FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010 - Music & Drama

As anticipation builds, the drama is unfolding even before the first game of the tournament - a stampede at the Nigeria vs North Korea friendly ( Nig 3 - NK 1) left fifteen people, including a policeman, injured - Ghanaian and Chelsea star Michael Essien bid the Black Stars good luck and departed their Paris training camp after being ruled out of the team after failing to recover from a knee injury leaving Ghanaian's dismayed - Nigeria's team, the Eagles, was stranded in London for about 24 hours after their chartered air craft developed a technical problem.


In it's 80 year history, the World Cup has only been won by 7 countries, none African. Whether this will be the year an African nation raises the cup is a thought not far from any African fan's mind. As Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon's brightest star and Italy's highest paid player, says in his recent TIME interview, "I would like my country to win, but if we fall, I will support any other African team that remains standing and celebrate their triumph with equal joy"


Part of the spirit of the tournament would be lost without music. The Official World Cup song is Waka Waka by Shakira and will be performed with the South African group Freshlyground, at the Closing Ceremony before the World Cup Final on July 11 in Johannesburg Soccer City Stadium. The song has a had mixed reception with many asking  why a song by an African artist was not chosen.





K'naan, Somali-Canadian with his song Waving Flag is perhaps a bit more of what we want - The song was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Taken from his album Troubadour, it has been recorded as several country specific versions and has become something of the unofficial World cup song and we can certainly imagine the rousing chorus being taken up by excited fans in packed stadiums.
 


The FIFA World Cup 2010 Official Album - Listen Up - also features Nneka and Angelique Kidjo, other international artists and numerous African writers, producers and performers. The proceeds from the album will benefit FIFA’s “20 Centers for 2010” initiative and other African charities.
Listen and buy online at www.listenupalbum.com.


Coming Soon - An exclusive interview with Nneka who is currently on tour with Nas and Damien Marley on the Distant Relatives tour. This kicks off our ITK Q&A series.