Sjava: Could of Been You

In Hambrook area, Bergville gave life to a very special spiritual artist to bless the South African music industry. He grew up in Melvin, Jules Street in Johannesburg where he grew his lyrical writing talent through rap music. Ikihlakihla amasemeji grew up and became to be now known as Sjava. A unique voice and type of music in the South African music industry through the Afro-pop sound. He recently released Isibuko album which has been on tour since last year and now has a deluxe after great strides with the original album. My friend and I recently listened to the album until we reached one of the deluxe tracks Could of Been You. We seem to have two different perspectives of the song, but both have solid base and line of artistic writing and reflection argument. We argue the meaning of the song with intention to understand the message that it communicates to us and the perspective of life in general.

We both agree that the song carries a theme of death, and we likewise think it’s a poetic elegy. However, my friend argues that Sjava in the song speaks from a point of seeing how the world has been in the past where the evil rule the world and angels subject to death. He also argues that there’s a very specific subject which he addresses in the song, and that subject must be his former record label and all the other people that have done bad in the music industry. Concurrently, Sjava mourns the death of all the angels that have blessed the industry, like Ricky Rick, AKA, and others. Lyrically he argues that:

When Sjava says: “Abalungile abahlali kulomhlaba, Abakhohlakele baphthe umhlaba, Ingelosi ziyahamba ziyawushiya umhlaba/uyazifuna ubaba. Wish it could’ve have been you.”

He argues that in this instance Sjava reflects on the cruelty of the current status quo in the music industry where his former record label has survived so long given the experience it has with the African Trap Movement team/era. Likewise, how other record labels, agents, and producers have had a ripping up approach to the young talent.

When Sjava says: “Wena uyisitha senjabulo. Wena uyisitha sempumelelo. Wena uyisitha sobumbano. Mawufika kuphilwa wena uyabulala, Makwakhiwa uyabhidliza. Mawufika kuhlekwa, wena ushiya kukhalwa. Mawufika kunozwano, udala ingxabano. Mawufika kukhanya, wena uletha ubumnyama. Ngabe uyofa nini?”

He argues that the music industry hasn’t done right to the people that make the industry to be what it is, they stand in positions of financial instability. He refers to the experience of e-Mtee, Sjava, Molone Vector, Intaba yasedubia, and others who have had bad experience with their own record labels in the industry. He argues that this has been the approach from record labels to young promising artists which have kept artists down due to unfriendly deals of copyrights and financial benefits sharing. Therefore, the song in entirety reflects on this experience which Sjava had once experienced himself.

However, I tend to differ from this argument in terms of reflections in the song. My similarity to his argument is that yes! Sjava does mourn in the song but that is a question mark given how the artist has kept a private personal life or has maybe lost something of sentimental value. In the first verse I take him to be reflecting on death itself. He mourns that the very thing that takes these angels, the natural curse, still is a natural occurrence and continues to take what’s good from society by taking those that do good in our societies. Those who attempt to address the cruelties we experience in societies, it takes them away.

In the second verse I argue that he becomes more direct in what death really does when it introduces itself to situations. It’s the enemy of happiness in families, it’s the enemy of success, and it’s the enemy unity. He closes off by asking himself when will this natural curse succumb to itself and not continue to protect the evil and be the weapon of the evil against the goodness of society. Therefore, Sjava directly addresses the subject of death in the song rather than reflecting to evil beings as my friend argues. I stand contrarily on the idea that he addresses the experiences of evils in his industry and past. Its more direct to the occurrence of death itself which has been an unforgiving weapon against the goodness of societies, the angels.

I’d like to know where you stand on this argument. What is the message that Sjava communicates in his deluxe track Could of Been You? Who is he addressing as a subject and how can you tell? Leave a comment down on the comment section to state your own argument.

-MediaHouse150