Guide To Parkuok In Labdi's Words
Labdi’s Pakruok is a reflection of who she is; bold, proud, and grounded in her heritage. The title comes from the Luo tradition of self-praise, and that spirit flows through every track. With striking vocals, ancient ancestral rhythms, and lyrics that feel like echoes from another time but that ring true to today’s reality, the EP bears an incredible spiritual weight. Labdi is known for playing the Orutu, an instrument traditionally reserved for men, pushing boundaries while staying firmly rooted in tradition. Taking complete creative control, she produced every track on the EP, shaping its sound with intention and deep personal connection. In this conversation with Tangaza Magazine, Labdi takes us through the journey of making Pakruok; its stories, its sound, and the meaning behind each track. The following are her words, unfiltered and true to her.
The Title
Pakruok is self-praise. It’s a culture, a practice in the Luo community where you praise yourself. I remember when I was writing music for the EP , I didn’t have a name for a long time and then that kinda just came to me as an ‘Aha!’ moment. Pakruok as a title fits because I’m speaking about myself, especially in the first song. I'm telling the world how cool I am, how dope the music that I make is, I’m talking about my family lineage too and giving myself a sense of pride.
The Language Choice
The choice of the EP being in Luo wasn’t a conscious decision, it's just an effect of who I am. I wanted the EP to be as authentic and as true to who I am as possible. Being Luo, it only made sense that I told a luo story, with a Luo narrative. That’s why I chose to do the EP in Luo. There's Kikuyu being sung too. I asked some of my friends to help me write and help me pronounce some of the words because Kikuyu is a foreign language to me, but I think we nailed it. I had two Kikuyu coaches for that last song. The beats are very traditional, inspired by Dodo and Ohangla music. That dictates the melodic choices throughout the project.
The Artwork
The artwork was really fun to do. I remember the key thing I wanted to have was that traditional headdress, with the ostrich feathers. I didn’t want to compromise on anything so it was a bit expensive on my end. But I wanted to go for a traditional yet modern look, and I got a really great stylist and photographer to do that. The photographer brought to the cover art the retro feel that I wanted. I remember the shoot lasted the whole day but we ended up with just three photos. At the end of the day it was a success. I just wanted to do something traditionally Luo, very ethnic, very core to who I am , but also modern. The modern aspect came through in the choice of clothing.
The Tracks
Pakruok is really about self praise. The name Pakruok comes from a Luo practice where people speak of themselves in praise. Luo culture is known for being very boastful and full of pride. When I was producing and composing this, I had the thought to incorporate the Cello alongside the Orutu, a traditional one stringed fiddle from the Luo community. So I laid down the Orutu and the lyrics, then went to the studio and called my friend Chilumo, a great violinist who I've known since highschool. He called me a cellist and we managed to come up with something beautiful. Pakruok is kind of my introduction to the market as a solo artist. I mean, I've been in the industry for a long time, but I haven't really done a lot of solo projects. This was me telling people who I am, where I’m from, how I think of myself and how my inner voice sounds.
Awee featuring Coaster Ojwang is about the political strife experienced in the country during the Anti-Finance bill protests. It's about my relationship with the government. It's about the people and what they experienced at the hands of the government. I was so lucky to have Coaster Ojwang join me on this track. I called him and told him I have a song and sent it to him and he said he’d do it. We went to the studio and he did his verse so fast and with so much ease. He’s very talented, he's very kind, he's a very wonderful person, so I’m very blessed to have him on the track.
When I was growing up, there was a Legio Maria church in the back of my Grandfather’s house and I listened to their music through the night for many years. Growing up in Kisumu for a big part of my childhood, I was really influenced by their music and their drums, so it really is embedded in my subconscious. Bi Jawar is very much influenced by those sounds and speaks about being righteous and being on the path of God while preparing the way for the second coming of Jesus.
Lek is about dreams. I am constantly in conversation with my friends and other people around me about what it means to have a dream and to pursue it. In this particular song, I am asking the audience questions. At what point of the dream are you in? Are you pursuing your dreams? Are you helping others actualise their dreams? Are you abandoning your dreams? Are you taking a break from your dreams? We are living in other people's dreams. Even the roads we walk on were once somebody’s dream. The song is about everything in relation to dreams.
How A Message From Maya came to be is a funny story. I approached Maya Dimples, who is a very famous Kenyan tik tok personality, and asked if I could use one of her soundbites and she said yes . She's quite controversial and I sometimes agree with some of the things she says. People like to try to shame her for her appearance and her culture and she's very proud to be who she is. In many ways, I like to attune myself to that logic, to be proud of who I am, what I look like, especially because we Kenyans(And I'm not saying that it's everybody) have a tendency to prefer proximity to whiteness. So I really appreciate Maya for being appreciative of who she is and not conforming and not feeding into people's perceptions of her. The track was a little joke I was sharing with the world.
Otoyo is about things I don’t want to be a part of anymore, particularly institutions I don’t want to commune with anymore. It’s actually about the government and me wanting no part in the bad things they do. It is quite political but I didn't want it to be in your face. There's a popular Kikuyu folk song that I referenced. It’s a wedding song. So I referenced that and I just wanted to have fun. I've loved that song ever since I first heard it, and I'm so grateful to the people that helped me write this track and the people who love it now that it's out.
I like to think of myself as a cultural ambassador. It’s not only because I play the Orutu, it's in everything I do, and even in how I look. My face is very Nilotic. I feel compelled to highlight my heritage. I feel like my culture opens me up to new audiences and teaches them about other ways of life. I would also like to repopularise the Orutu, so it's only fair that I accurately represent the culture that the instrument comes from. I hope people feel a sense of pride when they listen to Pakruok. I'm very proud of this project. I hope whoever listens to it feels a sense of belonging. No matter how urbanized and metropolitized we become, we all come from somewhere and our cultural identities should make an appearance in our daily live
Pakruok out on all streaming platforms.
