Rewind to Mother’s Day two months ago. If you are a keen radio listener or TV fanatic, chances are high that you are rejoicing in your selfless parent to the refreshing replays of We Love You Mama, a hit of the moment by a little known group dying for a cross-border breakthrough.
The immensity of the singers’ talent surfaces in their crafty mix of the good old kwera beat which followed trains of migrant labourers to the mines in South Africa in the 1970s and the urban sounds which denote modernity in local music spheres. Interestingly, vocalists, trading as Pon-G and Weapon, are up to the towering task their fusion requires.
Welcome to the sounds of the newest kids on the fast-unfolding urban music shelves and on air.
Dubbed Weapons of Peace, Pon G (real name Eugene Suwedi) and his elder brother Weapon (Thokozani) seem to have found winning ways in an industry that is never known for treating upstarts with kid gloves.
The duo will launch what appears to be an aptly titled album, Our Time, at Mkango Lodge in Blantyre next month.
Like most rookie singers’ release, the twosome’s debut contains a variety of genres, including house, rock, R&B and reggae to ensure it has something for everybody. But the new ‘jacks of all touches’ are good at most of the sounds they opt for.
Apart from the celebration of motherhood, the collection consists of 16 numbers, including Shalala and Tangotipatsa Mpata which are being replayed by various radio stations.
“We have been singing together since 2009 when we composed and recorded We Love You Mama,†said Pon G, a graphic designer and video editor who co-produced the album.
His brother is a fashion designer who is part of the Young and Gifted (YMG) label whose restyled T-shirts have taken urban music enthusiasts by storm.
“We have a history of music in our family. Our father, Leo Suwedi, was not only a choir master, but is a music scholar who reads and fashions staff notations like few artists in the country,†said Weapon.
They disclosed that Weapon of Peace is a family label with a recording studio of the same name.
The Our Time stars confess being inspired by Maskal who launched his second album, Umunthu, at the weekend. They are regular fixtures at the periodic FM 101 Power’s concerts.
Their album launch of their debut Maskal, Young Kay, Blakjak, The President and Revolver.
