Amapiano star Zeze Kingston’s duet with top Zambian artist Yo Maps Ndilira mu Mvula has set a new record of becoming the first song to achieve one million livestream views on YouTube within a period of five days of its release.
The story is almost too familiar as previous Malawi/Zambia collaborations have also yielded impressive success. The 2024 release Bana Phwanya, which features Malawian Kell Kay and Zambians Yo Maps and Prince Luv, also raked in massive figures online.
Then came Tay Grin’s duet with Yo Maps Somone, which now stands at 23 million views since its release two years ago.
In an interview yesterday, Zeze Kingston said the turnout is a pointer that Malawian artists should consider Zambia as their first stop when considering collaborations to tap into their huge online presence and music following.
“This is not something that I am losing my head over. But it talks a lot about our investment and where we are with our craft in terms of where we want to go. It is clear the collaboration with Yo Maps has brought its rewards. He is probably Zambia’s biggest artist at the moment,” he said.
Ndilira mu Mvula is one of the singles in Zeze Kingston’s upcoming album Spiritual which is set to drop this year.
The album also has collaborations with South African Afro-dance queen Makhadzi.
In a separate interview, arts commentator Samuel Chiwaka said the development is not surprising as the Malawi music industry is almost non-existent on the international market.
He said it is crucial for Malawian artists leverage their connections with artists already established on the regional scene such as those from Zambia.
“The entertainment industry is not so vibrant here. Most local acts are not known to break into the markets. For instance, when local acts go to South Africa, they mainly perform before Malawian audiences and not South African,” said Chiwaka.
He said the Malawian music industry should start working on its own music identity which will set them apart on the international stage.
Said Chiwaka: “Government should put strict mechanisms on foreign music promotion. We need to control the airplay, stop promoting artists that are producing foreign oriented music genres and Copyright Society of Malawi should only pay royalties to Malawian oriented genres.
“That will excite local artists to be creative.”
