Lazy Sunday Nooner: Soulful Émigré

Siji’s soulful conga drum filled “Yearning for Home” (the first single off his new album adéSiji) showcases his musical repertoire, delves into his experiences as an immigrant and is a prime choice for your Sunday listening pleasures. After a close friend insisted that his impressive album would be incomplete without an accompanying video, Siji acted swiftly and self directed his debut music video.

In Siji’s own words: “The concept of the video was to shed light on my constant longing for my ancestral homeland Nigeria where I grew up. It was thus crucial for me to convey the sense of nostalgia we immigrants come to feel when far away from that which we affectionately call ‘Home.’ For even though we have come to make our new homes away from home, there forever remains a deep sense of longing for that which we left behind.” Siji, a native of Nigeria, is the second born of twelve children. Prior to heading over to the States to further pursue his music career, he spent part of his childhood in London and Lagos. It’s an uplifting song, one that I am sure many immigrants can resonate with.

On a very unrelated note, as I type I am watching the opener of the Lakers Jazz first round game and former coach and current commentator Jeff Van Gundy made the case for Kanye West (sitting courtside) being a one-name wonder a la Kobe. He also referred to Lakers backup Shannon Brown as Kriss Kross and proclaimed that his “mind is locked into hip hop.” Nothing beats playoff basketball, good tunes and a corona in hand on a Sunday afternoon.