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Black history month song reviews: Part 1

In honor of Black History Month, Staff Writer Houdah Daniels examines songs that are particularly important in the black community. The first is Boa Me by Fuse ODG, which highlights the growing connection between Western culture and West African culture in music.
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It is becoming increasingly necessary to address the uprising collaboration between Western culture and particularly West African culture in music, as the topic of cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation is so prominent, in my opinion. The music video epitomizes the concept of cultural appreciation as Ed Sheeran was committed to speaking every single word in Ghana’s primary language, Twi, as well as indulge in the several aspects of the culture, such as traditional dance, sipping fresh coconut water and playing the talking drums.

Furthermore, all three artists, Sheeran, Fuse, and Mugeez, can be seen entertaining the children of local neighborhoods and school students. These acts complement the overarching theme of the song, “Boa Me,” translating to “help me” or the concept of helping your neighbors.

In the process of creating this song, Fuse explains that he and his team were in the process of building a school in Ghana to properly internalize the impact they could make. The song illustrates how collaboration can make a lasting impact is powerful.

On a musical level too, the trio was able to add to the increasing popularity of Afrobeats and, more so highlife, as a music genre into mainstream media. 

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About the Contributor
Houdah Daniels, Advanced Staff Writer
Staff writer Houdah Daniels (’20) first introduction to journalism was being a part of the  “Journalistic Writing” elective when first coming to ASL in Grade 7, and continued on with “Media Studies” her following year in Grade 8. Throughout her high school career, Daniels has been involved in both high school publications: Sojourner (the yearbook), in sophomore year, and The Standard in freshman, junior and her current senior year. One highlight of Daniels’ experience on The Standard was co-writing her first published article, which made center spread, with then Editor-in-Chief Tyler Skow and features editor Ananya Prakash (who would late become Editor-in-Chief in her senior year). As a senior, Daniels believes being a staff writer in the “Advanced Journalism: Editors” class has not only strengthened her work ethic and ability to work as a team player, but has also inspired her to explore several aspects of journalism, specifically using our online presence.

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