Keith Poppin urges Africans to ‘Speak Out’ against exploitation
Keith Poppin has followed developments in Africa since the 1960s when there was a bloody anti-colonial movement throughout that continent. While most countries there are independent, the singer believes Africans are still being exploited by outsiders.
The veteran artiste encourages them to take a stand against plunderers in Speak Out, his latest song. Turmoil in West African countries like Burkina Faso also caught his attention.
According to Poppin, he wrote Speak Out, “Because of the injustices all over the world and in Africa and because Africa is our Motherland.”
Speak Out is the follow-up to Africa Calling, another ode to the embattled region. That song was released last year and has a similar theme to its predecessor.
The Westmoreland-born Poppin is best known for songs like Envious and Same Thing For Breakfast which put him on the charts during the 1970s, a time of black consciousness in Jamaica.
During that decade, he kept up to date with friction in South Africa and Rhodesia, countries that had white governments that oppressed the majority black population. One of Poppin’s heroes was Nelson Mandela, the imprisoned South African freedom fighter.
While he expresses his passion for Africa in song, Poppin is keen to take things a step further.
“I would really love to perform in Africa. That’s something I look forward to,” he said.
– Howard Campbell
