Bright Nkhata’s daughter ready to revive dad’s art

Tom Sangala January 19, 2017

449 2 minutes read

A sense of pride has begun to succeed the sadness of losing Bright Nkhata, one of the country’s top musicians.

Nkhata died on August 2, 2000 at the age of 42, and his funeral is remembered for the thousands of people, including artists and politicians, who escorted him to his final resting place in Kayeya Village, Kasungu District.

But the visit to Kayeya Village in 2000 did not mark the end of the story.

This is the impression one gets after talking to Agnes Nkhata, Bright’s daughter, who has established herself as a deejay in the United States of America (US) and now Malawi.

Agnes— hands at rest and her face seemingly untroubled by any anxiety— said she is ready to let Malawians dance live to her late father’s sounds.

“We have embarked on a project to honour my father’s legacy; to revive Makasu music,” Agnes said in an interview yesterday.

She speaks as if her father’s legacy depends on her doing something about keeping it alive.

However, music lovers should not expect to see the same, old faces that accompanied Nkhata and Makasu Band wherever they went.

This is because, according to Agnes, there would be changes.

“We will be using new artists, and the new artists will be performing my father’s songs. The aim is to give Malawians a feel of how it used to be in those days,” Agnes said.

After addressing the question of where he plans to take her father’s legacy, Agnes then opens up about her own career as a deejay.

She started deejaying in the US in 2013, and her fist show was in front of 2000 people during a Kenyan festival. It was the 13th anniversary of that festival.

“It was a big show because it attracted the likes of Gramps Morgan. There was also a fashion show, which I organised,” Agnes said.

Her first show in Malawi was at Club Amazon last.

This year [on New Year], she deejayed at the Dashiki Party held at Cockpit in Lilongwe Agnes said she is eager to move on with her career as deejay, disclosing that she has joined hands with Mix Masters Entertainment to give music lovers a good treat at a Valentine’s Party show to be held on February 10 at Cockpit in Lilongwe.

However, Agnes observed that, while female deejays have become accepted globally, the door remains ajar for females in Malawi.

“Globally, yes [people have accepted female deejays]; locally, we are working on it. But, in my case, I am working on collaborating with artists from Jamaica, the US and other countries to show people that we [females] can do it even better,” Agnes said.

On whether she is in Malawi for good, she said: “I am happy to be in my own place. On whether I am here to stay, I cannot commit myself on that. But I am here for some time,” Agnes said.

Agnes may not commit to the idea of staying here for good, but, at least, she has shown that the idea of reviving Makasu band is a task she has gratefully received.