N'na Duniyaa from Badinyaa Kumoo by Sona Jobarteh

I was commissioned by the director Baltasar Kormákur to write this song for his Hollywood movie “Beast”, starring the renowned actor Idris Elba. The heart of the film’s narrative touches on the parallel existence of man and beast, and the need for wildlife and its environment to be protected. The song talks of the fragility of our planet and the pain it is experiencing, calling on humans to respect the nature that supports and enables our very existence. I called on the renowned South African Zulu poet, educator and social activist Eugene Skeef to write the lyrics for my second verse and choruses in the Zulu language. By singing in Zulu, I wanted to pay my respects to the fact that the movie was filmed on South Africa soil, and more importantly to celebrate and pay homage to the beautiful diversity of African languages. I seek to demonstrate that as Africans we need not always default to using European languages in our music, when we have a continent full of rich African languages that we can explore and celebrate.

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