[upbeat guitar music]
["Levitate" by Ben Mulwana and the Village]
[steady electric guitar music]
? Mmm
? Ooh oh oh oh oh yeah
? I built the room we're standing in ?
? Stone by stone like an invalid ?
? I can't seem to figure out how to live in it ?
? 'Cause even the ceiling's closer than I remember now ?
? But the brewer is stronger than the brew ?
? That means that I am taller than the roof, babe ?
? Or maybe I just shook something loose ?
? But look at this floor, I've been making it levitate ?
? Levitate with my mind
? Oh, I've been making it levitate ?
? With my mind, whoa
[groovy blues rock music]
? I heard some voices in my mind ?
? Long enough to keep my brain on me ?
? But they refuse, insist that instead ?
? I should be free
? Yeah
Yeah!
? But the line is tighter than the noose ?
? Like the killer's sharper than the weapon they use ?
? So my mind is stronger than my mood ?
? But take a look at this floor ?
? And I've been making it levitate, yeah ?
? With my mind
? Ooh, I've been making it levitate ?
? Levitate with my mind, oh
? Oh oh
- My name is Ben Mulwana.
I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin now,
but I am from Uganda, east Africa.
I love my culture.
I love my background, where I'm from,
and I think my music, I try to bring a lot of that
in to the stage, is to say, like,
"My background's different.
"I am still an immigrant.
"I, you know, I am still not from this space,
"but I am from this space
"because we're here together, and, like,
"you guys are loving this, I'm loving this,
"and we can all just kinda celebrate in this moment,
"you know, our differences, our commonalities,
all the things that I try to put into my music."
[groovy blues rock music]
? I heard some voices in my mind ?
? Long enough to keep my brain on me ?
? But they refuse, insist that instead ?
? I should be free, yeah
? But words are larger than the page ?
? Like the author's sharper than the weapon they use ?
? So my mind is stronger than my mood ?
? But take a look at this floor ?
? I've been making it levitate
? Levitate with my mind, ooh
? I've been making it levitate
? Levitate with my mind, oh
? Oh
? Ooh I've been making it levitate ?
? See I've been making it levitate ?
? Levitate with my mind
? Ooh I've been making it levitate ?
[groovy blues music]
[rapid guitar strumming] Thank you very much.
[audience applauding]
[upbeat music]