Tumult surround Wisdom Chitedze’s last album

Today marks exactly two years and a day since cancer claimed the life of Wisdom Chitedze, gospel musician and maker of the hit Tipewe.

Chitedze died after recording what was to be his fifth album.

Apart from the photographs and home videos, the Chitedze family remembers Wisdom through his songs.

However, the family cannot find much closure as the producer who recorded their son’s unreleased album has not surrendered the music to them.

Hilda Chitedze, mother to the fallen urban gospel star, said they have made several efforts to get the producer to give them the album but he has been uncooperative.

“We just want to get the album; that’s all. If Wisdom had not paid for it, we are very ready to pay for it,” said the mother.

She added that they have been forced to place an advert in the newspaper asking the producer to come forward hoping that when he sees it his conscious might tell him to submit.

The message in yesterday’s newspaper reads: “Request to the person who taped Wisdom’s 5th album in Area 18 before he got sick to please give us what was done. If it was not paid for we are ready to do so.”

“We just have our fingers crossed that the Holy Spirit will talk to his conscious and that he will surrender,” she said.

In an interview with The Nation, Lemekeza Phiri, who produced the unreleased album, claimed he has not refused to surrender the songs. He described the move to place an advert asking for the songs as hasty and unfortunate.

“I am liaising with Wisdom’s widow, who to my knowledge has the rights to the songs,” he said.

Phiri said it is not his call to release the album as the rights belong to the widow to the fallen artist.

“I was waiting for them to make the call but all the songs are there only that on some of the songs he left an instrumental and the lyrics with no voice recording,” said Phiri.

He said that he is discussing with the widow to find out what they can do with the instrumentals.

“We are contemplating whether we leave the songs as instrumentals or we find someone to record the voices in his place,” said Phiri.s