A good story never dies, that is what I have grown up to know.
I remember, once while still young and curious, my visiting grandfather would tell us bravely about the wars he fought as an African Rifles soldier, the friends he lost, the victories he never enjoyed and some other stories like that. I loved the guy, not because I knew much about him but was drawn to him by his legendary war stories, of victory in battlefields I had no idea whether they existed. Kids love warriors, they love brave warriors and that’s what TechMoran is all about, telling you great heroic stories from Africa!
Today, I bring you the story of Victor Njagi. The name sounds Kenyan. Njagi loves great stories too though he uses music to tell them. The music he uses is Lingala, originally from DRC Congo or The Zaire.
Njagi is not a musician but an Indie Android application developer running a one man startup based in Nairobi Kenya. His maiden app, which we are in love today is called Mylingala, a simple app that offers English translations to popular Lingala music lyrics popular in the 60’s and 70’s in East and Central Africa.
When he told me about music from the 60’s and 70”s I remembered my late grandfather and my heart hopped with joy inside of me!
My late grandfather (name withheld) loved a good dance too. He loved Lingala music anytime of the day. You could hear him singing to himself just before day break. He always said Lingala told him stories about his continent, stories of love, war and peace. I loved the songs too, jumped to the tempo but my major problem; I never knew a word this guys were singing but decades later after my grandfather passing away, Njagi has lit up my heart with joy again.
I can now translate my Lingala LP’s (not CD’s) into English and have a good laugh, as I dance.
Njagi has published the app on Amazon android mobile distribution appstore, Nexva and MTN Nigeria appstore. He wants to reach Lingala enthusiasts across Africa just like me who love the songs but are too lazy to learn the language. His dream is to make Africans understand each other through music which is our rich cultural heritage. If you love Lingala, or know someone who does, check out the app and let us know what you think!