Ladies and gentlemen, Toto:

Here’s the fun facts from David Paich, keyboardist and singer for Toto:

In 2015, Paich explained that the song is about a man’s love of a continent, Africa, rather than just a personal romance. He based the lyrics on a late night documentary with depictions of African plight and suffering. The viewing experience made a lasting impact on Paich: “It both moved and appalled me, and the pictures just wouldn’t leave my head. I tried to imagine how I’d feel about it if I was there and what I’d do.” Jeff Porcaro (Drummer and songwriter) elaborates further, explaining: “A white boy is trying to write a song on Africa, but since he’s never been there, he can only tell what he’s seen on TV or remembers in the past.”

Some additional lyrics relate to a person flying in to meet a lonely missionary, as Paich described in 2018. As a child, Paich attended a Catholic school; several of his teachers had done missionary work in Africa. Their missionary work became the inspiration behind the line: “I bless the rains down in Africa.” Paich, who at the time had never set foot in Africa, based the song’s landscape descriptions from an article in National Geographic. At the time, Steve Lukather (guitarist) humorously remarked that he would run “naked down Hollywood Boulevard” if the song became a hit, due to his bemusement over the lyrics; Paich argued that it was a “fantasy song” in the vein of songs such as “Margaritaville“.

During an appearance on the radio station KROQ-FM, Steve Porcaro and Lukather described the song as “dumb” and “an experiment” and some of the lyrics as “goofy” that were just placeholders, particularly the line about the Serengeti.  Engineer Al Schmitt stated that “Africa” was the second song written for Toto IV and had been worked on extensively in the studio. Eventually, the band grew tired of the song and considered cutting it from the album entirely. Paich considered saving “Africa” for a solo record but decided against it.

The band did not expect “Africa” to be a hit, after the intended success of lead single “Rosanna” (which had peaked at number 2). However, after Sony found out that the song was gaining traction in New York dance clubs, they decided to release it as another single, further cementing the popularity of Toto IV in the process.

Man, I love Margaritaville, as we all do annually in Panama City or when drinking in wine country, also known as my parent’s basement. Anyway, here’s the basketball related element of today’s Cleanser:

The Academy is located in Senegal. What’s more amazing is he’s a four star, which is rare for Georgia Basketball to land in recruiting and not from the portal.

Too bad he’s class of 2027. Maybe he can reclassify and get to Stegeman next year, instead.