Hugh Masekela was an old collaborator of Abdullah Ibrahim. He is reported to have been initially inspired in his musical growth by Trevor Huddleston, a British priest working in the South African townships who financed Masekela's first trumpet. Masekela played his way through the vibrant Sophiatown scene with The Jazz Epistles and to Britain with King Kong, to find himself in New York in the early 1960s. He had hits in the United States with the pop jazz tunes "Up, Up and Away" and the number one smash "Grazin' in the Grass".
A renewed interest in his African roots led him to collaborate with West and Central African musicians, and finally to reconnect with South African players when he set up a mobile studio in Botswana, just over the South African border, in the 1980s. Here he re-absorbed and re-used mbaqanga strains, a style he has continued to use since his return to South Africa in the early 1990s.
In the 1980s, he toured with Paul Simon in support of Simon's then controversial, but highly critically acclaimed, album Graceland, which featured other South African artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, and other elements of the band Kalahari, which Masekela recorded with in the 1980s. He also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play, Sarafina! He previously recorded with the band Kalahari.
In 2003, he was featured in the documentary film Amandla!, about how the music of South Africa aided in the struggle against apartheid. In 2004, he released his autobiography, Grazin' in The Grass: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, which thoughtfully details his struggles against apartheid in his homeland, as well as his personal struggles against alcohol addiction from the late 1970s through to the 1990s, a period when he migrated, in his personal recording career, to mbaqanga, jazz/funk, and the blending of South African sounds to an adult contemporary sound through two albums he recorded with Herb Alpert, and notable solo recordings, Techno-Bush (recorded in his studio in Botswana), Tomorrow (featuring the anthem "Bring Him Back Home"), Uptownship (a lush-sounding ode to American R and B), Beatin' Aroun' de Bush, Sixty, Time, and most recently, "Revival".
Essential recordings include:
* "Bring Him Back Home"
* "Coal Train (Stimela)"
* "Ziph'nkomo"
* "Don't Go Lose It Baby"
* "Ha Le Se Li De Khanna (The Dowry Song)"
* "Bajabule Bonka"
* "Grazing in the Grass"
* "U-Dwi"
* "The Joke of Life"
* "The Boy's Doin' It"
His song, "Soweto Blues", sung by his former wife, Miriam Makeba, mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976.
Hugh Masekela is the father of Sal Masekela, host of American channel E!'s Daily 10 show, along with Debbie Matenopoulos.
Smoke
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You always pumping smoking to the air
You always pumping smoking to the air
You feed us publicity to coma flash the dangers
You tell us that the percentages
Are tested it laboratories (there is no damages)
From easy chair (you don't really care)
You always pumping smoking to the air
As you manufacture (a brand new atmosphere)
Sometimes children ain't allowed to play outside
Just because you wanna be a billionare
The old folks are terrified to go out for a ride
Hiding inside their conditioners
No one's ever seen your face
But in every place there is your signature
From the rivers and the lakes
Beast and man patate
Of the slimy juices spilling from your factories
You always pumping smoking to the air
From easy chair (you don't really care)
You always pumping smoking to the air
As you manufacture (a brand new atmosphere)
You always pumping smoking to the air
You feed us publicity to coma flash the dangers
You tell us that the percentages
Are tested it laboratories (there is no damages)
The lyrics of Hugh Masekela's "Smoke" address the issue of cigarette smoking and its effects on public health and the environment. The repeated line "You always pumping smoking to the air" suggests that the singer is addressing a tobacco company or entities that promote smoking. The lyrics also criticize the industry's deceptive advertising practices, which mask the health risks associated with smoking. For instance, the line "you tell us that the percentages are tested in laboratories (there is no damages)" suggests that the industry claims that cigarette smoke has been proven safe, despite abundant evidence to the contrary.
The song also highlights the impact of second-hand smoke on vulnerable populations, such as children and the elderly. The lines "Sometimes children ain't allowed to play outside just because you wanna be a billionaire" and "the old folks are terrified to go out for a ride, hiding inside their conditioners" point out that smokers' behavior can limit others' freedom and quality of life. The song also invokes the image of pollution, as the line "beast and man patate of slimy juices spilling from your factories" likened smoking's impact to that of environmental contaminants, like oil spills.
In conclusion, Hugh Masekela's "Smoke" is a potent critique of the tobacco industry and its practices. The lyrics condemn the industry's harmful impact on public health and the environment, as well as its use of deceptive advertising to hide the dangers of smoking.
Line by Line Meaning
You always pumping smoking to the air
You are constantly releasing harmful substances into the environment
You feed us publicity to coma flash the dangers
You give us misleading advertisements that downplay the risks
You tell us that the percentages
You claim that the level of toxicity has been tested
Are tested it laboratories (there is no damages)
But there is no proof that it won't cause harm or damage
From easy chair (you don't really care)
You are sitting comfortably, unconcerned about the consequences of your actions
As you manufacture (a brand new atmosphere)
You are creating a polluted environment with your activities
Sometimes children ain't allowed to play outside
The pollution is so bad that it's not safe for kids to play outdoors
Just because you wanna be a billionare
Your greed for money is causing harm to innocent people
The old folks are terrified to go out for a ride
The pollution is affecting the health of the elderly and making them scared to go outside
Hiding inside their conditioners
They are using air conditioning to avoid the polluted air outside
No one's ever seen your face
You are an anonymous and faceless polluter
But in every place there is your signature
Your pollution is evident everywhere
From the rivers and the lakes
The pollution is affecting bodies of water
Beast and man patate
The pollution is affecting both animals and humans
Of the slimy juices spilling from your factories
The waste products from your factories are contaminating the environment
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HUGH MASEKELA, SUNNY LEVINE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind