Ghetto Kids Dancing Sitya Loss New Ugandan music (SLYT)
April 4, 2015 7:04 PM   Subscribe

Ghetto Kids Dancing Sitya Loss New Ugandan music (SLYT) Joyfull music, kids dancing. Made me smile, will make you smile too.
posted by BoscosMom (15 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite
 
This was going around ye olde Facebooks a while back, saw it then, and it is indeed delightful. Thanks for the reminder here: enjoyed it again. And nine million views ain't nothing to sneeze at!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:33 PM on April 4, 2015


I still wish for an explanation of why they're "ghetto." The area actually looks pretty nice.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 7:33 PM on April 4, 2015 [3 favorites]


Great video. Poorly named maybe but ok. Anyhow: Awesome stuff here. My! My! Good good dancing!
posted by Mike Mongo at 8:29 PM on April 4, 2015


Saw this on Facebook a while back, too. One thing that captivated me was this dance aesthetic where a lot of the time, participants look completely disengaged, and then next thing you know they're in the middle of the performance, dancing. The fine line between casual and completely committed is fascinating. I've noticed a similar trope in American street dance sometimes - a pretty fascinating and compelling little bit that sort of challenges distinctions between performance/participation and nonparticiation, hinting that maybe everyone is ultimately part of the dance.

I still wish for an explanation of why they're "ghetto." The area actually looks pretty nice.

In non-American parts of the world this word can mean something a lot more geographically specific - in fact, it meant that here not so far in the past - it didn't always mean just "low-class" or "downmarket," it referenced a zone that was a racial or ethnic enclave. Somewhat ironically, many ghettos were the home of some fairly rich people; the name just meant a place that outclass people congregated because they were barred from living elsewhere, which is a separate question from economic hardship.
posted by Miko at 8:33 PM on April 4, 2015 [7 favorites]


Ah! Here are some of same local youth dancing in artist Eddie Kenzo's official Sitya Loss music video.
posted by Mike Mongo at 8:38 PM on April 4, 2015


I think Ghetto Kids is the name of their group - they're from "the slums of Kampala." A couple of little pieces on them -
Ugandan news segment
BBC news segment
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:48 PM on April 4, 2015 [8 favorites]


I still wish for an explanation of why they're "ghetto."

Maybe they eat here.*

*self link
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:06 PM on April 4, 2015


Oooh this is a great kick-start to my day. Thank you.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:26 AM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


I just popped into MeFi on a workbreak and found this. Perfect! Many thanks.
posted by valetta at 6:58 AM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


That Ugandan news segment is great, with interviews with the kids and their trainer David Kavuma. It was a bit surprising to me to see them training. Part of what makes the video so fun is it looks completely spontaneous and natural. But of course moves like that don't come from nowhere, neither does the camera. It makes the whole package all the more impressive to me, really, seeing how hard the kids work at this.

The news report was very excited the kids were going to appear on Ellen Degeneres. Including flying to the United States; that'd be a huge thing for them, I'm sure. But it seems that appearance never happened.
posted by Nelson at 7:30 AM on April 5, 2015 [2 favorites]


BTW, Eddy Kenzo's Sitya Loss album is available on Amazon.
posted by Nelson at 7:35 AM on April 5, 2015


I think Ghetto Kids is the name of their group

Thanks, LobsterMittens, that makes a lot more sense now.

The explanation that they're ghetto because they're from an ethnic enclave doesn't really make sense to me, since that's not really how the word is most commonly used these days--and also, ethnic enclaves are fairly unremarkable in many cities in Africa. (That is, I wouldn't really expect people to take being from one as something pointing out.)
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 9:38 AM on April 5, 2015


Dancing probably saved me thousands in therapy bills. Whenever I feel sad and disconnected from other humans, dancing (and vids about dancing!) reconnects me instantly. Putting some grateful vibes out there for those who help me with that. Thanks, kids! Keep dancing, always, always.
posted by Grlnxtdr at 10:19 AM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I wonder what happened with the Ellen thing.
posted by klangklangston at 6:21 PM on April 5, 2015


Yeah, I wonder what happened with the Ellen thing.

Very likely that the dancers were denied US visas. That's exactly what happened to a couple of fantastic Pantsula dancers from South Africa. They thought they were going to perform in the US, but… no go.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:42 PM on April 5, 2015


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