Yup, you read the title correctly. Everyone here listens to one particular style of music: Local, Arab or Indian (bollywood is huge here); but in addition, they all like the popular rap/r&b artists from the great USofA. Sometimes when I get lost in Malindi, a part of town where the streets are literally sand poured on top of litter, it's quite common to hear Sean Paul, NeYo, Chris Brown, Craig David, and Shaggy (more on Shaggy later). Oh and of course Rihanna. She's like a virus. But here, she's not the only girl in the world. (That was bad, even for me.)
Now someone correct me if I'm wrong, but JLo isn't black. She's not even as black as Obama. (Come on, he was brought up in Hawaii with white grandparents.) Regardless, everyone man/woman/kid's ringtone is JLo. Except for my neighbour; her ringtone is a brown song from my dad's childhood. It's painful. And she's loves to text.
Re: JLo's roots. Of course Africans can listen to a Latina, and Arabs can listen to a Frenchman, and the whole world can live happily ever after. But I was specifically told by a few people that they listen to Jlo because she is "like them."
Am I missing something here? Is GLo (George) African too? I googled a whole bunch of things and all I found was that Glow is now available in perfume shops across South Africa.
The bank teller's ringtone was 'On The Floor.' 'You Got It' is always blasting from the street vendors' boomboxes. A couple old dudes in Jaws Corner had her first CD. Even the thugs outside my window and the construction Mussas were listening to 'My Love Don't Cost a Thing.' I watched a Kenyan football star's interview - his first crush? JLo.
Her ethnicity is up in the air, but one thing's for sure: JLo has major street cred in Zanzibar.
Edit: According to a couple EWB junior fellows, Celine Dion and the Backstreet Boys are huge in Ghana. I didn't believe this until I started hearing them here too. (Read more about Bailey and Daniela in Ghana - links are on the left!)
p.s. I walked in the house one day and my mama said 'O Na Na' at complete random. Did I mention Rihanna is big here too?
Now someone correct me if I'm wrong, but JLo isn't black. She's not even as black as Obama. (Come on, he was brought up in Hawaii with white grandparents.) Regardless, everyone man/woman/kid's ringtone is JLo. Except for my neighbour; her ringtone is a brown song from my dad's childhood. It's painful. And she's loves to text.
Re: JLo's roots. Of course Africans can listen to a Latina, and Arabs can listen to a Frenchman, and the whole world can live happily ever after. But I was specifically told by a few people that they listen to Jlo because she is "like them."
Am I missing something here? Is GLo (George) African too? I googled a whole bunch of things and all I found was that Glow is now available in perfume shops across South Africa.
The bank teller's ringtone was 'On The Floor.' 'You Got It' is always blasting from the street vendors' boomboxes. A couple old dudes in Jaws Corner had her first CD. Even the thugs outside my window and the construction Mussas were listening to 'My Love Don't Cost a Thing.' I watched a Kenyan football star's interview - his first crush? JLo.
Her ethnicity is up in the air, but one thing's for sure: JLo has major street cred in Zanzibar.
Edit: According to a couple EWB junior fellows, Celine Dion and the Backstreet Boys are huge in Ghana. I didn't believe this until I started hearing them here too. (Read more about Bailey and Daniela in Ghana - links are on the left!)
p.s. I walked in the house one day and my mama said 'O Na Na' at complete random. Did I mention Rihanna is big here too?
Sounds like you are enjoying yourself! Remember the sunsreen.
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