ZAMBIA NEEDS TO INVEST IN THE ARTS TO HELP PRESERVE OUR CULTURAL HERITAGE, CREATE JOBS AND ENHANCE ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS
I wanted to post these two pictures as my TBT (Throw Back Thursday) for today. But as I wrote the caption, I could not stop writing and so decided to just do a short article instead.
Elizabeth Mwanza, one of the most accomplished women to ever hold the title of Miss Zambia, was our stylist at this time. She went further to teach as Etiquette and other classes that were relevant for us as upcoming artists, including how to handle finances, fashion, make-up and others. Mondo Music were always very clear with what they wanted from the artists, as they signed them on and they would say that they wanted to create stars that would sell music and not just produce music that people would not buy. At that time, Zambians were only listening to Congolese, South African, American and other foreign songs. So it was not easy to embark on a plan to wrestle for the Zambian ears to make them start loving and listening to their own local music.
It was interesting that Mondo Music, as a record label, took keen interest in how their artists looked and managed their resources, hence organising those financial literacy classes and others for us. Whether you were a good student and implemented what you learnt, was up to you. But I am forever grateful for that foundation and training we got so early in our careers. It is sad that many years later, the music industry is still not as developed as it should be. We have a few pockets of artists doing well, but the entire music industry as a whole is still limping. We need government, private companies and individuals to invest the right resources in the creative industry in order to develop the sector and create jobs for the many talent artists out there.
Kalandanya Music, which came close to helping develop the music industry has been politicised to the extent of making it a ruling party political cash cow, instead of allowing it to do its core business- Music. We need record labels to come up and help develop the industry. And I am not talking about people with just a studio, I mean companies or individuals with a lot of money to invest in the sector. Art is the mirror or society, let us fix our mirror as Zambians and develop our arts. This will help in preserving our cultural heritage, creating jobs, contributing to the GDP of the country and awesome artistic expressions from all corners of this country.
By Saboi Imboela
President- NDC
One half of the singing duo Shatel
First Zambians to be nominated for the Kora Music Awards
Multi- Award winners of the Ngoma Awards, Azami and Sounds Arcades for best selling album, etc
Former Representative of all Musicians on the National Arts Council Board
Former Zambian Ambassador of the African Arterial Network
Performed and/or represented Zambia in Japan, South Africa, Malawi, etc, and all parts of Zambia
Song writer for various artists like JK, Black Muntu, Joe Chibangu, Tasila Mwale, Danny Peddle, etc.
