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Raisedon Baya
I AM not a fan of Lady Gaga. At least I was not until I read her biography this past week. The book is simply titled Just Dance — The Biography. Now imagine the look on my daughter’s face when I walked home with a copy of the book. My daughter looked at me for a long time, obviously surprised and perhaps even confused with my choice of reading material. I have been forcing her to finish King Solomon’s Mines which we bought together in the streets when schools closed in April. I can’t forget her look as she picked the book I had placed on the coffee table while settling down to get my first bite of the book.
“Daddy, you are reading Lady Gaga!”
“Yes.”
“Lady Gaga?”
It was like I had sinned or something worse. Her tone said a lot about what she thought of the American singer, songwriter and performer. She had the same attitude as the woman who had seen me carrying the book while I paid for bread at the confectionery. You can’t read that, it’s below you. That was the subtext I was reading from the communication.
If you asked me why I picked the book and why I had taken it home my answer would probably be that I am a writer and that I love reading.
Writers should probably read anything. But to be honest I loved the book and will probably read again. I also recommend it for any practicing artiste — the lady dishes out a lot of relevant lessons for anyone in show business.
Well, we all know Lady Gaga for her fashion sense, mostly for her semi-nakedness. People know her for her shock dress sense than for her good songs and brilliant performances. I had my perceptions too before I read the book. It is true that books are a good eye cleaner. Books will open your eyes. The book completely wiped away all the misconceptions I had.
Through reading I got to understand the true and fearless artiste behind the persona called Lady Gaga. I got to understand the struggles she went through to be where she is now. I got to know the road she travelled and the victories she won on her way to the top. Contrary to popular belief Lady Gaga is not as cheap as the media has painted her. The book paints her to be a true artiste, a revolutionary, a true creative who sacrificed love and other things to pursue a career in music.
A few lessons hit home after reading Just Dance — The Biography:
1. It’s not easy to get to the top. One must work extra hard and sacrifice many other things.
2. The media has a crucial role to play in the development of arts and individual artistes.
3. Success is usually team work.
4. Collaborations help broaden an artiste’s horizon.
5. Successful artistes are those who usually refuse to conform to tradition.
After reading the book I wished there were books about local artistes. Books about how we started from zero to where we are now.
I wished there was one or two books about Black Umfolosi or Cool Crooners or Busi Ncube, books to tell us these great artistes’ journeys and struggles.
What will we tell our children and the next generation of artistes when they ask us about the pioneers of our arts?
Most will be erased from history because no one has written about them.
How I wished there was a book about Cont Mhlanga and how he built Amakhosi Cultural Centre.
Online Reporter