My top 5 Malawian songs of 2021

 

Okay I can’t sing, I have a really pitchy voice, but I do appreciate good music. 

Plus, being an editor of a ‘small’ online news outlet I basically look at everything from sports to entertainment to politics to health to tech-name it. Consequently, I have to keep tabs on everything, well that’s not possible, but I do my best.

It should also be said that I started my journalism career on a desk that also dealt with entertainment, although my main responsibility was the Weekend Nation’s pullout called Young and Free (I shall revisit the Young and Free diaries someday). While on that desk I covered the likes of Ismael Lo, Mafikizolo, late Oliver Mtukudzi when they performed in Malawi. I enjoyed mixing work with pleasure!

And so, as the year 2021 winds up, I share the top five Malawian songs that I listen to a lot on my YouTube playlist 

1.       Pemphero Hilco feat Sangie

Sultry-voiced Hilco and Sangie teamed up on this one, to belt out a tune against gender-based violence.  It’s a story of a picture-perfect family with a dark secret-why not in this era of social media, people keep up appearances and mask and hide the junk in the deepest of trunks. The song gives a picture of how most Malawian women approach such issues-they would rather suffer than leave. My favourite part is where:

Hilco sings: Langa ndi pemphero loti amuna anga adzasinthe (My prayer is that my husband should change).

And Sangie says: Langa ndi pemphero loti amunako asadzakuphe (My prayer is that you husband should not kill you).

For me the lure to this one is also their voices.

2.       Sakaka-Patience Namadingo

Okay! I’m a Nama fan! The boy, now a young man can sing, whether you like him and his ego or not! Okay he’s been popping out songs way too frequently, some are under-baked. But hey, we’re in an era of what I call the beast-The Internet and its babies FB, YouTube, Instagram etc. The beast is ever eating, siyimakhuta, you have to keep feeding it content. You snooze, you lose out on clicks, likes and views!

Anyway to the song, Namadingo says don’t force love on people, on friends, if it's over admit it and move on! 

Besides the message, my favourite part is the beat. Let's dance....Chikondi Sakaka... Kamizana...Chikondi sakaka...💃🏽💃🏽

3. Mr Nobody-Onesmus

We’ve all experienced the chips being down at some point, but it’s possible to climb out. But when we do, we should not forget where we’re coming from. Regardless of the level of success achieved, if we’re not what we used to be, we should be grateful, but still grind on!

4.4. Mauto-Piksy

'Mauto' is actually a Yao word for Mavuto. I like 'Mauto' (problems) because in the song Piksy is saying the hustle, the problems will never end, koma osamangoganiza za mavuto. Live! That’s me, I love life, I don't just breathe, I live. Besides as a Christian the Bible encourages me to cast my burdens on Jesus for he cares. Basitu!

5.       5. Kuseli-Saint feat Dan Lu

Disclaimer: I generally mind my own business!  But. It’s a Malawian thing to be obsessed with what’s happening next door. To deal with this our parents used to advise against overstaying kwa neba, kumadikiza, kumawonera ma video, back in the 90s when TV sets were in few households. 

Due to poor planning of our cities it is not unusual for posh neighbourhoods to be juxtapositioned next to the poorest. In this song, Saint envies his neighbour Dan Lu who appears to have it all. But Dan Lu tells his neba that it's not as rosy as it seems. That’s basically life, live your own, live it your way, za aneba zitichedwetsa.

PS. Please share your favourites from Malawi this year in the comments section.