Phungu Joseph Nkasa and his lies
When it comes to song composition in the country, few can beat Phungu Joseph Nkasa. Whatever song he composes, people will like it. He does not call a spade a spoon, but a spade.
Even police officers can agree. They could not say anything about themselves. But Nkasa did.
In the song Anenele, Nkasa talked about the plight of police officers like housing, salaries and allowances. He called on the Inspector General (that time Lexton Kachama) to look into their misfortune so that they are motivated. A real darling for music lovers.
The vow
While Nkasa has achieved more financially in music, politics has been a bad animal to him. And he made this known on Zodiak Broadcasting Station’s Cruise 5 with Joab Chakhaza.
Nkasa told Chakhaza that former president Bakili Muluzi loved his songs so much that he promised him a car.
After waiting for some time, he became frustrated and composed a song detailing what transpired and how mtunda, as he called Bakili, failed to honour his promise.
During the interview, Nkasa vowed never to sing for politicians or at political gatherings again. He also said he was particularly annoyed that he did not receive anything for his famous political song Mose wa Lero.
Failing to stick to a vow
As people who listened to that interview were still digesting what he said, he was at it again. This time, he sang, danced and even donned Malawi Congress Party (MCP) cloth at its convention in Lilongwe last week. Has something gone wrong?
On Friday, Nkasa allowed greetings from The Nation. But when asked why he was singing at the MCP convention when he vowed never to sing for politicians, he cut the line, not once, but twice. Then he could not be reached.
Musicians Union of Malawi president Vita Chirwa said it is easy to understand the behaviour from the poverty context. He said Nkasa has a family and needs to feed them.
“If you stop him from singing in political rallies, are you going to feed his family? He needs to decide what to do to keep his family going,” he said.
He added that much as he does not know what transpired between the musician and MCP, there are some things that are difficult to resist.
“So it is up to musicians themselves to shape their destiny by deciding the direction to take. After all, music is business,” Chirwa added.
University of Malawi (Unima) lecturer in the department of music and dance Kondwani Bright Simbota said Nkasa is known for singing for or against politicians.
“Although it has been noted that his motivation for singing praises is primarily money, we cannot say that this has been always the case. I make this claim based on his own words in which he expressed his disappointment at not receiving financial rewards he had anticipated for his previous praise of political figures,” he said.
However, Simbota admitted that Nkasa is a gifted musician. He said this gives him a good platform for creating artistic commentary in politics and social issues.
Unima head of music and dance Grant Nthala said many artists are facing economic pressure which prompts them to explore extreme means for money.
He said most of them lack proper training which can direct their performance strategy.
Said Nthala: “Music is a profession, not for praising people. Because of lack of proper training, musicians struggle to make a living. In the end, they end up praising people.”
