It is Africa that created the most popular musical catchphrase at the time of lockdown, what many call "The hymn of resistance to Covid-19".
It's "Jerusalema", a 250 million visitors' hit on Youtube, which becomes more than half a billion with the various remixes and "covers" made all over the world, including the Philharmonic Orchestras and Gospel choirs.
In addition, on platforms such as Tik Tok and the like, the "Jerusalema Dance Challenge" with the dance choreography of the song to imitate and record, a real record has been reached.
The African-American health workers elected it as their liberating hymn and performed the dances also in the corridors of hospitals to exorcise the tensions and fears of the pandemic and alleviate the hard work, but also soldiers and even Protestant shepherds interpreted a personal version.
Last week South African deejay Kgaogelo Moagi, aka Master KG, won the award for best African performance of the year at the European MTV Music Awards.
But how was Jerusalema born?
The song was written in the summer of 2019 by Master KG and gospel singer Nomcebo Zikode (she is the female voice of the original song) with words in Zulu idiom, taking them from the gospel and re-imagining a promised land. The lyrics, however, are quite cryptic.
"Jerusalem is my home, guard me, walk with me, do not leave me here. Jerusalem is my home, my place is not here and I do not want to make it my kingdom".
Needless to say, the Palestinian people have made their verses their own and thanked the South African deejay for supporting their lifelong claims.
The song, in its "Gospel-pop" version, has been on the South African radio circuits for a few months, obtaining a good success and arriving also in the neighbouring countries.
The two authors, however, owe a lot to the Angolan dance corps "The Samba phenomena", which in February, just before the explosion of the "Corona", published a video in which they danced in line taking food from the plates in hand.
The "viral" video even before the virus gave a new life to the song, becoming a sort of pan-African anthem.
While in a short time everyone in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya was going crazy for Jerusalema, the European success (number 1 in Germany and France) was due in particular to the Nigerian artist Burna Boy, a wizard of his techno, whose remix of the song has broken through everywhere.
Each country has its own cover in its own language (in Italy the most listened to is by Daudia, former X Factor competitor).
Despite this incredible success, Master KG seems to have remained humble and is just waiting to sing Jerusalema and his other compositions around the world, when the emergency will be over and will allow the return to live concerts.
"I don't feel like a superman or the character of the moment," Moagi explained to the Moagi press, "I know I composed the most famous song of the year, but that doesn't change me or my way of making music. My hope is that songs like this one can unite all the peoples of this continent".