Malawi music going astray

Music is a universal language. It has and remains the best way of communicating events, perceptions, facts and ideas to individuals and the society at large.

Some of the reasons people listen to music include glorifying God, expressing feelings towards others, communicating with other people or to simply just relax and enjoy the art.

In Malawi, music is loved by many. It is part of the country’s culture and every occasion or emotion is made for music. There is music for solemn events, music celebratory moods: simply put, music imbeds into our daily life weaving its beauty and emotions through our thoughts, activities and memories.

Of late, there is sudden increase among the young crop of musicians in the country who have come up with songs whose lyrics are sexually suggestive, explicit or profane.

For instance, there are songs that people are enjoying such as Tsika by Sonye, Nalero by Nepman, Ndidzakukwatira by Gibo Lantosi, Chikondi Changa by Plak Nana featuring Nepman which are enjoying massive airplay. Listening to the songs intently, the interpretation of the messages is either sexually suggestive or profane.

Why is this arguably immoral type of music gained popularity in times? Is Malawi music losing its way?

Musician Nepman does not entirely blame the artists for the trend, saying people are tired of feasting on the same sad or mournful songs.

“It’s a change from what Malawian musicians have been known for; doing music full of sad messages as if there is nothing good happening around. We are now doing music that makes people laugh. Of course, I must agree that some songs are sexually suggestive though it depends on how people interpret the message. However, there is need for toning down for the sake of children in this country,” he said.

Misogyny and sexism have long been a part of hip-hop and rap culture in the Western world especially in the US. The language used to describe women by rappers such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and others is studded with sexual innuendos or describing women in overtly sexual and demeaning terms. The explicit content, however, is mostly bleeped out when sending the music to media outlets.

Entertainment and artistic content are more accessible than ever before. While that has its benefits, it is also a cause for concern as children and adults are exposed to a barrage of unfiltered messages.

The drift is a cause for concern for the Musician Union of Malawi (MUM) that it has discussed the matter with its membership as a means of finding a lasting resort.

“It’s unfortunate that artists are being influenced with the western kind of music. We entirely do things the way they are done elsewhere. The use of obscene language whether directly or indirectly, might look funny to the youths but it is offensive in a way,” said MUM president, Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango.

He explains further: “Mind you, our music is not rated and classified as to which ages can listen to what kind of music. This puts us in an awkward position as a country because we are gulping anything and everything through music.

“It is a growing concern and it was one of the issues that we discussed during our meeting last month. We want to reason with each other.”

Should we say the use of obscene language in Malawian music can be attributed to the lack or inadequate ability of musicians to develop new or innovative ideas in an artistic context?

Seemingly, it appears that many up-and-coming musicians in the country have resorted to the use of rhyming profane words as their claim to stardom. Of course, some members of the public seem to listen and even dance to such songs.

Waliko Makhala, a veteran ethnomusicologist, mourns the rate at which Malawi is losing its music style to bad and profane music.

“I must be frank and plain, we are losing touch with the original indigenous style of our music. It’s just too much. I have listened to some explicit lyrics which unfortunately are finding space on airwaves.

“This is as a result of hip-hop influences, which, as a genre, has also lost its original feel; the revolutionary type of hip-hop has now gone commercial. Mostly these youths are copycats who have run out of ideas. The disadvantage with this is there is no originality as they are just translating the lyrics from English to Chichewa. We need to go back to originality where we used to do traditional music,” he bemoaned.

As it stands, the 1968 Censorship Act of Malawi is debatably the reason behind the influx of obscene music. Its amendment to be in tune with the current changes in the Malawi music is long overdue, according to acting chief censoring officer, Humphrey Mpondaminga.

“We are aware of the trend in music which is bordering on offensive or explicit content. But the problem is the Censorship Act which, in its current form, only gives two options; banning or not banning music. It does not explicitly give reasons for deciding to do either of the two.

“There is no requirement that music be scrutinised before release; we act only when the song is out.

“Things have changed now and the law reform will among other things see whether our music should be classified. However, as it stands, radios should select what can go on air. We have heard in the past, for instance, MBC banning some music deemed inappropriate,” explained Mpondaminga. n