The politics of “not yet uhuru”; Lessons from Take the Throne

Colonial and neo~colonial systems are deeply entrenched on the African continent. Colonial demagogues in the form of Belgium’s King Leopold that is responsible for unmitigated genocide in the heart of Congo to the vast exploitative enterprises of British sanctioned imperialism in East and Southern Congo, African bodies and wealth have been bled dry.

But even with the onset of independence, death continues to fall from the sky as its granaries are sacked in broad day light. Freedom seems like a distant dream.

Take the throne is the latest in a line of literary and artistic responses to this state of things. In the spirit of afropunk Crystal Axis are band from the heart of Kenya’s capital Nairobi raising a fist to the colonial edifice.

Building from their EP “State of Unease”, Crystal Axis have emerged distilled with the political voice that characterised the centre piece of punk rock. Take the throne continues in the vein of songs like “Leopold” in critiquing the the dogma in narratives of Africa’s colonial and post~colonial history.

Take the Throne is evermore relevant in the times where the Congo is butchered for the sake of global corporate greed and as Nigeria’s youth rally in mammoth crowds to unseat the country’s police state that has been cannibalizing its children.

But it’s most surprising vector is how the band has stepped in tune with varying styles of urban music done suggestively in the style of breakdowns.

Listen to “Take the throne” by Crystal Axis: