We Praise When It Suits Us: An Analysis of the Kenya Moja Song Sung By Luo Artists on the 58th Madaraka Celebrations Held In Kisumu

Abstract

As an adhesive that binds a society, music is pervasive in communicating issues affecting the society in one way or another. It touches on the political, social, economic and religious realms of communities. This study focuses on the political realm where music has been used to talk about issues affecting the society. In some instances, it is used to point out the ills advanced by sitting presidents, an issue that has oftentimes landed musicians in trouble. In addition, through music, the significance of politics in any society is brought to perspective. The paper has three objectives namely: to discuss the qualities of a good leader as highlighted in the Kenya Moja song; to identify and describe the image schemas in the Kenya Moja song and to explore the thematic concerns in the Kenya Moja song. The study used the Image Schema theory to analyze one of the objectives. To achieve these objectives, the research used a descriptive design and data was analyzed qualitatively.