Each Measure Feature: Proklaim
FEATURE
If you’ve ever sat in a church service and listened to a pastor preach, you might have heard someone in the congregation call out, “Amen!” in response to something the pastor said. In certain religious contexts, this is a common way for a member of the church to state their emphatic agreement with the pastor’s message. To call out “Amen!” in response to a pastor’s or teacher’s statement is to say with one word, “Yes! That is what this is all about.”
With Bitter Sweet, Namibian rapper Proklaim assumes his role as “Pastor” to anyone in need of a guide on this tumultuous journey we call life. The Greek word poimēn gets turned into “Pastor” in English but more closely resembles the word “Shepherd,” which can figuratively refer to anyone who takes it upon themselves to guide another. As the song opens, we hear a soulful voice sing, “Tell me what you need,” echoing the words of any good teacher to their pupil. One can almost see the rapper getting down on one knee to speak with someone who is downcast and in need of guidance. This intro sets the tone for the rest of the song, assuring the listener that Proklaim’s forthcoming lyrics are meant to be a source of encouragement.
What follows the opening hook is an extended preamble in which Proklaim states that his purpose is to “tell them all about the one who rose again” and then asserts that everyone deserves to know favor. I imagine Proklaim refers here to the favor of God. Right from the song’s opening lines, he establishes himself as someone who cares for the concerns of the world.
From here, Proklaim launches into a flow that is lightning quick, pulling off tight rhymes. He uses phrases like “makes sense,” “make cents,” and “main event” to convey that there is more to life than accumulating wealth. He is a virtuosic wordsmith, and it is clear from his confident vocal delivery that through diligent dedication to his craft, he has earned the right to be listened to.
By referring to his story as a journey and through his use of phrases like “move steady” and “in due time,” Proklaim makes clear his conviction that fulfilling one’s purpose in life is a process. After all, in the song’s hook, he testifies that obtaining the favor of God is “gonna take a while,” but he offers the encouragement, “But you hold on.”
About halfway through the song, we get what I feel is Bitter Sweet’s most potent section. “Life has a way with the patient,” he raps, continuing, “Wanna win the race you pace it.” Not only is it a beautiful rhyme, but it’s also a powerful reminder of the classic adage: slow and steady wins the race. If Bitter Sweet is a sermon spoken over his followers, then it’s here that we get the message’s Amen! moment. Right after Proklaim raps “pace it,” we hear him call out, “Yebo!”—a Zulu word representing an emphatic “Yes!”
The brilliant inclusion of the word “Yebo” is the perfect capstone to Proklaim’s message of encouragement. The placement of the word here tells the listener: Do you want to know the point, what the message is all about? It’s about patience—having endurance. The song closes with the same soulful refrain it began with—“Tell me what you need”—offering one final reminder that Proklaim, for all his confidence and virtuosity, is here to be a guide to anyone who will listen.
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