The oneness was phenomenal, thumbs up!

 Of late, the local music landscape has begun to birth little elements of fractions and enmity among or between particular camps of artists.

It is a trend that has, to an extent been fanned by some overzealous heads who have made it their business to use their platforms, especially the only spaces, to create duels between artists for their own end needs and gains.

For a lazy followership, these imaginary battles and differences, the picture has read well. They have enjoyed the silly excitement that comes with such baseless confrontations and posturing.

The works of these detractors create real rifts among artists and in their eyes they see huge dislikes among them which they try to smear even among their followers. From afar, some people have come to believe that artist A can’t speak to artist B or say anything good about them.

It has become even a point of reflection and debate where one from a perceived camp has publicly condemned lauded the other. That in itself reveals how far some sick minds have gone in trying to impose on the creative sector.

It was, therefore, refreshing to see how the creative industry in unison last week rallied behind their own Patience Namadingo ahead of his highly-anticipated concert in Lusaka, Zambia.

The love and support was beautifully unprecedented. The block rose together as one and shared a common intent: to see Malawi rise through the ambassador that they had sent out in form of Namadingo.

Across the creative space Namadingo was showered with messages of goodwill, encouragement and pampered with belief that the stage was all his to conquer. Even from people, whom others meant us to believe are the artist’s worst known enemies, he got well crafted messages.

As such brotherhood reigned all I could imagine is what more we stand to achieve if we can be operating as one at all times. The industry is still too small, struggling to make a breakthrough to the world; any other unwarranted disruptions will only derail our forward march further.

What we constantly speak of each other is eventually what we become. If I am continuously told that I have it in me and that I can do, that self-belief will grow in me. And by and large that is what I will bring to the world. Let this be the beginning of a new road.

And Then…

It was one special weekend for the local creatives. While Namadingo was out wowing audiences in Lusaka, Zambia, our little film ambassador Hannah Sukali was in a sojourn in Lagos, Nigeria. She was chasing her maiden gong as the Best Promising Young Actress in African Academy Movie Awards (Amaa).

Sadly for the 13-year-old, she failed to cart the award home. But still, in many ways her nomination alone represents a victory in many aspects. Sukali and the whole Fatsani team deserve a big pat on the back for the wonderful effort they made in their debut film production.

And it was also the same weekend when gospel artist Wendy Harawa made her maiden appearance at the One Africa Music Festival in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It was such a glorious moment for the Malawian as she shared the platform with regional heavyweights such as Flavour, Tiwa Savage, and Harmonize. The exposure that the industry players are getting in these international platforms should not be underrated.

We may have started small, but if we continue to explore on these networks and maximise the gains then we should be headed for the right direction. The year 2021 seems to be letting off on a high after all.