Kell Kay takes his love to Zambiathe
The reinvented Afro musician Kell Kay is no stranger to producing some of the most soothing and captivating love songs on the local music scene.
Over the years, he has proved to be a master of the niche. But his latest single Bana Phwanya, which is set for release today, points to a slight shift in his target audience. The singer and composer clearly has Zambia on his mind.
From the title of the song, which is a Chinyanja word meaning broken hearted, to the flow of the song, language and the collaboration with two Zambian music forces Yo Maps and Prince Luv, it is clear to see that the Muchedwa hit-maker set his sights away from home this time around.
When asked in an interview yesterday if the song is a deliberate move for him to tap into the Zambian market, Kell Kay was not clear in his response.
“We need to come and work together. These collaborations are a way of bringing people together.
Zambians will have a chance to know more about an artist from Malawi and Malawians will also appreciate the art from Zambia,” he said.
The song narrative’s is about a woman who is fed up with men breaking her heart such that she has reached a point where she is rejecting every romantic advance from various men. Now, a new man has come into her life and he is trying his best to convince her to take him seriously.
Yo Maps did the first verse, then Kell Kay followed with the second before Prince Luv pitched in with the final one.
Kell Kay said the song is a result of a moment the three had in studio sampling beats. He said when the producer finally played the beat for Bana Phwanya they had a feeling they could produce a love song from it.
He said working with the two Zambians was great: “It was amazing. They are good people and very big artists. I feel it is important to do these collaborations.”
In a separate interview, the song’s producer Tricky Beatz said the opportunity to produce for the three artists allowed him to learn new tricks given the pedigree of the artists he was working with.
He said: “The Zambians brought in a dimension that we are not used to. That gave me a chance to explore new things. Again, these are artists who know the art well. They constantly chipped in to offer direction which was a good thing.”
