On serious issues such as gay rights, President Barack Obama spent much of his time in Kenya. But with some of the country’s most famous pop stars, he also found time to boogie. At a State House dinner four man group Sauti Sol performed which was hosted by Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, who also joined Obama and the musicians on stage for a dance. The Lipala dance that has recently taken the country by storm and the dancers, accompanied by Kenyatta’s wife Margaret Kenyatta, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Obama’s half-sister Auma were performing it. After being reworked by Sauti Sol earlier this year in their song Sura Yako, the traditional dance, the Lipala has enjoyed renewed popularity.
The song praises a woman’s beauty, and translates to English from Swahili as ‘Your Face’, became quick hit due to its catchy melody and people posting videos of themselves dancing it on YouTube. Sauti Sol group leader Bien-Aimé Baraza is heard saying, ‘To the right to the left, to the left’ to the president when he asked how to do the dance. Obama made headlines for his moves throughout his presidency, quickly picked up the maneuvers during the Nairobi event and he is also no stranger to the dance floor.
Sauti Sol posted on their Instagram- ‘And for those who doubted President @barackobama’s step – the #LipalaDance #SuraYako is his new favorite Kenyan dance!’ According to the Guardian ‘We are so sad that our mother Michelle could not come’ said the pop start referring to the First Lady. After an earlier press conference that saw the visiting leader criticize his host country for its treatment of gay people, Obama and Kenyatta shared the stage on Saturday night. Kenyatta said that his nation, where homosexuality is illegal, did not share all its values with the US and that gay rights were ‘a non-issue’ in his country.
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