It’s 2 am and I’m going through the depths of Youtube, searching for a video that will spark a bit of interest. Searching for that one new artist that always hides amongst the millions of visual content stocked on this site. As I start watching a Maleek beery video, I notice a video titled “Malawi Tour: Jah Prayzah welcomed in Lilongwe”. It does not really tickle my fancy but I click on it anyway. Free data and boredom have led me down this path!#
This year has been a year of huge triumphs and falls for Jah Prayzah. A leader in the local music scene, Tuku‘s protege and a record label leader. This guy resurrected ExQ‘s career from the depths as his star was dimming after the fall of urban grooves. His team moves as a unit and executes every plan with efficiency.
We might be right to assume that this guy has a deal with events promotional company, Two Kings, as he has managed to headline each and every huge event they have hosted this year. What is a HICC show without Jah Prayzah on the poster?
The collaborations he has been part of this year alone have assured him a continental footprint. Yemi Alade, Davido, Diamond Platinumz (again) and we have the audacity to compare him, with any local artist of his era. He was on the MTN Bushfire Festival main stage but a lot of you did not know that. Jah is the only Zimbabwean act that has managed to represent us on Coke Studio Africa and that alone is a huge milestone. Gone are the days when we used to celebrate an appearance of our acts on Big Brother Africa, we now have an artist who can actually make music for the audiences we vied for.
However, our respect and love for him are still circumstantial. People attacked him as we drew to December, up to a point of chasing him out of a cemetery. Surprisingly, as his music hit the mark during the recent CoupTonga Kwaro, we played his music and exalted him for the star that he really is. This is a man who has sacrificed his whole life to give us music. Performing for us at numerous shows and always giving us our money’s worth. Isn’t it time we took ownership of our own star. A guy who is respected by Davido himself!
Back to the video, I was watching earlier on. Jah Prayzah had a motorcade, police escort and personal bodyguards as he was paraded around Lilongwe. The love and joy people showed reminded me of the scenes when he returned from Australia and the people of Harare received him with open hands. People rushing towards the car to at least fist bump him and tell him how good he is in a rush of Nyanja that I could not really make out.
That’s superstardom and its time we accept and embrace our own. Just a side note, I was surprised by the number of Shona speaking people in Lilongwe!
Check the video out!
