By King Yongo.
I really find the Team Dr Namadingo vs Team Onesimus Muzik social media hullabaloo petty, useless and highly unnecessary. But music fans are allowed. It only becomes worrisome when it gets to the heads of the artistes themselves.
Both Namadingo and Onesimus are great artistes in their own right. They have both produced hits over time and command a huge following. I personally have followed them from the genesis of their careers and was privileged to interview them on several occasions back then. I don’t pick a side, I enjoy good music.
This year, in terms of hits so far, it appears Onesimus has had an edge. This doesn’t mean Namadingo has had a bad year. He has also made huge progress in terms of marketing his brand beyond Malawi (just check his Facebook and YouTube numbers).
Solomon might end up being song of the year at the rate things are moving. The newly released “Maria” is another good vibe. At first I thought Onesimus would be overshadowed by the great Vusi Nova but he stood his ground. It’s a perfect collaboration and a good follow up to Solomon. This new song will become another hit with time.
Back to Namadingo, I feel like dude is under huge pressure and it’s getting to him. He is distracted! First of all, he must be facing pressure from the Zambian record label (Elation Entertainment Zambia). They have invested so much in Namadingo this year especially with music videos. They did the SADC project which I personally feel the label didn’t do the necessary marketing to make it successful as it was projected to be.
Apart from the SADC project, Namadingo has released way too many singles this year. Every 2 weeks or so, you hear an announcement of a new song and a video. Most of the singles have been average and monotonous. It was shocking to see an announcement that the doc would drop his first official single of 2021 yesterday. This only proves that even the Dakta himself knows that his other 2021 singles were absolute misses. Quality always prevails quantity when it comes to art.
So, the Dakta is under a 3 dimensional pressure; pressure to meet the business projections of the record label; pressure to please the newly inducted “Namafans” and; pressure to succeed after parting ways with his long time manager. All these can affect the quality of hits he is releasing. The quality of music is unquestionable. Namadingo always produces high quality music. Remember, music and hits are 2 different things.
At the end of the day, let’s love Malawian music. We have great artistes and all they need is our support. As music fans, let’s not create imaginary rifts and create unnecessary pressure on our artists. Both Namadingo and Onesimus are great ambassadors for Malawian music. You can love or hate either of them, but you cannot ignore them. They are huge brands.
King Yongo morning musings.
Ends
