It is without debate that Chancellor College has been the hub of arts and entertainment in Malawi. Academically, it has been the only college offering art related courses in decades, developing and discovering from the grassroots the next generation of playwritters, actors, actresses as well as musicians.
As a college well known to be the home of the best artists and students, fourth year students who are just bowing out of the college did live to that legacy. This class had inarguably talented people, both in drama and music. The list includes the ‘Fuego’ hitmaker, Nthondwa and ‘Dada’ star, Bouncy who along their friendship lines within and outside music, each released an EP (Sumu and M’nyane) on the same day which received positive reviews from different media outlets such as the Daily Times and Nations newspaper. They were not the only ones pushing hard for their talent in their cohort.
The campus and the country at large got to listen to artists like Desz, Dataz and Mantis whose songs were enjoying massive radio plays from different radio stations particularly through popular music radio programs like Made on Monday and Born & Bred.
All this evidences how this cohort graced the campus with talented musicians who represented the Chanco Entertainment Industry beyond the campus. Now that they are leaving, what remains with us? What’s next for our industry?
Every academic year brings a new cohort which means new talent on campus and this has been happening every year as the fourth year students were advancing. While some are shy to showcase their talent, some are brave enough to try their luck. Of prime importance on this are auditions of main Chanco Music Projects namely: Chanco Cypher and Chanco Medley. These two projects are platforms that identify the next big deal in the Chanco music scenes by giving them a platform to reach a larger audience and an opportunity to make a name for themselves.
There is a number of artists with very promising talents entrusted to continue the trend left by the outgoing fourth years, who showcased their talent and made a name for themselves through the aforementioned platforms. Currently topping the list is the Malawi Hip-Hop awards female rapper of the year nominee, Princess alongside Dropsum who recently released ‘Duntutu’, ‘My Chains are Gold’ stars, the Bell Boys as well as Clovix, who recently released a soundtrack with Desz titled ‘Yohane M’banditsi’. Both Clovix and the Bellboys’ song projects have enjoyed plays on main TV stations in the country. Interestingly, the campus also has Xmth, a first year student who is coming through the ranks.
Therefore, going forward there is a need to ensure continuity of music projects like the Chanco Cypher and Medley.
These by any means, have to be conducted every academic year since the continuity of remarkable entertainment at this College that God loved the most, lies in the ability to identify new talents every year and giving them a platform through such projects.
