UMP under the microscope

The 2015 Urban Music Party (UMP) Festival brought about an exciting and memorable experience for youths at BAT Ground in Blantyre. There is no doubt about this because the atmosphere of BAT Ground spoke volumes of high levels of interaction and pleasure among youths and confirmed that it was the moment they had been long-ing for.

Apart from enjoying the beverages and music performances by fellow artists, up-and-coming artists had a rare opportunity of showcasing their talent and proved that they were the next big thing on the country’s urban music bloc.

A rare spot of talent during the festival was rising rapper called Able, who outclassed veteran rapper Slessor during a segment of emcee/rap battle, according to the audience’s vote.

The simple-looking Able also defeated another challenger from Machinjiri before being crowned king of freestyle for the 2015 UMP Festival.

Admirers tossed Able in the air soon after winning the rap battle.

Able told The Nation: “This is great experience, exposure and confirmation that Malawi got talent in the ghetto which just needs to be unearthed. Big up to UMP for coming up with this initiative which has brought an honour to urban talent in Malawi.”

Blantyre vs Lilongwe beef

The 2015 UMP festival created yet another battle field where rappers from Blantyre and Lilongwe outshone each other on stage. It brought together the speculated rivals in the game. However, the scene turned ugly when Trap Squad member Revolver was engaged in physical fight with unidentified member of Soul Rebel Entertainment from Lilongwe. He was whisked away from the scene before the thing got out of hand.

Reports of the physical fight did not go down well with some fans who described the act as “primitive and unac-ceptable”.

Alex Phiri, one of the patrons of the UMP, had this to say: “We need civilised rappers in the country who can put up good music and promote peace, love and unity. Hatred and beef will only destroy their reputation. I mean, weak-minded artists are the ones who waste time and talent on attacking their fellow artists. But the stronger ones focus on delivering hit songs that could change people’s lives.”

Aside the row, both artists from Lilongwe and Blantyre put up spirited performances that kept the audience on their feet. From Piksy to Marste, Gwamba to Barry One, Young Kay to Mwanache, Trap Squad to Daredevils, BlakJak to Diktator and Kelly Kay to Dali, fans were treated to different tastes of music. Whereas, Zambia’s Chimz Kelly electrified the festival with his danceable tunes such as Dorica.

Awards and honouring the dead

In 2013, the recipient of UMP’s Lifetime Achiever Award went to the late Vic Marley. And this year the similar award was won by the late reggae dancehall artist Mafunyeta.

However, the way UMP was handling the Life Time Achiever Award begs a lot of questions than answers. ‘Who is the next dead person whom UMP will award next year?’ is probably the question that most people have if history is anything to go by.

For a long time, the country’s urban artists have been taken lightly as far as their music is concerned. ‘Za maYo izi zopanda tsogolo’ is one of the sentiments used to describe urban music.

However, UMP shone the urban artists in as different light, especially by awarding the artists for their contribution to the music industry.

Kimpho Loka, spokesperson of UMP, said: “If truth be told, urban artists have contributed a lot to the world of entertainment as far as their music and talent are concerned. So, they deserved an honour or encouragement of some sort.”

However, the accolade for Artist of the Year, which went to Gwamba, was heavily debated by fans, some of who were heard chanting: “Nepman! Nepman!” in disapproval when Gwamba jumped on stage to receive his award.

They were of the view that the Na Lero hit-maker was the deserving recipient of the Best Artist of Year award. The same applies to the Song of the Year, which was won by Mwano by Martse featuring Kelly Kay. The award re-ceived jeers from fans who were in support of Sonye’s Tsika.

However the categories of New Artist of the Year and Best Producer, which were won by Sangie and Tricky Beatz went unopposed.

The Video of the Year Award went to Dirvoce by Janta. 