Born from the Land - Ricky Kej - Baaba Maal - Lonnie Park - IP Singh (UNCCD Land Anthem)

Born from the Land
UNCCD Land Anthem

Produced by: Grammy Award Winner - Ricky Kej
Performed by: Baaba Maal, Lonnie Park, IP Singh, Ricky Kej
Mentored by: Ibrahim Thiaw & the UNCCD team
Written by: Alexis D'Souza, Ricky Kej, Lonnie Park, Baaba Maal, IP Singh
Keyboards: Ricky Kej
Flute: Wouter Kellerman
Choir: Mzansi Youth Choir
Guitar: Lonnie Park
Arrangement and Programming: Vanil Veigas
Choir Director: James Bassingthwaighte
Percussion: Karthik K.
Additional Vocals: Alexis D'Souza
Engineered by: Vanil Veigas, Nikhil Beri
Bass: Dominic D'Cruz
Additional Engineering: Lonnie Park, Wouter Kellerman
Mixed and Mastered by: Vanil Veigas
Video Directed & Filmed by: Sairam Sagiraju
Video Edited & Post Produced by: Roshan Machayya
Performances filmed at: T Series Studios - Delhi, UNCCD COP14 - Delhi, BMICH Convention Centre - Colombo.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and UNCCD Land Ambassador Ricky Kej are pleased to announce the release of the official music video titled, Born from the Land. Award winning Musicians Ricky Kej and Baaba Maal, another UNCCD Land Ambassador, perform the song, which also features Lonnie Park and IP Singh.

The brand-new music video, whose lyrics are available in the six United Nations’ languages, will be distributed worldwide through social media and various music platforms on 5 December 2019, World Soil Day. The music video was recorded in India, a few days before the song was premiered at the UNCCD’s biennial global conference held in September 2019, in New Delhi, India. Ricky Kej, who is known internationally as a music composer, a No.1 artist on the United States Billboard chart and a Grammy Award winner for his album titled, Winds of Samsara, is passionate about raising awareness and environmental consciousness. He advocates for the land and nature-based solutions as fundamental to actions that, at once, help fight climate change and biodiversity loss while delivering the Sustainable Development Goals.

Baaba Maal, also a world-renowned musician from Africa, lent his unique voice to the soundtrack of the international blockbuster Black Panther, which won an Oscar and a Grammy Award for its music score. For over 15 years, he has been active in various development challenges in Africa.

“We are truly delighted that Ricky Kej and Baaba Maal, are dedicating this song to creating awareness about the value of healthy land. They show that for the sake of present and future generations, we all can – and should – use every resource we have to halt and reverse the ongoing loss of productive land. The song, in praise of the benefits of healthy land, is inspiring. I hope it re-casts our views about the ground beneath our feet and motivates everyone to take action to nurture it,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary.

"There is a sense of excitement and joy when musicians come together for the cause of environmental consciousness. In this case, it was a time of coming together for our land. I had the absolute pleasure of working with some of the best musicians in the making of the official UNCCD land anthem, Born from the Land…,” says Ricky Kej.

“I am an international artist of African descent. The fight against desertification is part of my commitment to the cause of development, especially the reforestation I have been doing with the people in my country (Senegal) for several years. My participation in the song ‘Born from the Land,’ resonates with my musical work ‘Lekki’, which means the Tree, and that I interpreted during COP 14. It is therefore a pleasure to invest myself with Ricky Kej in this project for the environment, especially the fight against desertification that spares no continent,” said Baaba Maal.

The official release of the song and video will take place on World Soil Day as a reminder that soil is a vital part of the land that is the basis for human health and livelihoods, and our economic, cultural and spiritual well-being. Today, more than a quarter of previously productive land, globally, is degraded, and most of this degradation has occurred over the last 50 years. Although countries affected by land degradation are taking actions to reverse these trends, the active engagement of the global public is lagging.

The UNCCD is an international agreement on good land stewardship. It helps people, communities and countries to create wealth, grow economies and secure enough food and water and energy, by ensuring land users have an enabling environment for sustainable land management. Through partnerships, the Convention’s 197 Parties set up robust systems to manage drought promptly and effectively. Good land stewardship based on a sound policy and science helps integrate and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, builds resilience to climate change and prevents biodiversity loss.