Singer DJ Cent releases a single about poor roads in South Sudan
“Whatever I sung in the song is what is happening in the country, it’s not like something that’s not there. It’s there! Even right now if you try to go to that side of Gudele you will spend like three hours before you reach your place.” DJ Cent says.
A South Sudanese Afrobeat singer Daniel Mboyonyesi Loustico, whose stage name is DJ Cent Mister No Rest, has released a single about the poor state of roads not only in the capital city Juba, but also across the country. His latest single, Sika Gudele or Gudele Road released last month is catching on in Juba, South Sudan.
In this song, 28-year old DJ Cent sings about the poor roads in the capital and across the country. He focuses specifically on the Gudele highway, which is riddled with potholes and a ramshackle bridge called ‘Kuburi-Abuba’ that causes traffic jams lasting several hours, even when there’s no rush hour.
“Whatever I sung in the song is what is happening in the country, it’s not like something that’s not there. It’s there! Even right now if you try to go to that side of Gudele you will spend like three hours before you reach your place.” DJ Cent says.
DJ Cent was born and raised in Yambio, Western Equatoria but relocated to Juba in 2009 to pursue his music career. His hit, ‘Sika Gudele’, released in October, is getting big airplay in Juba and hit more than 1.8 thousand views on his YouTube channel even before the video was released.
DJ Cent says he spent more than three months researching the song by taking trips around Juba and across the country to see how the lack of roads and poorly maintained roads affect citizens.
He says poor roads contribute to the persistent food insecurity in parts of South Sudan because while some rural areas produce bumper crops of food, farmers are unable to transport their fruits and vegetables to other areas where people need it most. DJ Cent says he wants to raise awareness about bad roads and other critical issues facing South Sudan with his hit song.
“I went to Wau and found that we have enough food in Wau. I went to Yei, we have enough food in Yei; also, the same thing in Western Equatoria state.”
“And in Bor, we have so many fish but people who live in the capital, we are suffering from hunger while we have a lot of food in the states but the issue is we don’t have roads, good roads which connect Juba to those states otherwise, our people were going to be able to transport the food stuff to the capital.” He adds.
DJ Cent says if the people living in rural areas can access markets in towns like Juba, they would be more productive because it would give them the opportunity to earn money from farming. He says since he cannot send that message to what he calls the “high table,” he uses his music to send it to the people.
“If we take this message seriously, trust me in five years’ time, we will not bring food from foreign countries because if we connect our own roads around South Sudan, we will have enough food in the capital.” DJ Cent says.
He says if the people living in rural places or villages get to hear that there are good roads connecting them to bigger markets in Juba, it will encourage them to work hard and produce much food to sell.
“they know that these agricultural activities they are doing today will benefit them tomorrow when they send food products to the capital to sell and earn money out of it. So, many people have become lazy now because even if they work hard the food stuff will get spoiled and they will not get money out of it.”
DJ Cent also sings about social and cultural issues like relationships and marriage. His other popular songs include ‘Num Bet Maria,’ which criticizes men who leave their families to live or spend nights in single and independent women’s houses.
His song ‘In-law, why are you beating my sister,’ is self-explanatory.
DJ Cent says the popularity of his previous songs motivates him to shake up more citizens to improve the situation in South Sudan.
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