Behaviour change organisations have for a long time hired popular musicians to compose and record songs with positive lyrics, which then could be used as a reference point from which to galvanise a society into positive change.
Today, they still do so. The only difference is that today, unlike in the past, these songs are saleable. They now form a core part of that chart-topping, FM-radio-station-requested, dance-floor-favourite kind of groovy track, which becomes so popular you easily fail to notice that there is a moral to the song. GNL Zamba’s Omusajja comes to mind here.
And for all the heavy teenager-directed preaching in the song, which on any other forum could have come off sounding drab and pedestrian, Toniks, OS, Keko and Data’s new hit Hold On, delivers on two important fronts – a groovy catchy danceable track without failing any of the intended moral richness.
Toniks and OS, with their usual vocal sweetness, Keko, with her usual hip-hop swag and flow, plus hitherto little known Data, with a set of some very rhythmic ragga lines, when added to a stimulating dance beat, make up an infectious song that should not struggle to impress. And in the end, here could be that long awaited formula for delivering guidance to teenagers without throwing them into sleep with boredom after only a few sentences.