Waiting is a skill most of us never wanted to learn, and Sisemlindweni from AFRIKA puts it in a single long word.
The word is Zulu and appears to speak of being in a state of waiting, as in we are in the waiting. I would not stake a firm claim on the exact meaning, and I would sooner leave the finer points to speakers of the language. The shape of the word is long and slow, which suits the idea of time stretching out.
Nigerians know that feeling very well. We wait for results, for visas, for transport, for a call that was promised yesterday. In church we speak of waiting on God, and in daily life we wait on light to return. The word we is the interesting part, since it suggests a shared wait rather than a lonely one.
The track closes out a long list of titles on Zenza amanyala, though I will not claim anything about its place on the tracklist. What I can say is that an album about scandal and consequences often leaves room for a moment of patience, and this title seems to offer it.
It suits a long evening of waiting for news, when the phone sits on the table and nobody wants to be first to speak.
Stream and Download SISEMLINDWENI. by AFRIKA. Below.