Ladies and gentlemen, Malawi’s Queen of Gospel music is back!

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Grace Chinga

Yesterday, Grace Chinga, through her Facebook account, posted that she will be releasing double albums ‘shortly’. She needs no introduction in Malawian gospel circles. Grace has been around since 1998 when she was the leading voice of the first album for the now disbanded gospel group, All Angels Choir. This was the album that had one of the most famous gospel songs in Malawi, ‘Uleke’. The then twenty year old Grace Chinga produced good vocals for the songs, and she was the reason behind the success of the album.

Grace Chinga
Grace Chinga will deliver 2 albums

For years she went out of the picture and concretely came back around 2007 when she released her album that had the popular song, ‘Thandizo Langa’. That was the beginning of the Grace Chinga Malawi would later on fall in love with. ‘Thandizo langa’ brought her both money and awards. But as she was enjoying the success, the biggest scare of her career and personal life happened: She had a divorce with her husband. It was one of the most publicized divorce cases in Malawi. With her in the limelight, and as a gospel artist, most people felt that by seeking a divorce she was acting contrary to the Christian message. In Christianity, divorce is discouraged. Worse still, the reasons for the divorce were not befitting her status as a young woman who had a successful career as a gospel artist. She claimed that her then husband starved her of sex.

She faced all kind of criticism from the general public, and it must have gone down in her life as one of the most trying moments. But she still had her head up, and by time, the story was forgotten. She took it to music, probably her conscious best friend, to relieve all the agony she had gone through, trying to give herself hope that one day all will be well. Two years later, in 2010, she went back to studio and released probably one of the best ever gospel albums in Malawi, ‘Udzayimba Nyimbo’. The title, you will have a song one day, was prophetic and a platform she used to give herself the belief that she will come out stronger than she went in. the whole album is about this theme, and it ends up making it one of the few conceptual gospel albums in Malawi.

The hope she carried with in the album made it easy for people to relate with the songs. The world is generally hitting hard on most people, and whenever there is an opportunity of listening to someone talking about hope, people easily tend to listen. That is what made the album popular. But between then and now Grace had not released any other album. She has gone six years without one. But surprisingly, she has always remained relevant as one of the most sought after gospel artists in Malawi. If it was someone else, she could have been long forgotten. But with her, it is different. The reason is simple: She comes out with class. Again, she is not an average song maker. Her songs have an element of poetry in them and she comes with out with expressions most people cannot hear from other gospel songs.

Of course two months ago she released a single, titled ‘N’Ndzaulura’. It is made up of the trending urban music club beat. It can be assumed that she was trying to keep up with time. She was making a strategic outcome of her song so that it gets to be loved by the youth. The song has received mixed reactions, with some praising her and some insisting that if that is the way she will take then she will lose it. I do not have an idea of what the about to be released albums will be like, but one thing we can be sure of is that she will not disappoint.

Malawi, the Gospel Queen we had missed is back! And as per her way of doing things, expect the albums to still be popular at least by 2020, as we will be entering the third decade of this new millennium.

*Wonderful Mkhutche is an author, a Political Scientist and a manuscript editor and developer.

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58 Comments

  1. Wangokomoka limbikani kupemphela auka mwina moyowake wapita kopempha nchele ,itanani Josua asamangolosela zainfa yaa sogoleli aukise Grece lelo tiwone

  2. aliyese ngat akuliona dziko ayembekezere 1 day lakufa cz aliyese padziko ali ndi 2 dayz lobadwira ndilakufa enawo ndiongoonjezera Gyz nde dont judge anyone,judgement iz in hands of almighty Lord

  3. Kodi a malawi24 nkhani zanu mumalemba zosokoneza anthu bwanji??wat do u mean “she is back”? Pomwe inu nomwe munalemba kuti munthuyu wamwalira??

  4. Koma inu mukuti ndi hule kapena muli oyimba nanuso nde njelasi sipindula munthu anadalisidwa unja ngati simukunama kuti amwalila nsanje zakuchulukilani oyimbanu NDE ife timamukonda kupotsaso inu

  5. mi hape wif ur presences pobadwa Kuno ku Malawi
    U r real hero of dis music don’t b discouraged by
    Malawian Malawi

  6. Hot 7 mai wa ndimodzi wa awiri omwe ali ndi utumiki wasatana choyamba akufunika chiwacho kapena kumbatidzidwa kachi 4 tisasewele ndidzina lamulungu mai ndikufusani mai yohane anatichani ali kudede ndinu mai kapena tidikilewina mai mofati moyo munamunyaza kwambiri chifukwa amafuna kukona nanu paka munathesa banja lanu because of human s**x or human qeen s**x is over mai sitinaiwale mai ife sima born free ife ndi ma born 200000.years ago

  7. Guys munthu walakwa chiyani kuti muzimuweluza . Inenso ndimunthu ngati inu nomwe . Ndani amene chibadwile chake sanalakwe ? Umaona chisoso chanzako kusiya chipika chili mdiso lako. Ngati siunachimwepo yamba kumugenda mwala nyimbo zake zimandisuntha zedi . Accta ife takulandilani ndinyimbo zanu zosuntha moyo

  8. ife timakunyadilani kaya anthu anyoze ife tlipansi utumiki wanu mayi kuli bwino kuvinila yesu kusiyana mkuvinira zachikunja siyani kuloza anzanu zala munaonera gospel yakujoni mmene amavinira?? koma poti ndi malawi mwandi ndi hule rememba do not judge

  9. ife timakunyadilani kaya anthu anyoze ife tlipansi utumiki wanu mayi kuli bwino kuvinila yesu kusiyana mkuvinira zachikunja siyani kuloza anzanu zala munaonera gospel yakujoni mmene amavinira?? koma poti ndi malawi mwandi ndi hule rememba do not judge

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