The music I sing is very much down to earth.
It tackles social issues. It is what you can refer to as protest
music, but I call it a spiritual kind of music. For me to live a
happy life I think my spirit has to feel the happiness and if I
don’t feel the happiness due to social, political or economical
change I am the right person to voice it out for the people.
- - - -
I had problems here and there. I had guns pointed at me. But,
nobody is going to achieve anything because it is a tide of time.
It is a wind that is blowing over Babylon. One time or the other
it has to pass and you can’t hold the wind. Somebody will put a
bullet in my head, but there is more revolutionaires coming in.
From the times of Bob Marley to now the bridges are noticeable -
there are great many artists that have come up to try and put
things right in society. That is the prime aim. It is what I can call
"edutainment". A bit of education on top of entertainment.
St. Michael Zulu is popular in Lusaka. He has made more than 100 live
performances during 1995-97. His songs are wellknown and the video of the song
"The President's Daughter" has been shown both on Zambian and South African TV.
His base is roots reggae:
It is a kind of music that encompasses mainly the Zambian guitar
kalindula, a heavy influence on the guitars. I am trying to push this
into my roots reggae. It’s going to be stricktly roots but with a
very central African touch, Zambian touch. Most of the songs are like
one drop, one drop, one drop. But there is a running guitar for
example in the song The President’s Daughter. It is more of a feeling kind
of music than a dance music.
St. Michael works as studio supervisor at MUVI Studios. Thus he has access to
video and recording technology and can produce his own recordings and videos.
He doesn't see this fact as only a blessing:
It has it’s disadvantages that it is probably directed in one point
of view. But we are living in a society were the musicians, they
write the music, they have to produce the music. At the end of the
day you find the musician is going about selling his tapes. The
industry is not there...people involved in the marketing are supposed
to be other people.
St.Michael is a a rastafarian. He claims:
Bob Marley is probably more famous than Jesus Christ among the
youths on the streets. Which gives clear evidence that people are
becoming more rasta consciouos. There is a lot of consciouosness even
in high offices. I know a lot of senior judges that deep in their
hearts are rastafarians. It is really a funny issue in Zambia. There
are many students in the university who study Rastafarianism.
This statement can be seen as a sign that dreadlocks are more accepted in Lusaka
than in Nairobi or Dar.
Samples from a demo cassette:
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TO THE SCENE IN LUSAKA |
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