History Main / AfricanChant

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFp_puk7cRs The Rainmaker]]"

* The entire score to the film adaptation of ''Literature/ThePowerOfOne'' (written as it was by future ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Lion King]]'' composers Lebo M. and Music/HansZimmer), though of particular note are:

*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZNp6AFBKdg The ending reprise to the above]], which also includes an ''epic'' rendition of the Xhosa hymn "[[https://www.nglyrics.com/bawo-thixo-somandla-father-god-almighty-lyrics-by-cape-town-youth-choir.html Bawo Thixo Somandla]]".

* ''Music/{{Eskimo}}'' by Music/TheResidents. Except instead of African Chanting, ''it's (fake) Eskimo chanting.''

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' has some Na'vi chants meant to invoke this trope.

* ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency'' TV series has this on occasion, with real African.

* The entire score to the film adaptation of ''Literature/ThePowerOfOne'' (written as it was by future ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Lion King]]'' composers Lebo M. and Music/HansZimmer, though of particular note are:

* In the film ''The Power of One'', the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29cVz9cmyAs Mother Africa]]", as well as the concert, in which the native Africans insult their oblivious white audience.

*** The famous opening sunrise is possibly the TropeMaker for more modern examples. It does sound better than most other examples listed, being an actual Zulu phrase.
---->Nants ingonyama! Bagaithi baba!
---->Sithikum, ingonyama nyeh!
---->Se nkoba
---->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
---->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
---->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
---->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala

*** Rafiki's African Chant while taunting Simba is also a real African phrase. It means, "Thank you very much [mister] squashed banana! You are a baboon, and I am not!" And it's definitely [[{{Mondegreen}} not]] "Squash bananas up his ass".

* The 'Baba Yetu' opening-sequence from ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} 4''. It's actually just a Swahili rendition of the Lord's Prayer - but in Swahili, it comes across as some sort of tribal chant.

Compare OminousLatinChanting and OneWomanWail.

* Creator/DougWalker [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ejMFvssoSI#t=32m33s sometimes]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyQwP-32I9U#t=9m35s brings up]] how much he dislikes this trope in his reviews whenever it's used to accompany scenes of death and devastation.

* The TropeNamer is from the U.S. version of ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', which had a game called African Chant. It involved Creator/WayneBrady singing to an audience member in the style of an African Chant, but the real comedy comes from the three other comedians singing and dancing in the background. When Brady was told the name of the game, "African Chant", [[UnfortunateImplications he (understandably) did not react too well]].

-->'''Drew Carey:''' Because Colin would screw it up.

The unknown depths of the jungle are shown. The film cuts to a quieter scene, the JungleDrums beat, and some random AfricanChant comes from the music. While sometimes the chant may be real, most of the time it's just [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign random phrases of Swahili or Zulu in order for it to mean]] ''[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign something]]''. The go-to-guy for genuine African chants is [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0530799/reference Lebo M.]]

* In MacroZone forest levels of ''VideoGame/SeriousSam II'' and some of the jungle levels, a fight music has these stock sounds.

-->-- '''Timon''', [[{{Mondegreen}} making up the possible lyrics for]] ''Disney/TheLionKing'' opening, ''Disney/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf''

* ''Disney/TheLionKing'':
** The famous opening sunrise in the first movie is possibly the TropeMaker for more modern examples. It does sound better than most other examples listed, being an actual Zulu phrase.
--->Nants ingonyama! Bagaithi baba!
--->Sithikum, ingonyama nyeh!
--->Se nkoba
--->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
--->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
--->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
--->Ingonyama, ngong iiyamabala
--->[[{{Mondegreen}} Sitho kwaa]]
** The trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the POVSequel, as quoted above.
** Rafiki's African Chant while taunting Simba is also a real African phrase. It means, "Thank you very much [mister] squashed banana! You are a baboon, and I am not!" And it's definitely [[{{Mondegreen}} not]] "Squash bananas up his ass".
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRUcijyTvRs "Courtship"]] and its DarkReprise, "Breakout/It Comes With a Pool", from ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' parody of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' has this:

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' has a parody of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' with ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FNvuZF27lRI#t=229s The Cockroach King]]'', starring Creator/HowardStern.

* In the TopGear two-part Africa special, the customary theme from The A-Team was punched up with African chanting.

* Reasonably enough, the opening and closing episodes of ''{{Roots}}'' had African songs, mostly sung by Maya Angelou (who also appeared as the elder Nyo Boto in the first episode).

* Creator/DougWalker [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ejMFvssoSI sometimes]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyQwP-32I9U brings up]] how much he dislikes this trope in his reviews whenever it's used to accompany scenes of death and devastation.

* Creator/DougWalker sometimes brings up how much he dislikes this trope in his reviews whenever it's used to accompany scenes of death and devastation.

* The Adventure Field's Mystic Ruins in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', and Mazuri in ''SonicUnleashed''.

* ''[[Film/RoadTo Road to Zanzibar]]'' has a bit of chanting titled "African Etude".

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' has a parody of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' with ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FNvuZF27lRI#t=229s The Cockroach King]]'', starring HowardStern.

* Music/{{Shakira}}'s "Waka Waka". Justified, as it was the main theme for TheWorldCup in Africa, and the song's subtitle is even (This Time for Africa).

* The TropeNamer is from the U.S. version of ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', which had a game called African Chant. It involved Wayne Brady singing to an audience member in the style of an African Chant, but the real comedy comes from the three other comedians singing and dancing in the background. When Brady was told the name of the game, "African Chant", [[UnfortunateImplications he (understandably) did not react too well]].

* ''[[TheItchyandScratchyShow Itchy and Scratchy: The Musical]]'' featured background chants sounding like "Itchy Scratchy, Itchy Itchy Scratchy..."

* "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRUcijyTvRs Courtship]]" and its DarkReprise, "Breakout/It Comes With a Pool", from ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}''.

The unknown depths of the jungle are shown. The film cuts to a quieter scene, the JungleDrums beat, and some random AfricanChant comes from the music. While sometimes the chant may be real, most of the time it's just [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign random phrases of Swahili or Zulu in order for it to mean]] ''[[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign something]]''. The go-to-guy for genuine African chants is [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0530799/reference Lebo M]].

** Rafiki's African Chant while taunting Simba is also a real African phrase. It means, "Thank you very much. Squashed banana. You are a baboon, and I am not." And it's definitely [[{{Mondegreen}} not]] "Squash bananas up his ass".

* In the film ''{{Zulu}}'', the Zulu warriors sing a praise song lauding the British defenders as {{Worthy Opponent}}s before beginning their final assault.

* ''ShowBoat'': The Dahomey dancers in the 1893 World's Fair sequence frighten off white visitors with their frenzied chanting and barbaric manners, then reveal it's a load of BigApplesauce -- "our home just ain't Dahomey at all" but New York.

* The famous opening sunrise in ''Disney/TheLionKing'' is possibly the TropeMaker for more modern examples. It does sound better than most other examples listed, being an actual Zulu phrase.

** The trope is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the POVSequel, as quoted above

* The TropeNamer is from the U.S. version of ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', which had a game called African Chant. It involved Wayne Brady singing to an audience member in the style of an African Chant, but the real comedy comes from the three other comedians singing and dancing in the background.
** When Brady was told the name of the game, "African Chant", [[UnfortunateImplications he (understandably) did not react too well]].

* Sally Cruikshank produced a series of animated inserts for ''Series/SesameStreet'' involving counting up to a certain number, with the highest being 19 and the lowest being 13 (according to Muppet Wiki, there is no animation for 20).

* Grassland Grove in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze''.
* Main theme for ''VideoGame/{{Far Cry 2}}'', sung by Senegalese singer Baaba Maal.

* The Adventure Field's Mystic Ruins in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.
** Mazuri in ''SonicUnleashed''.

* [[TheItchyandScratchyShow ''Itchy and Scratchy: The Musical'']] featured background chants sounding like "Itchy Scratchy, Itchy Itchy Scratchy..."
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' brought us another parody of ''Disney/TheLionKing'' with ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FNvuZF27lRI#t=229s The Cockroach King]]'', starring HowardStern.