"Empowering Anthems: A List of Songs Dedicated to Celebrating Women"
- laguineolese
- Mar 14, 2024
- 3 min read
1. Mbilia Bel - Phénomene
To kick off La Guinéolese’s Women’s Day playlist, we are going to start off with a country that has Rhumba at its heart, which is the democratic republic of the Congo.
Legendary musician Mbilia Bel is renowned across the world for being the "Queen of African Rumba." With her sophisticated and polished voice, she has consistently topped charts since the 1980s. We have chosen the song Phénomène to honour Women's Day.
2. Fally Ipupa - Lady D
Next up, we have multi-award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated artist Fally Ipupa. Fally is no stranger when it comes to creating back-to-back hits. As we celebrate women, what better hit to use than Lady D? The question that has mostly sparked from this song is "Who is this lady D?"
Who is this wonderful woman that is so special enough to be associated with lyrics and phrases such as "confident African woman," "special in everyone's eyes," "heart full of love," and "God gave you everything: strength, health, and beauty"? Attentive listeners know that the answer is 38 seconds in the song. It is dedicated to all you strong women. If you are a woman reading this, you are Lady D!
3. Oumou Dioubate - Femme d'Afrique
Travelling through the sweet west coast of Africa, we land in Guinea with popular djely/artist Oumou Dioubate and her top hit, Femme d’Afrique (African woman).
This song evokes a range of feelings in the listener, from goosebumps, delight, and melancholy to joyful victory. This is because the song's narrative highlights women's bravery in the face of hardship and adversity.
She calls the ladies of Angola, Rwanda, Liberia, and Guinea "brave" and dedicates this song to all the women in Africa. When this song was released in 1997, the above-mentioned African nations experienced widespread grief and mourning.
The Angolan civil war, the first Liberian civil war ending in 1997, and the genocide in Rwanda.
The song's sensitive lyrics address women's rights and treatment, and Oumou concludes by reminding us
“The woman is not to be beaten.
The woman educates her children.
Everything that woman wants, God wants it.”
4. Salif Keita - Moussolou
We arrive in Mali Bamako directly from Guinea Conakry after less than a 14-hour journey ride, or, if you prefer, the convenience of a 2-hour flight. First up we have legendary Salif Keita with the title Moussoulou which translates for ‘women’ from the Manding language. Salif Keita also known as the golden voice of Africa pays tribute to hard-working women and mothers in this song.
This is nothing new to Salif’s fans as his lyrics often encapsulate general themes of culture, romance, justice, and joy alongside some personal tributes.
5. Oumou Sangare
Renowned musician Oumou Sangare and Wassoulou cultural ambassador, also known as the Wassoulou songbird, has always honoured women and fought for their situation's betterment through her songs, film acting, and activism.
The malian Grammy Award winner Sangare, a women’s rights advocate who also champions ending child marriage and polygamy, has many classics and hits on the theme of women.
Therefore, La Guinéolese are not gracing you with one, but two songs from Oumou. If you guessed Moussoulou (women) as one of the titles, then you are right. Our second title from the artist is Sira.
6. Gadji Celi - Femme de feu
As we reach the leading cocoa producing country, Ivory Coast, we enjoy Gadji Celi’s Femme de feu. The title translates to Woman of Fire in French. This "Champeta" genre song is a lovely ode to women by former Ivorian footballer and charming musician, Mr. Celi.
The song contains favourable lyrics, such as:
“Woman is the source of life. A woman is the breath of life.
Woman is the reason for life.”
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