2 hours of Jah Prayzah
Zimbabwean musician Jah Prayzah ended his Malawi tour with a performance at Blantyre Sports Club, where he performed for close to two hours.
Born Mukudzeyi Mukombe, the contemporary musician and lead member of the Third Generation band jumped on stage at midnight, soon after the audience had enjoyed Lulu’s set.
It was a long wait for the audience but Jah Prayzah made sure this was not felt as he offered an energetic performance.
With his 10-member team, including two female backing vocalists and dancers, the Zimbabwean star proved he was no small fish through his performance.
Dressed in army uniform with his team, Jah Prayzah performed live with his band.
The Zimbabwean dreadlocked musician dropped several songs, some of which were new to the audience and, after a long performance, he signed off with the popular song ‘Mdhara Vachauya’, which saw people singing along.
“I didn’t expect such support, I am so excited and I love Malawi. I would love to come back but I have to talk to my promoters,” Jay Prayzah said.
He said that his new album, Kutongwa Kwaro, was doing well.
“It’s doing very well but I will work on videos and would love to do collaborations,” Jah Prayzah said.
The Zimbabwean musician, who left yesterday, singled out Lawi as one of the artists who have been doing well, adding that he loves his music.
But Jah Prayzah’s act was slightly affected by feedback.
The musician, who also showed his prowess in music by playing the mbira, had his first show on Saturday at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe where his show attracted an impressive audience.
However, it was a different story in Blantyre, as the show failed to pull a huge audience.
The show, which was organised by Agulugufe Twelve Thousand, nearly suffered a setback as there were rains which started in the afternoon and went all the way into the night.
The show was scheduled to start in the afternoon but rains forced the organisers to delay the performances.
Saint, of the ‘Delilah’ fame, was the first to hit the stage when it was still showering. He was the only artist who used a CD. He performed to a handful people.
But, after Saint’s performance, it took ages for another artist, who turned out to be Lawi, to come on stage.
This actually disappointed fans as the director of ceremonies Daniel Thom, better known as DT, never turned up to inform the audience about the cause of the long wait despite announcing, earlier, that Lawi was up next.
Lawi offered songs from his Lawi album and the latest Sunset in the Sky and the songs he dropped included ‘Whistling Song’, ‘Zonena Kuchuluka’, ‘Lilongwe’ and ‘Therere’.
The audience improved later on, although patrons still failed to fill the place.
Reggae group Black Missionaries also performed at the concert, keeping the audience on their feet with songs from their Kuimba albums.
The group, however, left soon after their performance as they had another assignment at Zitherepano in Mangochi.
Lulu was the one who warmed up the stage for Jah Prayzah and his performance was glittering.
One of the partners, Emmanuel Maliro, said they accomplished their mission.
“It was raining but people braved the rains and Jah Prayzah was massive and I can say that everyone is happy,” Maliro said.
He said they were planning to have more shows, but was quick to point out that it is expensive to put up such shows.
One of the patrons who attended the Blantyre show, John Kapeta, said:
“I was impressed with Jah Prayzah although he came [on stage] late. I think organisers also have to look at the time factor when putting up these events. I think, this being the rainy season, they could have had it indoor. To make matters worse, they also kept us waiting for a long time at some point,” Kapeta said.
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