“cr azy white men” 245of Levantine traders, another user, calling himself inanna, even develops
high political hopes for W hite Nigerian as he considers his skin color a
sign of righteousness: “We need people like you in Nigeria, especially
in our politics. Nigeria needs someone who can be considered neutral
to help heal our politics. I am so proud of you as a fellow Nigerian. Keep
up with the good work.” As if to respond to comments like this, W hite
Nigerian released the song “President” in 2013. The Hausa lyrics are quite
explicit: “Ni ne shugaban k ’asa, W hite Nigerian shugaban k ’asa” (I am
the president, W hite Nigerian is the president), and the song’s animated
video clip grants him a significant promotion, from ordinary member of
the National Youth Service Corps to head of state. Needless to say, this
song is not meant to be taken too seriously. However, it can be considered
reminiscent of an era in Nigerian popular culture during which the late
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the country’s most popular musician, made a serious
run for the presidency. It was 1978. Though the Federal Electoral Commis-
sion disqualified the Movement of the People, his affiliated party, Kuti is
still widely remembered as the “Black President,” which is also the title of
one of his records (Veal 2000: 169).
In terms of high hopes, Mzungu Kichaa’s music video Waja nja (2 0 0 9)
prompts a comment in a similar direction. This song praises Tanzania’s
young generation. Its hook line is a statement about the intelligence and
cunningness of Tanzania’s youth (“vijana wa bongo ni wajanja”). The
video depicts the artist as a man of the people—in fact, as one of the young
people he sings about.^14 A commenter, who calls himself afrocentricmili-
tant7, is impressed by the humility Mzungu Kichaa shows and contrasts
this with the comportment of African American musicians:
ive got so much love for this guy, cos it just shows me how fake everything
else is. this white guy goes to the hood and sings in swahili. fuck any u.s.
rapper talking about africa. them man are black and whenever they come
africa they sleep in 5 star hotels. this guy analala [sleeps] under roof ya
mabati [corrugated iron]. huu msee kichaa [This is a respected “Mister
kichaa”]. he gives me hope for the world.This particular comment got thirty-five “likes” by other YouTube users.
Due to the nature of his songs, many of which address social issues and
show a general concern for the problems of the common people, and for