Penetrating global showbiz
When rapper Tay Grin announced his 2016 resolutions, little did fans know they would come true amid huddles of the local music industry. But today, Tay Grin is basking in glory. His three singles Chipapapa, Kanda and Sugar Mummie have given him a new lease of life on the international entertainment scene.
Among other strides, his Kanda, which features Malawi multi-talented DJ Sonye and Orezi from Nigeria, managed to climb charts of one of the world’s competitive satellite television channel Trace Africa 326 where it claimed position one.
Showbiz commentators hailed the progress of Kanda video and efforts that Tay Grin made in 2016 to leave a significant mark on the global scene.
“It’s not easy for a video from Malawi to claim position one on world’s acclaimed TV stations. But in 2016 we saw Malawi ruling through Tay Grin’s Kanda on Trace Africa 326,” said Kipho Loka, a seasoned showbiz reporter.
Tay Grin did not only achieve what most artists can only dream of on the wings of Kanda, but also Chipapapa video, which has won two awards. They include Best Traditional Video of the Year in Wats Up Africa TV and Malawi’s 2016 Urban Music Party (UMP) Festival organised by Nde’feyo Entertainment.
Both Kanda and Chipapapa also enjoyed massive airplay on the local scene and beyond.
Daily, artists outline goals and strategies to achieve their ambitions. But some end up being disappointed by several factors ranging from economic to distribution and marketing channels, which currently stand on their way to progress.
Asked how he managed to fulfil his strategy in 2016, Tay Grin had this to say: “My goals were realistic and to the point; hence, I remained focused.”
The Two by Two hitmaker also capitalised on his extensive networks with other artists from across Africa such as Orezi and 2Baba from Nigeria to hit the jackpot on the global map.
Sweet Banana by Dan Lu featuring Nigerian’s Kcee was another video by a Malawian which enjoyed international glow on Trace Africa and other popular channels. Sweet Banana was shot at the Five Star Mansion in Nigeria under the management of Sisqo Productions.
Dan Lu said his growing networks helped to maximise his brand across the continent and world over.
“The success story of Sweet Banana on the African scene has helped me to achieve a reputable brand of some sort,” said Dan Lu, adding Malawians need proper channels to export their music.
However, Dan Lu bemoaned lacklustre corporate commitment towards promoting local content on the international map.
“We are tired of importing music and videos in Malawi. We need companies such as Multichoice Malawi to help local artists in pushing their agenda to achieve a fair representation of local content in the international entertainment scene,” he said.
Apart from enjoying airplay on renowned satellite TV channels, Malawian artists produced compelling videos that enjoyed heavy downloads on Internet sites such as Youtube.
Angelina is another popular local video by Dali and directed by Ben Sam, which performed well on the global scene in 2016.n
