Sizzla, Alpha Blondy eye Matafale Memorial

If all things go according to plan, the Evison Matafale Memorial Concert may soon become an international affair as it has attracted the attention of reggae big-timers Sizzla and Alpha Blondy.

Jamaican reggae musician Sizzla and Ivorian reggae maestro Alpha Blondy have both expressed interest to perform at Evison Matafale Memorial Concert slated for November 30 at Chileka in Blantyre.

Black Missionaries leader Anjiru Fumulani confirmed the development yesterday, saying the artists watched a video of 2011’s memorial show on YouTube and were impressed with the performances and the turn-out.

“They have both been in contact with Chigo Gondwe-Chokani and they have showed interest to perform at this year’s concert,” said Anjiru.

On her part, Gondwe-Chokani, wife to Black Missionaries lead guitarist Takudziwani Chokani, confirmed having been in contact with the two international artists.

“The two have showed interest to perform at the concert. They both understand that it is a charity event and they are willing to perform, but what is lacking is sponsorship to get them here. Companies are not coming forth to sponsor, probably because they do not understand that it is a free show, but what we want is to give back to the community through music,” she said.

Gondwe-Chokani added that during this year’s event, Black Missionaries will advocate for human rights, more especially freedom of expression, but since it falls close to the World Aids Day on December 1, they will also send out messages concerning the subject.

She confirmed that so far, Axa, Roofhouse and fellow artists have pledged their contribution towards the event.

The Matafale Memorial concert is an annual event held at Singano Village in Chileka in memory of reggae artist and Black Missionaries founder Evison Matafale who died in police custody on November 27 2001.

Sizzla, real name Miguel Orlando Collins, is a 38-year-old multi-award winning musician from Kingston, Jamaica and is regarded as one of the most commercially successful contemporary reggae artists.

The artist has 70 solo albums on his discography.

Alpha Blondy is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist who is widely considered as one of the continent’s finest reggae artists.

Many of his songs are politically motivated, and are mainly sung in his native language of Dioula, French and in English, though he occasionally uses other languages such as Arabic or Hebrew.