Song Review: Maria by Maskal Featuring GD

Maria, the latest work from Malawi’s recording artist Maskal landed on 17th July amidst high anticipation from his fans. It comes after the singer’s one year absence from the scene.

Maria, refers to a female being addressed in the song. She is a victim of heartbreak, as such she has made up her mind never to love again. This calls for a love seeker to skilfully convince her to change her mind and hook up with him.

In the song, Maskal and GD are playing those two energetic love seekers who are sweating blood as they try to change Maria’s mind. The common tone among the two giants is persuasive given nature of the situation.

In his God given sweet and soft voice, Maskal assures the heartbroken Maria of better days should she rescind her decision. He knows where to raise it and where to drop it, signalling emphasis of every point he makes to win her.

It is on the chorus where he raises his voice in line with the instrumentation. This exposes his vocal strength on the one hand and his uniqueness on other hand.

“Maria Usalore Chikondi Chikuduse, (do not let love pass by you),” sounds part of the chorus.

The mood in the chorus is more persuasive, in other ways the persona cries to the subject for a favourable decision. Maskal plays around with the tune in a way that matches with the language mostly used, Chichewa.

Focusing on the content, the lyrics are worth a standing ovation. Both artists put an effort in coming up with the lyrics. GD injects deadly punchlines in Maria, not forgetting rhyming words which adds beauty to literally work.

Production is just perfect, who would question quality of a song upon hearing the recorded sound signals, “Propee” and “Tricky Beats wu! wu!”. The instrumental, recording and balancing are just excellent.

However the song should have been titled differently. The title, Maria, is too general and it raises a lot of questions. This weakness is minor considering that such titles are good as they are attractive.

All in all, the products gets 7.5/10 in rating. Maskal has come out the ways he did with Ndiwe Wanga, Udalire, and Ona among his hits. In Maria, he maintains his style.