Now Reading: “My Attempt at Excavating A Dark Chapter of African and European History” Stogie T Breaks Down ‘Leopold II’
-
01
“My Attempt at Excavating A Dark Chapter of African and European History” Stogie T Breaks Down ‘Leopold II’
“My Attempt at Excavating A Dark Chapter of African and European History” Stogie T Breaks Down ‘Leopold II’
There are songs that entertain and then there are songs that confront history head-on, those that dig into the wounds many would rather leave untouched. Stogie T’s Leopold II sits firmly in the latter category. Taken from his upcoming album Anomy, the song is more than a lyrical showcase being it’s an act of remembrance, reflection and resistance.
On Instagram, Stogie T shared the story behind the song, describing it as “my attempt at excavating a chapter of African and European history. One drenched in rubber, blood and empire.” He explains how Leopold II holds a mirror to the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium, a period between 1885 and 1908 when, in his words, “human beings became instruments of extraction.”
He admits his goal was to tell that story with the same unflinching force that scarred the land, but also with an openness that recognises “history is a battleground and not a monologue.” This sets the tone for a song that doesn’t just recount history, but it wrestles with its echoes in the present.
In breaking down the track, Stogie T reveals how the first verse draws a haunting connection between modern warfare and colonial rule. “The first verse draws a line between a drone pilot pushing a button and a king holding a scepter with same distance in detachment,” he explains.
The second verse, he continues, “widens the lens.” He asks what happens after the king dies? “The second verse widens the lens. What happens after the king dies but the contracts, banks, language, and borders stay? You get Mobutu. You get pipelines and offshore accounts. You get mercenaries in one century, data miners in the next. And the myth of civilizing missions becomes the PR of development loans.”
Stogie T doesn’t ignore the complexity of history but refuses to let it be romanticised. “Even if you think some parts of colonialism are beneficial, you still have to answer, “at whose cost?” he notes, grounding his reflection in accountability rather than nostalgia. For him, Leopold II isn’t just a historical retelling it’s a reckoning. “Leopold’s case files are still open,” he says. “It’s a reminder that the past is neither dead nor settled… you can’t treat a wound with a knife still lodged.”
Through the weight of his words, Stogie T transforms history into witness. Without preaching or embellishment, he delivers a song and a statement, that insists remembrance is not just an act of looking back, but a demand to see the present more clearly.
