I have
ever said that I have problems calling Malawi radio presenters Disc Jockeys or
fondly shortened to DJs based on the knowledge that I have of who a DJ is and
what the radio presenters who call themselves DJs do.
Nonetheless,
today I am not bothered with whatever names, titles, ranks, designations or
positions radio presenters bestow upon themselves. I am here to wonder aloud if
these people know their role to make Malawi music what it needs to become.
Forget
about the question which one is the Malawi music. But one statement that I have
to register from the onset is that Malawian Radio presenters or Disc Jockeys as
they love calling themselves are a huge disappointment.
This is
not because of the way they live their lives with their spouses and other
extramarital activities as it were, but this is to the choices they make when
playing music on the radios.
I have
no problems with a radio like MBC Radio II or Capital FM who have declared that
they are bent at promoting music, which is music. Meaning the foreign music all
of us strive to emulate.
However,
radio stations like Zodiak Broadcasting Station, Matindi FM and other
religiously inclined broadcasters their interests has been cast around locally
produced and sang music, call it gospel or secular.
The
general complaint is that we have talent when it comes to music and musicians.
We also have outlets that suit us but fail to satisfy us all.
Back to the radio presenters, the positions these dudes hold is very privileged
and in some countries like Zambia they have used it massively to promote their
local music. Someone was telling me there was a time when a decree was imposed
where all media outlets in the country were asked to only play Zambian music; I
doubt its truthfulness though.
Not that
I am suggesting that we do likewise in the country; because we risk clamping
down sources where we can learn from.
In that
way, we will not have anywhere to assess ourselves as a country to see if we
are indeed doing what we should be doing as a musical nation or whether or not
we are stepping on the same spot or moving either forward or backward.
However,
given that we also impose a similar decree, do you see ourselves achieving
anything? Considering that even when the radio presenters have the opportunity
to play our local music, others creating programmes that have local music as
the only input it still raises a number of questions when you see how these radio
presenters comport themselves.
You find
that they will stick to a track or an album of a musician who everyone who has
an ear for music is condemning due to his or her mediocre feat and yet the so
called DJ will be heaping praises that you who is listening fail to see its
justification.
In the
process, the questions of corrupt radio presenters which has ever come up in
this regard pops up again.
While
other presenters will do likewise due to naivety, others largely seem to have a
hidden interest that is not even well hidden…
If the Malawi music has to grow and glow, its fate, to an extent, also lies in the hands of these people.
If the Malawi music has to grow and glow, its fate, to an extent, also lies in the hands of these people.
Radio
promoters or DJs, as they would like me to call them, are promoters of sorts.
If they play bad music on their respective radio dials, then it has to be on
the back of trying to point at weaknesses in our artists’ music.
May be it is high time radio station started deliberate programmes that look at a particular song or singer and critique their way of performing and final music production.
Patriotism comes in many ways, if presenters give us quality music we promote
quality products from Malawi, which can bring us forex before we know it, not
to mention catapulting the artist to international stardom.
Next we
try to look at what makes one a DJ.
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