Mlaka ‘bites’ again in new single Yasowa
In his formative years, musician Mlaka Maliro built a reputation of tackling social, economic and political themes in his compositions.
Later, his take on contemporary issues took a turn as he focused on preaching the Word of God.
But if the sample of his upcoming single Yasowa is anything to go by, it is the reincarnation of arguably one of the country’s finest music composers in the past two decades.
In his career, Mlaka’s strongest quality has been his ability to blend spiritual themes with realities on the ground.
Mlaka has brought all these attributes to life in Yasowa, a song which takes a candid reflection on the country’s current state of political affairs.
The artist has evoked the biblical story of Moses who was tasked to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land of Canaan. Unlike in the Bible where Moses divided the sea with his stick, in the song the stick gets stolen.
The narrative is an apparent subtle take on the current regime as Mlaka takes a sly reference to the promises that it will take Malawians to Canaan. Mlaka sees a deviation from what was promised and says the journey to Canaan will not materialise.
He sings on the chorus: “Yasowa, yasowa, yasowa mama ndodoya Moses. Ulendoopitaku Canaan, wavuta tikupita ku Libya. Mama yasowa! Ambuye okonda aliyense, akantheni anthu akubawa…”
His outrage has not been limited to those in government as he has also taken a swipe at the developments in the opposition Democratic Progressive Party where some are abusing the party’s leader Arthur Peter Mutharika for selfish reasons.
“Ndilekereni daddie wo, munthu wakula apume. Munthu ofuna kuyima, samakhala m’mbali mwa nyanja. Chikondi chanu ndi chabodza, musandipwetekere daddie wo”…goes the song.
Since January 9, Mlaka has been providing teasers on his Facebook page ahead of the song’s release. In one post, he simply wrote: “Yasowa ndodo ya Moses.”
While on Tuesday he shared a video snippet of a studio recording session of the song with the caption: “Angoganiza zakubapo ndodo ya Moses. Sibwino komaaaaa. [They have now decided to steal Moses’ stick. It is not good though].”
In a separate interview yesterday, Mlaka said there is a remote chance that the song may be changed before it is officially released. He said the release date will be announced next week.
“I am just trying to reflect on state of affairs in our governance system. What was promised is not what we are seeing at the moment. The bus has completely lost direction and I don’t think we will reach the promised land of Canaan,” he said.
