Lamentations of Mahansa “Is my colour my crime?”

AUSTIN FAIR NWAULU

From all indications, Chukwudi Ugwu, better known as Mahansa in the showbiz world seems to have gotten his long-sought after rhythms right.

Almost all his life, the multi talent artiste, singer, composer, actor, producer and performer, has traversed the entire arena in search of a brand that represents and reflects the type of originality that a modern African artiste should be identified with.

And after more than two decades of trial and error, his own brand which he calls AFROCIORI which stands for African Occidental Oriental. This genre, he explained further, is a marriage of African music with that of the Western and other worlds.

”Since the demise of the Afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, no other person has emerged from this part of the world with something that can be called authentic African music. This is the vacuum I think I’ve succeeded in filling.”

If Mahansa has filled the gap as he claims, the world would confirm. Although he had produced other works previously, what he has at hand now, looks like the albatross.

”Without sounding immodest, I think I have enough proof on ground now. The concern is not necessatily to drop an album and rake millions from same but how it impacts on the people and the society at large,” Mahansa who started with rap music back in the years reasoned.

Consequently, having gotten the beats right, he is also very conscious about the lyrics of his songs. One of soon-to-be-released singles ”I Can’t Breathe”, for instance, dwells on the ‘hate’ being perpetrated on Black people around the world by the Whites. And he asks rhetorically; Is my colour my crime?”

The Enugu State-born graduate of Estate Management from Enugu State University, regretted that after all said and done, the world is still being afflicted by myriad of ills like terrorism, colonialism, religious wars, racism, scam and other vices. ”Police brutality is also here and you and I know how many innocent lives have been wasted both within and outside the shores of our land. It is even more rampant these days,” he added.

Mahansa believes, just like his associates do, that he have ”blown” by now if all he wanted was to join the bandwagon. ”I started from rap in 1999, went through the tutelage of bands like Sound City where I played jazz drums. Afrociori was actually born in 2002 and ever since I’ve been trying to put my acts together, I don’t want to be identified with meaningless songs for the love of fame and fortune.”

That does not suggest that he envies those immersed in such practices. ”How long does any of those songs that lack originality last? What has been the condition of the artistes when they run out of gas? So how can I envy them, what for? I’m set to change the trend with something the will outlive me, a legacy.”

Mahansa may be correct. His video concepts are something else too. True depiction of Africanness as evidenced in the song ”042” (Where it happens, Enugu, the Coal City here was brought up). The difference is clear and it is better seen than described. ”I forsee different awards and honours coming my way soon because of the song and its video,” he thunders.

With Afrociori, he has already gone places. ”Yes, with it I went to Nigerian International Song Festival as a representative of Enugu and won a trophy for my state. In 2013, having developed it better, I was adjudged the most versatile artiste from the South East, an award given to me by Enclotainment Limited in collaboration with Daar Communications and endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism.”

Chukwudi Ugwu also wishes that the brand will become a reference point in Nigerian universities. ”It can be studied by musicologists therein.”

He rounded off: ”my kind of music is unique, it’s deep and the message harps on serious issues.