivoire, France also worked to broker the LinasMarcoussis Peace Accord in January 2003 through which officers from the rebel forces would be integrated into President Laurent Gbagbo’s government , and foreign troops would be brought in to monitor the cease fire. Although Gbagbo and the leaders of the rebel faction accepted the terms of the accord, declaring the end of civil war in July 2003, their agreement [18.234.139.149] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 21:09 GMT) 64 / sounding off eventually broke down, and violence began to mount once again between rival factions. The violence between groups escalated in the months leading up to November 2004, when Gbagbo ordered air strikes in rebel-controlled regions in northern Côte d’Ivoire. During one such air strike, nine French soldiers and an American aid worker were killed. Whether the strikes were accidental or intentional, the...