Onesimus in international limelight
Musician Onesimus has emerged as one of the few Malawian artists making a considerable mark at regional level.
Among his recent milestones, the artist’s latest single Bygones featured on the listener’s chart on Channel O for over three weeks. His song Green Light, Red Light has also been featured as a soundtrack in the latest episode of popular South African television series Blood and Water which features on Netflix.
His other composition Elle from his Love and dreams extended play also featured in the e-series called Spinners on Showmax. The artist has also his footprints on other television programmes such as ETV’s House of Zwide and Isitha the Enemy which airs on Showmax and ETV.
Recently, Onesimus also hit 10 million streams for his songs on the digital music streaming platform Spotify.
In an interview yesterday, the artist said his biggest secret has been the way he has positioned himself and the support he enjoys from his management team Melodia Music.
“Of course it also has everything to do with how one does their content in terms of lyrical arrangement and presentation. That coupled with good management has done the
trick for me,” he said.
Onesimus has adopted the trending Afro-pop genre as evidenced in his song Bygones which is done in both English and Chichewa, giving it a more international appeal.
On his feat in hitting 10 million streams on Spotify, Onesimus said he feels great to achieve something phenomenal. But he has a word of advice for his fellow artists.
“Hard work is key for one
to succeed in this industry. You also need to find the right people to manage your affairs and help expose your music on the bigger platforms,” said Onesimus.
In a separate interview, the artist’s South African brand and marketing manager Luvuyo Msimango said the breakthrough the artist has made internationally is down to the type of his music which resonates with the people.
He said: “Onesimus is a great musician. He writes great songs which resonate with audiences globally. It is not easy to stand out with over 100 000 songs being released daily. But good music will always find its way to the top.
“His music has been getting a lot of love from the UK and South Africa has adopted him as their own. There is also interest building up from the USA.”
The manager also singled out Onesimus’ energy and vision as some of the factors that have seen his star continue to rise.
“He knows what he wants. Just meeting him you can feel that he is a superstar. He speaks and sings in so many languages which is great. His voice is smoother than African butter,” he said
