Zap Mama & Erykah Badu - Bandy Bandy

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases two videos of the Zap Mama song "Bandy Bandy". One of those videos of this song features Erykah Badu with Zap Mama (Marie Daulne). Lyrics & information about the song "Bandy Bandy" are also included in this post along with information about Zap Mama & Erykah Badu.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, & aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ZAP MAMA
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zap_Mama
"Zap Mama is a Belgian artist Marie Daulne. Zap Mama sings Polyphonic and Afro-Pop music; a harmonic music with a mixture of infused African vocal techniques, Urban, Hip-Hop with emphasis on voice.[1] The worldwide success of Zap Mama, and an ensemble of female polyphonic singers, inspired influences in American Hip Hop, Nu-Soul, Jazz and elements of Pop. The evolving musical compositions created a diverse band of singers and musicians for Zap Mama...

Sources of Zap Mama's music include Daulne's roots in the Democratic Republic of Congo, her upbringing in Belgium, and her return to Africa to rediscover her musical roots...

After Daulne left home she remembered the African songs her mother sang to her as a child.[11] "When I left home, I missed those songs, and in the school choir, I wondered why we didn't use African harmonising. So my sister and I started to sing African melodies, and Zap Mama was born. I wrote my first song at 15, and my artist friend Nina said that what we were doing was amazing. She helped me to find a gig, and from that day, it has been non-stop."...

In the documentary film Mizike Mama, Daulne and her family recall a reverse cultural tug-of-war for her allegiance during her childhood.[12] Her mother feared that Daulne would grow up too African and so did not teach her tribal songs.[12] However the Belgian side of her family encouraged Daulne to explore her African heritage.[12] Daulne first heard a recording of traditional pygmy music when she was 20.[13] She decided to return Congo-Kinshasa in 1984[3] to learn about her heritage and train in pygmy onomatopoeic vocal techniques.[13] "When I went to the Congo, I hadn’t thought of being a musician. Not at all. But I was there, and I was standing in the middle of the forest, hearing the music that had been a part of my earliest memories, and it was like an illumination, like a light," Daulne said...

Daulne's music has evolved over the years from an a cappella quintet to a lead voice accompanied by instruments.[14] "I’m a nomad. I like to discover my sound with different instruments, different genres. For me it’s normal. My name is Zap Mama...it’s easy for me to zap in from one instrument to another, a culture, a style. I’m more a citizen of the world, not an American or Belgian."

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INFORMATION ABOUT ERYKAH BADU
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erykah_Badu
"Erykah Abi Wright (born Erica Abi Wright February 26, 1971),[1] better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, record producer, activist and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz.[1] She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre. She is known as the "First Lady of Neo-Soul" or the "Queen of Neo-Soul".

Early in her career, Badu was recognizable for wearing very large and colorful headwraps. For her musical sensibilities, she has often been compared[2] to jazz great Billie Holiday.[3][4] She was a core member of the Soulquarians, and is also an actress having appeared in a number of films playing a range of supporting roles in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000, The Cider House Rules and House of D. She also speaks at length in the documentaries Before the Music Dies and "The Black Power Mixtapes"...

By the age of 14, Erykah was free-styling for a local radio station alongside such talent as Roy Hargrove. In her early youth, she decided to change the spelling of her name from Erica to Erykah, as she firmly believed her original name to be her slave name. The term 'kah' signifies the inner self. Badu is her favorite jazz scat sound and is also an African name for the 10th born child used for the Akan people in Ghana.[5]"...

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INFORMATION ABOUT & LYRICS OF THE SONG "BANDY BANDY"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandy-bandy
"Bandy-bandy (Vermicella annulata) is a species of snake in the Elapidae family. It is endemic to Australia.

Individuals are marked with alternating black and white or yellowish bands, which give the species both its common names and the Latin name"...
-snip-
In this 2004 Zap Mama" song "Bandy Bandy" means to move rhythmically through life so that your soul & your body feel good. The black & white coloring of this species of snake may have been purposely chosen for the symbolism of its coloring by the mixed race (Congo/Belgian) "Zap Mama" [Marie Daulne].

Here's some information about the album from which that song comes:
"Ancestry in Progress" (2004) reflects Daulne's new life in the United States, as it synthesizes her traditional African and European influences with American musical styles like hip-hop and R&B.[9] "The American beat is a revolution all over the world," Daulne says.[9] "Everybody listens to it and everybody follows it. But the beat of the United States was inspired by the beat coming from Africa. Not just its structure, but the sound of it. This is the source of modern sounds, the history of the beat, starting from little pieces of wood banging against one another, and arriving on the big sound-systems today. It's genius. So I wanted to create an album about the evolution of old ancestral vocal sounds, how they traveled from Africa, mixing with European and Asian sounds, and were brought to America."[9] Ancestry in Progress (2004) reached #1 on the Billboard World Music Album chart.[20] A music video for the single "Bandy Bandy," featuring Erykah Badu, directed by Bill Fishman and produced by David Herrera (music video director), aired on VH1."
-Zap Mama Wikipedia (The link is given above.)

-snip-
BANDY BANDY
Like bandy bandy
wave ya body like bandy bandy yeah
Ooh
Like bandy bandy
wave ya body like bandy bandy yeah

When the day gets too long
when its so right now feel so wrong
Listen to what i say
See if you dont agree
Theres something i learned long ago
Down where the blu waters flow
Something people do to let their spirits free

In the morning time
in the afternoon
in the cool evening breeze

Like bandy bandy wave ya body
like bandy bandy yeah
ooh
like bandy bandy wave ya body like bandy bandy yeah
ooh

Any time of the day
wave
Any place
wave
if u feelin down
wave-move ya body like a bandy snake

if u feel the day
wave
anyplace that u happen to be
wave
if u feelin low
wave
just do what u need

in the morning time
in the afternoon
in the cool evening breeze

(2x)like bandy bandy
wave ya body
like bandy bandy yeah
ooh

(2x)Take the time
fill the day
fill the light
fill the day
fill the night take a breath
fill yourself full of light
shine(shine)
until u feel your soul away

Source: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/z/zap_mama/bandy_bandy.html

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Zap Mama & Erykah Badu - Bandy Bandy



theangryblackman, Uploaded on Jun 14, 2006

Off the cd "Ancestry In Progress"

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Example #2:
Zap Mama - Bandy Bandy (Live In Philly)



reelblack, Uploaded on Dec 19, 2008

Zap Mama performs her hit, Bandy Bandy at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia, PA on June 27, 2008. Includes intro. Actual Song begins at 2:58. Special Thanks Young Friends Society. Visit www.worldcafelive.com and www.zapmama.be A Reelblack Exclusive

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RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/what-afro-european-afropean-mean.html "What Afro-European" and "Afropean" Mean".

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Thanks to Zap Mama & to Erykah Badu for their musical legacy. Thanks to all those whose information & transcription are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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Visitors comments are welcome.