It takes a strong person to say sorry, a social media influencer Pemphero Mphande has offered an ‘emotional’ apology to artists in the country over his ‘uncensored’ remarks he made a day ago.
Mphande, a former manager for female artist Keturah popularly known as the ‘Local Girl, attracted the anger of some artists after he said Keturah is the only one poised to become Malawi’s next big artist on the international stage.
But on Wednesday, Mphande apologized to the artists over the remarks but was quick to say he is entitled to his own opinion.
Here Is Full Apology From Mphande’s Facebook Wall
” My apologies to all the artists my statement may have offended that I felt in my opinion Keturah was and is the only artist with the quality to go international. It is simply my opinion and wasn’t meant to create feud or demean other artists.
I am friends with many artists and I always give them my honest opinion on their music. Same goes for Keturah. I have always been honest with her about her music and will continue to do so.
My opinion could be proven wrong if we see another artist from the current crop of artists go far and that’s okay. I will happy to be proven wrong because I want success for my people. Presently, Malawi has never had an international artist. Our artists are trying but they aren’t getting the recognition on the international stage.
The likes of Evison Matafale, Bright Nkhata and Kalimba Band had the content and authenticity to go that far. Sadly, for Matafale his time ended too soon. I haven’t seen anyone come close to his kind.
Most of our musicians aren’t authentic. Most want to sound like their Jamaican, American or South African idols. This is another food for thought. Where is the authenticity in our voices, productions and content?
Namadingo is the only artist I have seen that held a “public” show in another country pulled numbers recently in Zambia. He is on the right path. I wish him well and that he goes beyond Malawi and Zambia.
He has that potential. The rest of the artists when they go outside Malawi, they perform for Malawians in those countries in people’s houses or closed spaces and what it means is they don’t have fans in those countries.
This year we have seen so many international artists perform in Malawi. People heavily patronised those shows and these artists walked out of our country with millions. These artists toured Africa and sold out There is hardly an artist in Malawi who can tour Africa and sell out.
Perhaps, our musicians need to sit down and reflect. Why aren’t they selling out there? There is room to improve and grow. I love this country and I want everyone to succeed. I harbor no hatred for anyone and I hope.”
