Hibotep and Titoffee brand new song “Hold on to your Love”
Hibotep is of Somalian ancestry. Born and raised in Ethiopia, she currently lives in Kampala, Uganda, where she moved to reconnect with her twin sister, Hoden, also a DJ who goes by the name of Houdini.
A walking, breathing example of the diversity of Kampala’s arts and culture scene, Hibotep is, amongst other things, a DJ, filmmaker, fashion designer, installation artist, rapper, and producer.
A self-described cultural nomad, her number one rule is that rules are meant to be broken; a philosophy that extends from her poetry to her DJ sets where, trap, hip-hop, house and genres such as Kenya’s Taraab or Morocco’s Gnawa, collide to create a vibrant contemporary collage.
During this year with a break from the dance floor and festivals, she has taken the time to pick up her pen.
When she was interviewed recently by Endre Dalen, she explained:
“ Write Poetry, My Mom used to write poetry, my sister writes poetry, it’s part of our identity: Somalia is known as the land of the poets. When your grandmother or auntie are talking to you, they’re talking in riddles—it’s poems.”
She continued: “They have poems for everything, and every life experience has a poem.Somali poetry is really hard to write, especially when it comes to making rhymes, because so few words in the language are alike at the end”.
It’s how Titoffee and Hibotep intertwined their individual ideas to create what would establish the original recording entitled, “Hold on to your Love”.
The lyrics written and performed by Hibotep, observe the demographic injustices, racism, and resilience in Africa, and she suggests in an understated poetic style, her vision for a better life through the collective principals of empathy, solidarity, and hope.
The remixes include a planning version by Felix Laband, pioneer of the 2000 South African electronic music scene and Leeu, a talented downtempo producer from Johannesburg with a downtempo percussive mix.
After more than 5 years away from music, Felix teamed up with Alex Leeu to work on a beautiful dreamy version of her song that translates onto the dance floor.
These songs and remixes can be found on Les Disques Du Bord De L’eau’s Winter EP 2020:
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