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“Locked House” - The conversation every family needs to have

Last year on November 20th during International children's day a song named Locked House was released, this song wasn’t the usual market-oriented music that comes with a lot of vibes, a lot of beats, and a lot of melodies instead it came with heart and a message for the masses.







Performed by The Holyday, Locked House is a conscious rap/poetic song that takes on the story of a dream chaser living in a traditional household. With references from African writers such as Chinua Achebe, the song deeps touch on different aspects of life and obstacles some creators/entertainers face in their journey.

The song is divided into two main verses. Verse 1 targets the parents and guardians as The Holyday is very keen to speak about how life at home is. Lines such as “Holiday times were the worst because we surrounded by empty lines, Big family but very little words, we almost felt like strangers from time to time because we all sat at the dinner table tired of our lives”. The difference in vision between generations usually creates internal conflicts that aren’t talked about enough, many children in different families can’t have actual conversations with people older than them when they are together, and a lot of family events have relatives segmented. 

Another strong line from the first verse is “ I don’t know how life would be like if we were all living happy, If most of us weren’t just exciting and we weren’t living sadly, maybe we’d built spaceships like we in Manhattan, maybe we’d have a Manchester player walking by our garden, maybe we’d be performing in London but we’ll never know cos all the dreams ended with a uniform and a button.

The belief that school is the key to life is true but to what extent should one’s ability and dreams be tarnished to please the communities feelings? Traditional mindset families still closely conserve their children not to undertake nor try anything outside school and if some are to try the opportunities they may receive get canceled out as school should be your first and only priority but is that really how things should be done? Superstars such as Messi, Chris Brown, and Leonardo Di Caprio all have one thing in common, they started their career journeys in their teenage hood. If they were all trapped in the schooling system their fates would have been very different they wouldn’t be the stars that they are today.

The last line of the first verse has The Holyday saying “ If you didn’t want to be a doctor or a lawyer then you’d be an embarrassment “ this line highlights the idea that only school-based professions are important and prestigious for the family to talk about. It’s very common to hear a lot of parents wanting their children to become doctors or lawyers as these professions have carried a big name for them. But what isn’t talked about enough is how entertainers earn more than twice as much but that’s a conversation for another day.

The bridge between the songs has a baby crying as it illustrates the growth from a child to someone independent.

The second verse starts with the line “But this ain’t no Chinedu Achebe story so you gotta know my progress is vital, I’m building my own future so just pass me my rifle, I’m at war with myself and my background’s my rival”
A powerful start to a verse about self-reclamation and growth. The references to Chinedu Achebe go deeper to mean that writers' books usually found a way to do things to please the main characters' families, being at war with your past is what most adults face, either through the challenges we faced while growing up or it’s through things that scared us and for us to become better we need to face them. The Holyday uses these lines to say that he’s not going back no matter what, this is his journey and no one will stop him.

In an interview with TimesFM, The Holyday said that “ a lot of people thought this was just a hobby and music was a past time activity but he knew that it’s what he really wants to do”

The rest of the second verse looks at life as an independent person chasing their dreams and not going back on anything. With lines such as “Sitokubali kuwa chini me and God both know” The Holyday outlines his dedication to his art and this is the same way each entertainer feels the moment they stay focused on their work and start believing in themselves. 

He finally finishes with lines of hope for a new change by saying “ Dear God can I pray for love, I’m tired of seeing these families end in fights, I’m tired of hearing about my dreams that died at night” “I’m sorry about the past generation but I want us to be free at last to make our own decisions and be true to us”

A fine ending to a message from the heart. As they say at the end of a Christmas message, from my family to yours, may we all see change and have these real conversations between children and guardians so as to learn and understand each other’s more.

Locked house managed to get about 20,000 across Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music coming from an independent artist those numbers are big numbers. Performances at multiple shows including Kahawa Night at the National Museum of Tanzania all left the audience in tears and wanting more to listen, standing ovations and interviews from multiple radio stations. The Holyday certainly did something we need to see more artists do and that is; to create art that is authentic to himself without tarnishing it to make it a market-based song.


Locked house managed to get about 20,000 across Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music coming from an independent artist those numbers are big numbers. 

Below are links to The Holyday’s social networks and videos from some of his performances and interviews


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