from a photoreport on Independence Day concert insupport of those living with HIV, Lusaka, October 24, 2002. on http://www.klaartjejaspers.com/sounds.htm

Mathew Tembo

musician

At his latest cd 'Unkhalo' ('Life'), Mathew tells the story of son who's asking his father to send him to university. The father refuses, lies that the university is closed, because he can't afford to pay the fees.

However, everybody who listens to the song knows the reality of Zambia these days: the father isn't lying, university closes down all the time. seems most African leaders have not got a vision on how to improve. 'I don't know why, but it's a country corrupted by money. Look for instance at Muluzi (the president of Malawi) ', Mathew says, 'and Chiluba (the former president of Zambia), refusing to step down when their time has come. Meanwhile the workers work day and night and hardly get paid.'

Tembo is a self-made man. Not only he writes and performs his own music (bilingual: English and Nyanja): he produces his own sound, his own videos and wants to start his own label 'Madsound' as soon as possible. 'The existing Zambian labels don't do enough, especially not when it comes to reggae or traditional music. Their aim is limited to serving the Lusaka-market only, even the biggest stars like JK are lucky if they sell 10.000 copies. When I'm out of the country, I hear music from Zimbabwe or South Africa – but Zambia: no.'

According to Tembo, the Zambian music industry is facing a serious depression. 'Ten or fifteen years ago we were a lot better off. OK, some musicians have indeed created their own sound, but the lyrics are usually dull. However, I don't blame the individuals; I think this is the result of a culture we have created.'

In Kumalya Ndimu Mathew describes how moral values have changed. 'Kumalya Ndimu' is the name of a game we used to play: you sit in a group, people pass jokes but you're not supposed to laugh. Once you do you have to close your eyes and you'll get hit on the head. If you guess who hit you, they are supposed to stop. But if they don't like you, they'll just tell you your guess was wrong and keep on hitting you until you cry. Our life has become like that: whether wrong or right: you'll be hit… what was good a few years ago is now out of fashion: what was wrong is now right, and what was right is now wrong.'

The erosion of values is a repeating theme in Tembo's work. In 'The now Zambian girls' ('Save my soul', 2000) he comments on how the now Zambian girls seem to have lost their pride and respect for their descent.

'Whatever they are: they should be happy to be made as they are – that God made them in his image. These bleaching products do more harm than good.' According to Tembo, their behavior is the result of a low self-esteem. Though it affects the women more then the men, it is the low self-esteem of Africans.

'Colonialism contributed by suggesting African cultures were barbaric. As we learnt how to speak English, we assimilated to the culture that goes with the language. We came to think everything European was good and everything African is bad. This thinking was passed on from generation to generation. Nowadays there's only a small group that still values the African traditions.'

Times Zambia

Matthew Tembo cries foul
By STAFF WRITER

REGGAE artiste, Matthew Tembo, has joined the gun-culture man, Maiko Zulu, in complaining against radio disc jockeys in the way they give airplay to his songs.
Matthew, who recently collaborated with former Republican president, Dr Kenneth Kaunda, on Vikonda Moyo (Sweet Things), says most dj's were showing biase towards certain artistes and record companies.
He said there was need for radio stations to come up with a fool-proof formula so that djs are not swayed by their own preferences or alliances with record companies or individual artistes.
From his own experience, certain djs were only willing to give airplay to artistes who showed "appreciation" financially.
Since radio has the power to influence people's preferences, djs should be seen to be giving equal airtime to all artistes regardless of their association with certain artistes. One way of doing so is through the creation of play lists, he suggested.