Amai Kuda and Y Josephine

The song ‘Used to Live’ is a journey through ancestral memory. There is no cycle of chorus and verse, but instead an ever evolving vocal line supported by rhythmic variations that carry the listener along. The song invokes a distant past where the warmth of maternal love and an intimate connection with the natural world provide grounding before one is carried away by the voice of unknown spirits that draw you in… and then eventually allow you to “fly away.” Lively hand-clapping, reminiscent of African spirituals, takes over and the lyrics transport us to a timeless place of our beginning. When we emerge from this lush, luminous place, at once natural and otherworldly, we are reminded of how we have lost touch with this source energy. As the song draws to a close we are given a bold anthem: “I am going to sing and aint no thing can stop me! …going to sing and aint no thing can stop we!” – a reminder to reawaken our inner voices, and the voices of our ancestors so that they may guide us toward living in greater balance with the earth again.
Written by Amai Kuda and arranged by Y Josephine and Amai Kuda, the track is featured on their most recent release: AfroSoul Volume II: MaZai. Described as “earthy, rootsy and good for your ears” by CBC’s Errol Nazarethm and having received high praise from The Toronto Blues Society’s John Valentyn, MaZai, is the follow-up to Amai Kuda’s debut album, Sand from the Sea – named “one of the year’s most exciting discoveries” by Nicholas Jennings (Canada’s foremost music journalist and historian).

Since coming together for a tour in 2103, Y n’ Amai have shared the stage with the likes of Joel Plaskett, LAL and Kinnie Starr. The duo have been featured on Mary Ito’s show, Fresh Air and in 2015 they were selected as one of the 101 Standouts in the nationwide CBC Searchlight Competition. More recently they collaborated with Kinnie Starr and M1 of the legendary HipHop duo Dead Prez on a revolutionary call-to-action song called “We Can Do It (Dirty Money).” The new video for Used to Live is a Caribbean gothic collage of imagery that reflects the song’s narrative of ritual, ancestral memory, time travel and transcendence. The film brings new life to their old release just as the song itself reawakens the stories and memories of previous generations. - Blow Ya Speakers

The song ‘Used to Live’ is a journey through ancestral memory. There is no cycle of chorus and verse, but instead an ever evolving vocal line supported by rhythmic variations that carry the listener along. The song invokes a distant past where the warmth of maternal love and an intimate connection with the natural world provide grounding before one is carried away by the voice of unknown spirits that draw you in… and then eventually allow you to “fly away.” Lively hand-clapping, reminiscent of African spirituals, takes over and the lyrics transport us to a timeless place of our beginning. When we emerge from this lush, luminous place, at once natural and otherworldly, we are reminded of how we have lost touch with this source energy. As the song draws to a close we are given a bold anthem: “I am going to sing and aint no thing can stop me! …going to sing and aint no thing can stop we!” – a reminder to reawaken our inner voices, and the voices of our ancestors so that they may guide us toward living in greater balance with the earth again.
Written by Amai Kuda and arranged by Y Josephine and Amai Kuda, the track is featured on their most recent release: AfroSoul Volume II: MaZai. Described as “earthy, rootsy and good for your ears” by CBC’s Errol Nazarethm and having received high praise from The Toronto Blues Society’s John Valentyn, MaZai, is the follow-up to Amai Kuda’s debut album, Sand from the Sea – named “one of the year’s most exciting discoveries” by Nicholas Jennings (Canada’s foremost music journalist and historian).
Since coming together for a tour in 2103, Y n’ Amai have shared the stage with the likes of Joel Plaskett, LAL and Kinnie Starr. The duo have been featured on Mary Ito’s show, Fresh Air and in 2015 they were selected as one of the 101 Standouts in the nationwide CBC Searchlight Competition. More recently they collaborated with Kinnie Starr and M1 of the legendary HipHop duo Dead Prez on a revolutionary call-to-action song called “We Can Do It (Dirty Money).” The new video for Used to Live is a Caribbean gothic collage of imagery that reflects the song’s narrative of ritual, ancestral memory, time travel and transcendence. The film brings new life to their old release just as the song itself reawakens the stories and memories of previous generations. - Hit Addiction

CHOW TO FORD
Toronto's Amai Kuda and Y Josephine took a break from working on their new project, AfroSoul Volume II: MaZai, to be released November 24, to make a song/video in support of Olivia Chow, cleverly titled, Chow To Ford. Unfortunately, they only got half of their wish. A Ford is no longer mayor of our city, but Olivia lost out to John Tory. Check out the video at tinyurl.com/k99ojva. - Now Magazine

Amai Kuda has teamed up with Josephine Y, Kinnie Starr and Dead Prez's M1 for a politically charged new track called "We Can Do It! (Dirty Money)" — and Exclaim! is giving you the first look at the brand new accompanying video.

The group of artists first got together at the Paris Climate Summit last year, and since collaborated to create a song that stands in solidarity with Decolonize NOW! — a coalition dedicated to supporting the causes of black and indigenous communities and "the protection of the earth and her peoples."

The coalition includes groups like Black Lives Matter, No More Silence, Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, OPIRG York, OPIRG UofT, Rising Tide Toronto, Flood the System, the ALBA Network and Diaspora Travels. The new song is specifically being issued in support of DNOW!'s Divest to Decolonize: Invest in Justice campaign, which "targets banks for their central role in the world's worst colonial injustices," citing mining and fossil fuel industries, arms trade, big pharma, destructive agribusiness, the production of nuclear weapons, and exploitative labour practices as the worst offenders.

Kuda calls the new song a call to action and a call to revolution, insisting: "We CAN do it on our own! We will create viable, sustainable alternatives to capitalist economies. We must Decolonize Now or watch the earth and our peoples be destroyed!"

You can see and hear that message come to life by watching the powerful new video for "We Can Do It! (Dirty Money)" in the player below. - Exclaim!

Reviews of this album will unfortunately tend to be dismissive. There's no getting around the politically and culturally charged content of this disc ― the debut of the daughter of acclaimed novelist M. Nourbese Philip will make folks uncomfortable. This record is a descendant of Toronto's dub poetry boom of the '80s. It's constructed of densely woven spoken, rapped and chanted words. Essentially it's a folk record employing various North American and African techniques. Soul, jazz, blues and an extensive use of percussion are part of the conversation. Her politics are quite progressive and may simply be viewed as strident by some, but strong songwriting makes the difference as she explores social justice, sexuality, the environment and much more. The production adds deft electronics and complex yet driving rhythms to set the pace. The fact that there are few tonal instruments or keyboards makes for a less sweetened, but tastier, musical experience; it's the vocals and percussion that make up most of what you hear. This hits too hard to ignore. (Independent) - Exclaim!

Amai Kuda and Y Josephine team up with Indigenous singer/songwriter Kinnie Starr and hip-hop legend M1 from Dead Prez to create a "call to action" in support of the group Decolonize NOW! - Rabble