Alhanislam Shines Like The Star She is On “Layers” Album
Alhanislam throws herself into this album, teeth sharp ,as she sprints a spectrum of pain, joy, anxiety, hope, and more
By Emmanuel Daraloye
Maryam Bukar Hassan, professionally known as Alhanislam is a writer and well-traveled spoken word poet. The daughter of famous Hausa actress Hauwa Maina has been a vanguard of change, a wordsmith who uses words to uplift the depressed soul, and wakes the sleeping ones while she stirs the curiosity of others.
Her new body of work “Layers,” sees Alhanislam walking the listeners through her volatile world. It's thirteen tracks of beauty and pleasure.
The album begins with the sunny and neat intro “Ode,” Alhanislam pays tribute to life vagaries, continental tragedy, and personal triumph and pain. This mode continues on the next track “Star," a positive-filled affirmative message to a child. A statement of purpose to a distraught child.
On this spoken word album, Alhanislam makes it a point of duty to be the change she wants. She swirls around, taking some cue from personal travail, the rest were scattered over the country and the black continent.
“Heritage,” is a collage of different traditional elements; from the rhythmical claps to the crows, and Babur traditional song instead, Alhanislam showered encomium on her ancestry–food, drink, and the people's way of living. While at this, a mid-tempo drum swells underneath, complementing the poet's storied narration.
The ability of Alhanislam to swing from different emotions on this album is intimidating. One minute, she is in a lively and infectious state, the next second, she goes the somber way. One stark example is the transition from “Heritage,” to “What Way”. On the latter, she raises some questions about the value of life in Nigeria–with practical examples, it read as a questionnaire for the people in power, beyond this, it's a cry for help, a near submission to fate.
When Alhanislam said “I took a book to read but nay, they give me kid to feed,” on “Crowning Point,” she takes a shot at the gender marginalization in the country. It's a plea for help, a reassessment pivoted track. She digs into her emotion, she offers instances of how the female gender is undervalued in society. She ends the track by asserting her importance.
“Desiderium,” is an intimate confession of anxiety. And also a tribute to her late mother. “Last Planet,” summarizes her journey. It's a recollection of pain and fear in her quest to make it through. Sometimes, Alhanislam overly tethers on feminism, and tracks like “Women Anthem,” and “Salt," reinforces this narrative–these two two-track treat self-value as a topic.
Not done with her tribute to her mother, Alhanislam reopens this issue on “Hero Afterall.” It begins with an audio cut from her mother. She was full of praise for her. On her part, the poet retells what she learned from her mother “My mother taught me how to sleep with my eyes wide open.” At the end of the spin, you tend to wonder if she hasn't just delivered an introduction to surviving in a dysfunctional society. In this track, the poet references encounter with Bash (Amuneni) and Onye (Ubanatu).
“Dear Daughter," serves as an epistle to the poet's daughter. An emotion-driven word of hope, exhortation, expectancy from a doting mother to her daughter, while at this, she offers some warning–life would break you, she says, surely, it would. “Dragons not Butterflies,” celebrates love. It's doused in admiration and appreciation.
Alhanislam ends the sonic voyage with a continental move on “Ignite Africa.” A loud and clear exposition about the beauty of Africa and its people. It begins with an apprehension; Once Upon a Time, I said to an old man, I am not good enough, ” with help from the old man and other self-reawakening, the poet switches lanes. At the end of the track, she becomes the harbinger of hope for the continent.
Layers album is a well-structured spoken word album. Alhanislam throws herself into this album, teeth sharp, as she sprints a spectrum of pain, joy, anxiety, hope, and more. At the end of the spin, it's glaring that she has made a great addition to the list of Spoken Word albums released in Africa. And just like the album title suggests, it's a layer of emotions, tribulations, and triumphs.
Emmanuel Daraloye is Africa’s Most Prolific Music Critic. He has over 450 music reviews in his archive.