South Africa poet rates Q Malewezi’s album topnotch
A huge standing ovation that celebrated poet Q Malewezi received at the culmination of his power-driven set during the launch of his album titled Son of A Preacher’s Son at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Saturday was testimony enough that he was no ordinary artist.
And no wonder South African poet Thabiso Mohare, who introduced Q after dropping his verses, described him as Malawi’s biggest export and talented ambassador.
“You need to support him because he is Malawi’s biggest brand and I can say it here that this is the Album of the Year,” Mohare said.
His act was super and flawless containing a combo of poetry, music and dance.
Initially, the album was supposed to be launched on April 1 2023 but Q postponed it to Saturday due to the Cyclone Freddy induced disaster which hit the country.
The launch attracted an impressive audience which included government officials, business captains, religious leaders and the donor community.
Q executed a power packed performance that was well scripted with support from other talented artists such as Maggie Kadrum and Paul Kachala, who has just returned from United Kingdom recently where he went for a church tour.
The pinnacle was even cheery when Q invited on stage former Zathu Band members of Nyokase Madise, Theresa Phondo, Praise Umali, Joe Kellz, Esther Chitheka Lewis and Kachala to join Sindie in a performance of ‘Father and Son’, which is a special dedication to the memory of his father Justin Malewezi, the country’s former vice president, who died in 2021.
Q hailed people for turning up for the launch, which he termed as a creative success and that they had worked on the project for months.
“This album is celebrating diversity, exploring identity of being Malawian, gender equality and celebrating life,” he said stressing that all the ideas that they hatched worked.
There was also a special moment when Q dished out a romantic poem to his wife before they embraced.
US Ambassador David Young said he was blown away by Q’s act.
“Amazing performance from the cast and it showed that Malawi has tremendous resources in the arts,” Young said.
Standard Bank Chief Executive Officer Phillip Madinga, whose bank supported Q with K15 million sponsorship, said Q reminded the country the best way of telling stories.
“He showed that poetry is a powerful tool for tackling issues affecting society and as Standard Bank, we are excited to have partnered with him in propelling arts and culture in Malawi,” Madinga said.
The album has 12 poems which include ‘Kapilire’, ‘Unapologetic Apology’, ‘The Good Wife’, ‘Us and Them’ and ‘The Rapist that I Know’.
Other acts that spiced up the launch included Raphael Sitima, Carmen Hwarari and Phindu Zae.
