RAP, RAGGA AND REGGAE IN
LUSAKA

JAMES "CHAMANYAZI" NGOMA

James Ngoma

"Chamanyazi" means 'shame' in Nyanja and it’s the title track of my first album and people are now calling me by the same name, i.e. I have taken it as my musical name.

James Ngoma is from the Eastern part of Zambia on the border to Zimbabwe. 12 years old he in 1980 was taken by Zimbabwean cousins to a concert by Bob Marley. There he also met some Jamaicans and from that day he is into reggae and ragga. His older brother who played guitar with a band in Zimbabwe brought reggae records to the home.

Later James started to make his own songs and in 1994 he recorded and issue an album. He had to pay all the costs himself. His style is a mixture of traditional Eastern Zambian music, raggamuffin and rap:
I sing in the vernacular because I want people to understand what I'm singing. Some parents don't care about their children. They are more into beer drinking. So like my first album was called Chamanyazi, which in Nyanja is something shamefull, singing: "It's a shame what our elders are doing. They should stop neglecting their families." I want people to live as brothers and sisters. Not in segregation.

Chamanyazi also performs live, usually with an afrojazz oriented group called B Sharp. He also performs at discos with prerecorded backgounds. He also does African poetry:
At times I do poetry. Someone is playing the guitar and I am reciting a poem about our tradition or about a certain occasion or situation. It depends on where we are.
There are a lot of similarities to rap. When you're doing rap or African poetry it's something that comes from deep down your heart. You express yourself to the fullest. And the people who are listening to you they move with whatever you are saying. They feel it in them. So that's one thing I like about my music. The people are not just dancing. They are getting the message that I'm singing at the same time.

November 1997 he was recording his second album with MUVI Studios.

Listen to a sample with Chamanyazi solo (.wav format 670 kB).

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