As 2020 is waving goodbye, Malawi24 looks at best five musicians who proved they are worth their salt in the year. The musicians have been ranked according to views from relevant analysts.
5. Kell Kay
The Lilongwe based singer has done justice to the mic in the year without exhibiting any sign of waning in the near future. His music has taken him to lucrative platforms Malawi can offer. It is safe to argue that he is one of a very few musicians who have benefited from their talents in the year. Kell Kay has wowed the country with some heart-massaging tunes. Nakupenda which features the internationally recognised Tay Grin has become one of the festive season anthems.
4. Ritaa
Call her the brave lady who dared a battalion of men. The Chapatali hit maker was really in the mood for crafting good music in the year. She is the only female artist who conquered male dominated music charts. At one point in time she contributed three songs in urban top ten chart, Mubwere, Kuwawa and M`bebe. Her efforts did not end up in vain as she bagged the best female artist honour in the Urban Music People (UMP) awards.
3. Phyzix
The veteran rapper also took the urban music circles by storm in the year, thanks to his aggressiveness. He has proved wrong his critics who held the view that he is not lyrically strong. Phyzix released an Extended Playlist, Gamba Season, which encompasses matured content, no wonder it was the hottest on the market in the year. Consequently, he sailed on his sweat to five honours in Malawi hip hop and UMP awards
2. Eli Njuchi
The lad stepped on the scene, did his homework and finally discovered a throne that befits him. At the beginning of the year Eli was an average artist until he propagated more content into the public domain through his Extended Playlist called the book of Z. People came to understand that his songs which are packed with wisdom are indeed music to the ear. After the book of Z, the starlet was not done with the audience as he went on to dish out his maiden album dubbed the book of Eli. The album undoubtedly added numbers to his fan base as evidenced by a mammoth crowd that thronged Robins Park in Blantyre to witness its launch.
He also managed to earn the support of established musicians in the country. The intense noise he made in 2020 was also his ticket to a UMP award as the best dancehall artist.
1. Patience Namadingo
When we talk about urban music in the year 2020, this is where it began and ended. The story traces its roots to reggae mashups, a project that excavated a huge volume of artistic works which were produced by legendary sons of Malawi. Namadingo teamed up veteran musicians, Giddes Chalamanda, Lucius Banda, Billy Kanda and the Black Missionaries in the production of reggae rendition for their songs.
Some quarters thought the singer had lost his knack for creating art when he reproduced songs that were done by the aforementioned legends. It did not take him long to unleash the artist in him when he dropped a masterpiece entitled Mapulani. Meanwhile, the ballad is the most accessed Malawian song with over 2 million views on YouTube. The song is also the most reproduced by a Malawian.
His efforts in music earned him two UMP awards as best male artist and Mapulani was voted song of the year. He is the only musician who won the awards without campaigning, as his works campaigned for him.
