The Laughing Son (CD)

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The title of Nakhane Toure's new EP, The Laughing Son, is named after the biblical character, Ham. In the story Noah, after having survived the flood with his wife and progeny, passes out unclothed as a result of having had too much wine. Ham, his son, is the first to discover him in this disgraceful state and instead of covering up his father's nakedness, opts to tell his brothers about it. They enter the tent backwards, averting their eyes from their father's nakedness and cover him with a cloak. Upon waking, Noah is made aware of Ham's transgression and curses his descendants to a life of servitude to his brothers 'offspring.

The nature of Ham's transgression has been debated for thousands of years. One of transgressions that have been popularised is that Ham, upon seeing his father naked, laughed and made a mockery of him among the town's people and his family.

In some right-wing, conservative sects, this curse has been called black skin, and has been used as a justification for racism and slavery for hundreds of years. "If it so," Nakhane says, "If we are to entertain this story, for the sake of argument; even if it is complete nonsense, then I choose to re-appropriate it. I choose to take it and use it as a source of power. I take ownership of this curse and use it to empower me."