Hazel Mak shares her dream with the world
Malawian afro-house artist Hazel Mak says she wants to see Malawian girls break barriers and confront gender issues through her Malawian Girls Rock (MGR) campaign.
She said Malawian female musicians continue to face a myriad of challenges in the industry bordering on gender issues.
The Jaiva hitmaker made the remarks during an interview on BBC’s Focus On Africa programme on Tuesday in which she shared her ambitions and dreams as well as details of her MGR project.
During the interview, monitored on BBC, Hazel said the platform is offering young women a chance to interact with others in the same industry, get advice and mentorship which she hopes will inspire them to achieve growth.
“It is basically a platform to encourage young women and also already grown women to interact with each other on entrepreneurial, political and social levels.
“It is important for us as females to create a dialogue in the media and within ourselves which is where the Malawian girl needs to come in. We need to speak about these issues, there is no point in treating them as if they are taboos which you cannot talk about,” she said.
The artist, who is currently based in United Kingdom, plans to come back and invest in Malawi.
She said that she draws inspiration from Senegalese born American superstar Akon.
“What I want to achieve in my career is sort of what Akon has achieved for himself. He has made a career out of his music, made money and he went back home and invested that money in his home and country,” she said.
In an interview from her base, Hazel said the opportunity to share the Malawian music story with the world was overwhelming and she believes she has kick-started a conversation within and outside the industry.
The musician mainly partners with DJ Nathan Tunes in her projects who is also her producer and husband. The pair are also working together in the MGR movement.
“Our aim is to enable female entrepreneurs, professionals and investors to share experiences and interact under a single roof.
Hazel has a big heart, a passion for music and in her there is a powerful feminist,” said DJ Nathan.
Her song, Jaiva which she collaborated with hip hop artist Tay Grin, has earned her a nomination for music video of the year in the Nyasa Music Awards (NMA). n
