Memories of one of the country’s finest gospel musicians Grace Chinga has been brought to light an interesting fashion following the release of a reggae mash-up medley that has seen Patience Namadingo collaborating with Chinga’s daughter Miracle.
The mash-up which, has since received mixed reactions from people, opens up 2021 for Namadingo, who last year trended with projects that, saw him receiving an honorary doctorate degree from University of South Africa.
This is the first mash-up which has seen Namadingo working with a female musician, having worked with male legends in his previous mash-ups including Soldier Lucius Banda, Billy Kaunda and Giddes Chalamanda.
Some people have said they were in love with the mash-up adding that Grace appeared in Miracle.
“I have no problems with the mash-up; it has come at the right time as we are passing through this difficult time of the pandemic. Kudos to Namadingo and Miracle,” one of the people commented on social media.
Some quarters, however, have described the mash-up as the least in all the mash-ups Namadingo has worked on, saying there are elements of off keys, lack of balance in voices and that there is lack of creativity with nothing new to appreciate.
“To me, it’s a flat mash-up, they rushed with it. There is no creativity and everything is just monotonous. They could have done better; otherwise it’s not good at all,” another fan said on Facebook.
But Namadingo said Tuesday he was satisfied with the mash-up.
“We all are different, there is no way we can see it the same way. When the mash-up for Giddes came out, people had reservations, when Billy’s mash-up came out people said Lucius Banda’s mash-up was the best and that it would never be beaten. I am used to people’s views, I look at them, learn and pick out constructive criticism,” he said.
The ‘Mapulani’ star said he loves how people have received the mash-up since the time of the release and that it was a trending product at the moment.
Namadingo said he was impressed with what Miracle had done in the mash-up considering her age.
“The other mash-ups were performed by practising musicians compared to me and this one was done by a female artist and, again, Miracle took the lead while I was more like a backing artist, unlike in the other mash-ups when it was 50-50,” he said.
The FDH Bank Ambassador also said that the mash–up is different in that this was his endorsement and that it was not on paper.
“We have given rights to the family and we do not own anything. FDH made sure they pay performing fees and, to them ,they used the digital space for Covid awareness messages,” he said.
Namadingo said he has always been a fan of Chinga, describing her as a unique artist.
“The first time I heard ‘Uleke,’ I was in primary school and fast forward I worked with her in a Mother’s Day song with Ethel Kamwendo Banda. There was gender imbalance in the mash-ups and so, when we looked at who to work with, her name came top three,” he said.
Namadingo said they thought of honouring Grace by working together.
“Her voice is similar to her mother’s. Miracle is still young to reach her mother’s level. The initial plan was to start with Ethel Kamwendo but this is in the process and we had to start with Chinga,” Namadingo said.
Miracle said she was thankful to God for the mash-up.
“This is a greatest achievement I have ever had and the connection that God made to work with Dr Namadingo. This is my mum’s mash up and we were not competing with anyone. We have achieved what we wanted,” she said.
FDH Public Relations Officer Lorraine Chikhula said the mash up is one of the projects that they have championed to drive an important cause in light of the pandemic.
“We are encouraging communities through art to stay safe and go digital and bank in their communities using FDH Banki Pakhomo agents that are there across the country. Our brand ambassador, Namadingo, and Miracle have blended their skills to produce another mash-up masterpiece,” Chikhula said.
The reggae mash-up produced by Mozy Moshu Shumba, which also features Miracle’s brother Steve Spesho, has seen them performing Grace’s songs such as ‘Getsemane’ ‘ Thandizo Langa’, Wayalula’, ‘ Absalom’ and ‘Uleke’.
Chinga died in March 2016.
