One in every of Hezron’s stand-out tracks on his 2023 M.O.A.M album is “Kuja Nyumbani,” greatest translated to “I Need To Go Dwelling“. In accordance with Hezron Clarke: “This tune that’s premiered on World of Reggae is named Kuja Nyumbani. And it is a tune that I wrote so many, a few years in the past, a long time in the past, once I was a toddler.This tune is a real testimony of what I felt again then, after listening to the tales of what our ancestors went via and our freedom fighters. So I made a decision that I used to be gonna write this tune from the guts again then, and it has now grow to be, on this time, a full manifestation, you realize, going to be launched. And so I convey you this tune, Kuja Nyumbani. Thanks World of Reggae, for premiering this tune.“
Reggae has at all times been a bridge between previous and current, between wrestle and liberation. And along with his newest single, “Kuja Nyumbani” (I Wish to Go Dwelling), Hezron Clarke delivers one in all his strongest works but—an emotional plea to Mama Africa, reconnecting the African diaspora with its roots. Dropping February 7 by way of Hardshield Data/Tad’s File, the tune arrives in time for Reggae Month (Jamaica) and Black Historical past Month (USA), carrying deep historic weight and modern-day relevance.
Set to a gentle reggae groove infused with conventional African sounds just like the kalimba (thumb piano), Kuja Nyumbani tells a harrowing but heartfelt story. The lyrics communicate of centuries of displacement, oppression, and eager for dwelling, portray vivid pictures of the horrors of the transatlantic slave commerce:
“I’ve a really lengthy story to inform of 400 years, to you this letter I ship, mama Africa, I’ve a lot complaints / Hope you may perceive the handwriting, we’re not allowed using a pen / I do know that you’re questioning why the ink smells and appears so crimson, I collected this crimson ink from the place of the place they tortured slaves.”
Hezron truly wrote the tune when he was simply 19 years previous, throughout a interval of deep Afrocentric thought. Later, after migrating to the U.S., he expanded the tune’s imaginative and prescient by incorporating Swahili lyrics, reworking Mama Africa into Kuja Nyumbani. The tune took on even deeper that means in 2023, when Hezron was invited to Ghana by promoter Cynthia Raymond, after she was moved to tears by its message.
That invitation led to a life-changing journey, the place Hezron carried out 5 reveals in Ghana, visited the historic Cape Coast Fortress(the place enslaved Africans had been held earlier than being shipped throughout the Atlantic), and met Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the King of the Ashanti Empire, who gave him the African identify Kwame Bonsu—a uncommon honor, solely shared with actor Idris Elba.
The tune’s launch is paired with an evocative black-and-white video, directed by Devon Morris, that includes imagery of key revolutionaries and freedom fighters, together with Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Nanny of the Maroons. The visible storytelling amplifies the tune’s urgency—reminding us of the continued combat for liberation and id.
Taking the Mission Worldwide
As a part of his Man On A Mission (M.O.A.M.) marketing campaign, Hezron continues to push reggae ahead with objective. After his first leg of the Africa Tour—protecting Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo—he’s now gearing up for performances in the UK and Canada, together with the Victoria Ska and Reggae Pageant. Later this 12 months, he’ll return to Africa for large occasions like Felabration (Nigeria)and Abissa Pageant (Côte d’Ivoire).
However Hezron’s journey isn’t nearly performing—it’s about giving again. He’s organising the Save The Youngsters Basis in Ghana, impressed by his tune of the identical identify, which has reached anthemic standing in Jamaica.
For Hezron, reggae isn’t simply music—it’s a calling. Kuja Nyumbani isn’t simply one other tune—it’s a letter dwelling, a cry for reconnection, and a reminder that the roots of reggae and Africa are eternally intertwined.
