Samite Adds His Voice to Africa Shafted
A very BIG thank you to Samite's music company, Samite Artistic Productions, for believing in the film and supporting it!!!
What Samite says about Africa Shafted?
“I think your work [Africa Shafted] is very important for Africa's future.”
Samite with his amazing tracks "Not Alone" and "Olugendo"
Samite was one of the first musicians to truly believed in this film. His name means (Sæm ē tay) world-renowned musician and humanitarian. He's lived up to it, as today he travels the world bringing his message of peace and hope through the healing power of music. We thank him so much for his immense contribution to the film and the world as an inspiring, passionate and giving voice in music and in life!
Who is Samite?
Samite's grandfather taught him to play traditional African flute before his fingers were long enough to cover all the sound holes on the flute. When he was twelve, a music teacher placed a western flute in his hands-setting him on his way to becoming one of East Africa's most acclaimed flutists. He performed frequently to enthusiastic audiences throughout Uganda until 1982, when he was forced to flee to Kenya as a political refugee.
His smooth vocals soon mesmerized audiences in Nairobi, his new home. He sang original and traditional songs in his mother tongue, Luganda, while playing on the kalimba (finger-piano), marimba (wooden xylophone), litungu (seven-stringed Kenyan instrument), and various flutes. Samite immigrated to the United States in 1987, and currently makes his home in Ithaca, New York with his wife, Sandra. He has performed in a broad variety of venues throughout the county, and his music is enjoyed regularly by radio listeners nationwide. Tunula Eno, his sixth CD, reached #2 in the CMJ Music World Chart within the first month of its 2003 release. He performed live on the nationally syndicated radio program "Echoes," and recorded a live performance for the Ngoma Channel on XM Satellite Radio in Washington, DC.
His live performance on the nationally syndicated show E-Town has been broadcasted on over 120 stations, as has his performance on nationally syndicated World Vision Radio. In 2002, Samite founded Musicians for World Harmony (www.musiciansforworldharmony.org) -a 501c3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to enabling musicians throughout the world to share their music to promote peace, understanding, and harmony among peoples, with a special emphasis on the displaced or distressed who can benefit most from the healing power of music. In speaking about the people whom he has visited, Samite notes,
"It's hard to put out their fire. All I have to do is play a song in these places and that fire comes out. The resilience of the human spirit is very strong."
Samite travels as often as possible, with as many people as care to join him, to sing, play music, and exchange stories with severely disadvantaged children. Samite was a featured performer in the National Conference on Peace at the Maharishi University in Fairfield, Iowa, in 2004.
On June 2, 2006, he joined Paul Winter, Wyclef Jean, The African Children's Choir, and other skilled musicians at the United Nations General Assembly conference "Uniting the World against AIDS." Most recently Samite attended Connecting For Change, part of the 2009 Vancouver Peace Summit: Nobel Laureates in Dialogue and hosted by the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education.
