Nina Kibuanda was born in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and relocated to Paris but the world of words is where he truly lives. This past Saturday Nina Kibuanda performed at the Congo Fever event in downtown Jozi at House of Nsako - a showcase of the best in Congolese and French music with Les Guys Fantastique and DJ Ben Montresor. The francophone slam poet and actor, who will also grace the stages of the 13th Poetry Africa Festival in Durban (South Africa) from October 5 -10, exchanged a few lost in translation-like back and forth emails with AfriPOP! We got there in the end.
13 is an early age to start rapping, what made you quit this and decide slam poetry was the one for you?
It’s through the theatre that I became aware of that feeling of freedom when I recited, when I started appreciating and playing with words and especially taking the time to recite… it’s that freedom that made me drop rap, when I was experiencing that feeling of being trapped with time issues, the chorus, the 8, 12, 16 beats (30, 50sec), when my texts were already doing 32 beats and longer (between 2 and 3minutes). My texts were being shortened because they were long and I had the feeling of being gagged… On a slam stage, you can go up to three minutes.
You’re a slam poet and word has it that slam has its roots in hip hop. What is your relationship with hip hop like?
I don’t think that slamming automatically comes only from rapping: I know actors and slammers who are gifted slammers but who’ve never had anything to do with the world of rap… I’m not denying the importance of the world of rap. I’m still listening to as much rap as before and taking part in the album recording projects of my friends by doing intros for them (see soundcast, myspace/princeda, ligne de mire, kozi…). In the meantime, I feel much more opened than before… Besides, hip hop also has distant roots, it was not invented from nothing…
At first hip hop was always seen as a form of expression – often expression of rebellion or standing up for yourself and your people. Does your poetry mean the same as this to you?
My poetry helps me to express myself simply, without having to feel that I need to put rebellion, anger or protest in it, that is when I rapped with my friend 13or (of musical group “Nins13″), our concept was “love and peace”…
How much of a role does your home country, DRC, play in the creation of your work?
I’m a citizen of DRC but for me, my country of origin isn’t more important than any other country in my texts, although I do make use of the wealth of words my mother tongue has to offer. I consider myself a citizen of the world and in my texts I express feelings that can be felt by any human being. Through my personal experience (trips and encounters), I refute any idea of closed community, my friends and my family being from all over the world…
Why did you decide to be based in Paris?
I didn’t decide to live in Paris, my father worked there and decided to bring us over to France when I was 12…
Does the City of Love inspire any poetry?
What’s the City of love for you? Is it Paris?!!! Well if that’s the case, then for me it’s just a fantasy from the people who don’t live there everyday. It’s certainly good to live in Paris but you don’t find more love there than in any other city in the world. Love is universal and can inspire us…
You were born in Kinshasa but now live in Paris, what do the two cities represent for you and do they have any similarities?
I haven’t been living in Paris for several years now and, unfortunately, 20 years after I arrived there, I have very few memories of the city where I was born and cannot therefore compare the two…
Do you know what the poetry scene is like in Congo?
No, I don’t know the Congolese poetic scene, but my great uncle Alain Matumona spoke to me about it. He is also a poet: “Les oranges pourries”, “L’écume des passions”. You can read parts of these on his blog called Congo Avenir: www.congoavenir.com/capitalisme_vivant.php
Community service through your art seems to be close to your heart. Why?
Yes indeed. The social aspect is close to my heart because words belong to us all, whether or not we are poets, whether or not we wrote a book… Words become a nightmare when we don’t know how to use them, and therefore it’s important to grasp them otherwise we’re lost. In this world where certain people want to brainwash us, it’s better to know how to use words to better defend ourselves and talk our way through… So what could be better than initiating people to become confident in what they say?
Do you think enough is being done through poetry to lift the quality of life of human beings?
I think that the fact that some people don’t like poetry is not going to change their life. But as far as I’m concerned, poetry transformed mine because it became my muse and my job (Initiation to slam, actor, director, musical group and short films).
You’ll also be performing at the 13th Poetry Africa Festival, who are some of your favourite African poets?
My favourite African poets are Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Camara Sikhe, Léon Gontran Damas and Kwame Nkrumah.
What can people expect when you are on stage?
Not to laugh or cry, I’m rather conscious and simple, there are no flourishes when I’m on stage…
What do you love most about performing?
I like to captivate people, to move them and share my emotions with them…
While poets also use rhythm, rappers still seem to be getting paid more than anyone else who performs their words on stage. Is it possible for someone who loves poetry to make a living solely on their words?
Yes, it is possible to make a living solely from one’s art if one has an agent. All the better for rappers. But as far as I’m concerned, I’ve structured my life in such a way that I can live spamming through the association for which I work, called “Jeunes Africains de France” which you can find on http://jadefrance.free.fr and on Facebook…
