South African band The Brother Moves On released their album $/He Who Feeds You Owns You in 2022, a project that fuses Afrocentric musical traditions with political reflection on food sovereignty and colonial legacies.
The album’s title draws from a speech by Burkinabè revolutionary Thomas Sankara, foregrounding the idea that control over food systems equates to control over people. Its tracks weave together Pan-African influences, including intricate polyrhythms and call-and-response patterns on ‘Bayakhala’ (“they are crying”), which evoke West African musical traditions.
Multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings contributed flute, clarinet, and production, adding textural depth. The song ‘Ta Tom’ pays tribute to legendary guitarist Madala Kunene and incorporates amagwijo, chants historically sung by Xhosa warriors to inspire courage, blending jazz and rock within an Afrocentric framework. The album also features mokorokotlo-inspired chants from the BaSotho people and nostalgic vocalisations that bridge South Africa’s ancestral past and transitional present.
Spanning Afro-jazz, maskandi rock, and what the band terms “ninja gospel,” the album balances politically charged sincerity with intricate compositions. It addresses corruption and the enduring colonial legacy in South Africa, connecting contemporary struggles to a lineage of global resistance.
