So I met Nneka on behalf of Marakuja…

and boy was it an encounter!

My first words to her were “I am an unprofessional professional, I hope you don’t mind” her answer 

freed the entire conversation and from that moment we could just be,

soul to soul and dance, as if 

music never existed or to be more exact,

as if no one had to make it, because all of a sudden music was 

everywhere, music was everything. She simply said “oh. Me too” and I smiled because

I already felt her Marakuja.

I said “perfect, let’s do this”

The magic settled in slowly but surely, it took the time for the thing in between us to vanish and clear the way and take the interview with it. Before we knew it,

we no longer knew who was interviewing 

who; we were wandering together, wondering together. A beautiful conversation

that felt like a dream 

and ended with an intense wake up song…She sang at me, or to me, with me maybe? I don’t know…I 

just knew by that time that the thing between Nneka and the rest of the world might be necessary sometimes,

the screen that helps you watch her videos, the stereo that filters her music, that slight 

distance is needed at times. That kind of intensity takes a while to digest. I was not ready for that.

So close, so powerful.

I cried for lack of better way of expressing what was happening to me.

The truthful 

way of displaying my feelings at that very moment would have been to

stand up from the tree trunk I 

had chosen for the conversation, sit right back, stand up, walk in circles, cry, laugh,

clap my hands frenetically,

hug her, thank her, sit again, then  fall into deep prostration and start writing a long poem.

I was decent. I shed a few tears

and thanked her like my momma raised me to do.

I remembered dignity. 

My parents brainwash was efficient.

I am glad we did not talk about music…per se. We talked about what makes music.

I met Nneka at 10 AM with the sole purpose of having a 30 min conversation and at midnight we were still together. 

We had to let it go organically, I guess.

I kept a bit of her inside of me;

somehow I know she kept me too.

She said she loved the interview, she said “I feel it taught me something”.

I, for my part, feel like it 

changed me a little. 

I am happy we did not waste time. I am thankful I did not just suck all the energy out of her with inutile 

questions without giving something back.

On 11th February 2016, two souls met and they took great pleasure in doing so.

Now I wonder how I will watch today’s concert at Amahoro Stadium.

I will update you. Maybe.